Camp Conqueror

Newsletter No. 60

In this issue:

Winter Camp Report
The Conqueror Crossword
 Summer Camp
40-Ways
Conqstock 2001
Assorted other bits and pieces

Warning:

Attending a Conqueror camp may result in odd behaviour, causing you to have serious fun!
Do not attend if you wish to have a boring life! Parents please note: your children may actually learn valuable lessons while they have fun at this camp! You have been warned!

When: 23rd, 24th & 25th November, 2001

Where: 172 Wallace St, Braidwood NSW.

What: Canoeing on the Shaolhaven River,

Abseiling and Orienteering in the Duea National Park.

Who: Year 10 and up.

Cost: $20 per person

RSVP:

Mark Goode
Ph: 02 48422045
email: mgoode@braidwood.net.au

Camp Conqueror Summer Camp

Co-ed: High school 2001 years 7-12

Director: Chris Wootton

Dates: Saturday 5^th January 9am to Monday 14^th January 6pm

(pick up and drop off at Strathfield station south side)

Cost: $180

Deposit: $80

(The S.U. Benevolent Fund can assist you with camp fees if necessary. Contact the Secretary)

Applications close: 14^th December 2001

(Full payment, medical forms and applications to be in by the closing date)

A “tent city” on a Milton farm is our base for the most different week of your life! Camp Conqueror summer camp will stretch you physically, emotionally and spiritually. War games, canoeing, abseiling, 4 days hiking in the Budawangs, an iron person competition and studies about God… some reckon there’s no way you could fit that into 10 days for only $180!!!! BUT YOU CAN! So join Camp Conqueror summer camp for loads of fun by sending your application in now. Hurry, as numbers are definitely limited!

Applications to:  Camp Conqueror

c/o Rachel Secombe
62 Liverpool Rd
Summer Hill 2130

Enquiries:    (02) 9798 9320

CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION FORM

Winter Conqueror 2001: The Report

by Mark Hadley

Greetings fellow Conquerors! Climb into your crustiest sleeping bag, locate a comfortable rock near the camp fire and settle down as I prepare to regale you with the latest tales from this year’s Winter Camp, complete with frost-bite!

Winter Conqueror’s have been labouring to take our ‘Camp with Class’ to new heights over the past two years, and 2001 found us back at the Anglican Youthworks site in Jindabyne. It’s still a bit of a culture shock for veteran Conqueror campers more familiar with summer expeditions. They had to have the showers and flushable toilets explained; the drying rooms are still a bit of a mystery. But I am happy to say that the month of July provided yet another surprise dump of snow, and there were plenty of opportunities to “rough it in the white, wild yonder.”

Winter Camp has expanded to the degree that it can now send out three sizeable contingents. This year our fearless Ski Team planned routes that included conquering a significant collection of mountains: Porcupine, Perisher and the aptly named Paralyser. An unhealthy combination of brushwood and ice underlined the significance of that last name for one expedition. The predictable ‘need for speed’ transformed some Conqueror’s from down-hill maniacs into the most dedicated environmentalists, the tree-hugging kind.

Our more advanced skiers added an all-day expedition around Mount Guthega to their list of trophies. Unfortunately an alternate route home resulted in the entire troupe taking an unscheduled dip in the Snowy River. Still, it shows the resourcefulness of our leaders that they managed to turn the whole

event into a practical lesson on the dangers of hypothermia. Well done team! And speaking of survival lessons, I understand that we are still missing one of our volunteers from this year’s Winter Olympics. It appears that the competition to construct a snow cave for a suitably “injured” leader was drastically misunderstood. Some campers believed it impossible that the said leader could ever recover from the injuries described and, acting with cool Conqueror initiative, decided to go straight for burial.

Every Winter Camp sees some new tradition adopted, while another goes the way of the mammoth. This year, the abundance of snow and fine weather meant that we forwent our usual trip to Jindabyne Public Pool. I’m sure this was a matter of great relief to the operators - in previous years unwashed campers have been known to leave an oil-slick all the way from the diving blocks to the showers. However, this camp was also the first year for the Winter Conqueror Camp Concert. The theme seemed to be ‘heroes’ as most of the skits involved impersonations of leaders. And one group even made a successful attempt at the Conqueror record for ‘The Longest Running Skit’ (previously held by Dean Strickland for his stirring performance of “the Complete Works of William Shakespeare”). ‘Tea with Reginald’ was certainly demonstrated how long a group can perform without actually doing much. No-one really knows how it ended; the audience had left for supper some time around the twenty-minute mark.

It wouldn’t have been a Conqueror camp without the traditional toilet roll awards. This year’s plaudits included recognition for the unstinting efforts of our first two junior leaders in five years their revolutionary nightly ‘Campers’ Planning Meeting’ guaranteed smooth running. Winter Conqueror of the Year went to Mark Webster for services above and beyond the call of duty. These services largely included carrying everything in sight, and not creating a situation that involved carrying him out again. 2001’s camp also set a record for the largest number of return campers to a Winter Conqueror. Misty-eyed leaders have been heard to mutter through choking tears that they’re hoping for an even larger return number next year, “Tea with Reginald” performers excepted.

By Tom Harper, Contact on gu_tar@yahoo.com.au or 02 9702 1422

This is the section of the newsletter where we hope to give some clues to the inner working of Camp Conqueror (CC).

I thought a good way to do this, would be to provide a short summary of the discussions at the recent cluster meeting held on the 4th October 2001. Stephanie Schwarz produced 4 pages of beautiful hand written meeting minutes that are available upon request from myself (see contact details above).

The meeting was a great time of fellowship and a great horde (ok 14 leaders) descended on the house and apologies from another four leaders (two of whom are overseas) were received. We started out with a devotion and prayer based on Malachi 3:14 - 4:3.

Cluster positions for this year had one change with the resignation of Mark Hadley as the Winter Camp director. Kym Schwarz is taking over for Winter 2002 and has some great vision for the camp and already has a future winter director in training. Chris Wootton is planning to direct Summer Camp 2002 and maybe step down in 2003. Plans are afoot for training of a new summer camp director and assistant director during the coming 2002 Summer camp. Last of all Tom Harper (that's me) indicated that he would like to step down as the cluster director in 12 months.

40 Ways this year is in the capable hands of Mark Goode, who has a great passion for serving the LORD in any way possible. See the information in this newsletter for more details.

The cluster discussed the continuing need to upgrade and replace our existing camp equipment and important purchase of new technology items such as GPS and Two Way radios. We have decided to set aside a yearly amount to start purchasing these types of items and evaluate their use over the next two years. Safety, navigation and first aid training for leaders is also a high priority for the cluster to tackle.

CC has now adopted the SU banking system. This system has operated throughout a Summer and a Winter Camp so far, where some coordination issues have resulted in a few problems. However, overall the system has helped us to be more accountable and will more closely align us to SU.

The adoption of the SU accounting system has left Hazel Radford (and family) our previous cluster treasurer with no accounts to sort out. This may be a blessing in disguise considering some of the bizarre accounting methods that have been employed by various directors and camp treasurers (including myself). I cannot give enough thanks to Hazel for the great job she has done over many years.

Prayer and fellowship ended the evening meeting with the next CC Cluster meeting proposed for sometime in June 2002. Greg Cluett asked to be remembered when you change address. If you fail to do this, the CC newsletter may not reach you, and that would be a great tragedy.

Hal asked Dave what he was doi…

[Editor’s Note: Yes that’s where it stopped. I think Tom’s computer may have taken offence at the lame computer joke and removed the rest. J ]

STOP PRESS: Tom and Carol Harper are parents!

This just in: Tom and Carol Harper are now proud parents! I just received a phone call from Tom Harper and here are the “details”: Hannah Harper, born at approx. 5pm 24/10/2001, 3.7kg. Sorry no length, though Tom describes her as being “long”. CONGRATULATIONS!

One day, a small opening appeared in a cocoon; a man sat and watched for the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that tiny hole. All of a sudden it seemed to stop making progress.

It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could not go any further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and opened the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it was tiny, having a withered body and shrivelled wings.

The man continued to watch because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would open, enlarge and expand, and become firm enough to be able to support the butterfly’s body. Neither happened!

In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a withered body and shrivelled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and his goodwill, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening; were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings; so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life.

If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. Never been able to fly.

I asked for Strength...
And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom...
And God gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for prosperity...
And God gave me a Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage...
And God gave me Obstacles to overcome.

I asked for Love...
And God gave me Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favours...
And God gave me Opportunities.

"I received nothing I wanted...
But I received everything I needed."

Live life without fear, confront all obstacles and demonstrate that you, through Christ, can overcome them.

"…in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
 - Romans 8:36 (NIV)

Conqueror Crossword 60

Editor’s Notes

Well it’s been an “interesting” few months hasn’t it? It’s been quite frightening and disturbing in places for many, what with the destruction of the World Trade Center and all. Now much of the world is closely watching what will happen next. Many are worried that this the “beginning of the end.” So what does our Lord and Saviour have to say about all this?

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

So you see, even if it is the “beginning of the end”, we shouldn’t be worried. He is with us ALWAYS.

As usual when I started putting this newsletter I had no idea if I was going to have enough to “fill it up.” But as usual articles arrived and things fell into place. Ain’t God good like that. He always provides. Sometimes more, sometimes “just enough”, but always enough.

I don’t really have much to say this time so I’ll just close here with a short poem.

God bless and I hope to see at least some of you in the near furture:

To Fail Is Not To Fall

I sit and wait and watch,
Wanting to understand before I do.
Fearing the failure that seems just round the corner.

What to say? What to do? What can possibly go wrong?

Why do I wait?

I fail to do and so make things worse...
And yet still I don't do...
Fearing that things will get worse...
And so make things worse by not trying...
And so I fear and fail more...
A broken cycle.

Remember my heart, to fail is not to fall
To fail to try... that is falling....