San Juan

On Wednesday we had a motley crew of ten volunteers at Camp Don Bosco. They helped scrape barnacles off of the hull of the San Juan and pine tar it for the upcoming summer season. Thank you for all of your help!

Brian Bradshaw High Ropes Course Dedication

The dedication on Saturday was a huge success! Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped facilitate the course, provide music, direct traffic and much more. We had over 60 people attend and even made King 5 news that night!

Bradshaw Course Dedication

Don't forget about the Bradshaw Challenge Course Dedication this Saturday. Here are two articles on the event.

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/military/2010/05/13/a-challenge-for-kids-in-honor-of-fallen-soldier-from-steilacoom-lt-brian-bradshaw/

http://www.seattlearch.org/FormationAndEducation/Progress/SchoolsBradshawChallengeCourse05-20-10.htm

St. Thomas Moore Gives Back

St. Thomas Moore 7th graders are experiencing a camp focused on Leadership, Service, and building their relationships with Christ. Here's a photo of some of them helping us get the campfire circle cleaned up.

A Week for Wildlife!

Camp Hamilton has been buzzing with wildlife sightings this week. Students from Sacred Heart, St. Joseph in Vancouver, and St. Benedict have encountered White-tailed deer, a raccoon, and a young Barred owl while trekking around camp. The Barred owl and its mother have been spotted in the trees just outside the doors of Discovery Lodge! The baby owl is spending its days climbing the trees, branch by branch, to strengthen the muscles in its legs and wings, muscles which it will eventually use to take flight!

During evening reflection, a beaver swam away from the bog directly adjacent to the beach. Each student had a chance to see the majestic creature that formed Lake Hannan swimming just a few yards off shore. It was quite an awe inspiring moment.

Brian Bradshaw Memorial Ropes Course

Just a reminder that the dedication for the Brian Bradshaw Memorial Ropes Course is coming up. We would love to have you at Camp Hamilton on May 22. The day will begin with the dedication and blessing at 10:00 am, followed by a reception in Discovery Lodge. The course will be staffed and open for those who want to try it out. Please RSVP to Debbie at debbiefisher@seattlearch.org 206-382-4562.

The Wonders of Creation

After Easter, the Gospels and readings talk at great length about how the people of Jerusalem and their leaders could not recognize Jesus for who He was. Indeed, after He had first risen, His own disciples did not even recognize Jesus until He spoke to them and revealed His identity.

Just as the disciples discovered Christ in His resurrected form, our students at Camp Hamilton learned to see God in many different ways this week. They discovered God as reflected in the beauty of the Creation surrounding them at camp. They saw God's creativity in the multitude and varieties of the plants and animals that fill our forests, the intricacies of His plan in the complexities of the relationships between the plants and animals, and how He loves and cares for His creatures by providing for all of their needs within their habitat.

Finally, they saw Christ in each other through the friendships and community formed this week at camp. We all shared our care for one another by being supportive and positive group members, sharing our prayers, cleaning up after each other, and cleaning up camp as we went along. We celebrated mass as a faith community to complete our week of Environmental Education before returning home.