The weekend of May 16 -18 was campout time for the Spencer Adventurer Club. The theme for this year's program at Timber Ridge Camp was "Spring Babies". The weekend began with a Friday evening meeting at the campground bowl. Pastor Charlie Thompson led the Adventurers, their leaders and guests in songs of praise and worship, and then introduced the featured speaker for the weekend, Rod Snow. Mr. Snow is from Berrien Springs, Michigan, and worked three summers as a counselor at TRC several years ago.

Sabbath morning it was time to gather in the basement of Pickett Dining Hall for worship. It was also time for the Bible Bowl, as several clubs took part in a challenging round of questions taken from a few selected chapters of II Chronicles, moderated by Pastor Dean Whitlow. The participating clubs all earned Third Place standing except for the Cicero club, who earned a First Place award for their efforts . . . . . . . . way to go Cicero !

Mr. Snow's message included a demonstration that illustrated Romans 8:28, "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Rod had some brave volunteers taste the various separate ingredients that are necessary to make a strawberry pie. Some of these ingredients eaten by themselves are not very pleasant to the taste, but mixed together the end result is quite delicious, isn't it? After lunch the clubs took a break from organized activity, until mid-afternoon, when it was time to visit the petting zoo where the campers encountered rabbits, horses, goats, games and crafts. After pizza in the dining hall it was time for vespers, followed by Hayrides and root beer floats.

Sunday morning was filled with Field Events, all in keeping with the theme of "Spring Babies." It was a wonderful weekend of fun and fellowship. A big thanks to all who helped make this year's Adventurer Weekend a big success !

The Adventurer and Pathfinder Clubs had their last meeting for the year on Tuesday May 20 at TRC.

Youth Group Sponsors Bible Olympics
by Sarah LeTendre

On Sabbath, September 23, 2006, the Spencer Seventh-day Adventist Church youth group held its first annual Bible Olympics. Ten or so children from the church showed up in the basement of the Timber Ridge Camp Cafeteria.

After some songs were sung, the children engaged in many different games, all of which were based on the Bible. Our first game was to draw pictures for 15 seconds, then pass it around until it was completely finished. Once the picture was completely finished (and returned to its original artist), we figured out if it turned out the way it was supposed to, or if it was completely different. Next we put the books of the Bible into the proper order. This was difficult for some of the younger kids who couldn't read, but in the end everyone had a blast.

After that, we introduced a new game called the Return Game. The kids had the most fun with this game, shouting out the answers. The object of the return game is to decipher what you are returning to the cashier. The cashier knows what is being returned and gives clues so that the returnee can guess what is being returned. While it actually sounds hard, it is not. We discovered that we had picked Bible items that were, apparently, too easy because the children guessed them right off the bat. Next year, we are hoping that it won't be as easy to guess.

We were so happy to be able to spend so much time with the kids, influencing their spiritual growth. It was amazing to be able to see God through the eyes of these children. It can absolutely devastate you when you look at the faith of these children and see the doubt in your own faith. Children are so trusting and caring, and it is a blessing to be able to work with them in the Bible Olympics. I hope that this next year will be just as exciting.