- The Father and Son Campout is a fun adventure event for boys of all ages and their dads at the Camp Monahan Catholic youth camp on beautiful Katepwa Lake. The main purpose of the Father and Son campout is to facilitate the gathering of men and boys to foster the father/son relationship by providing an experience that the participants will use as a springboard to further enriching activities and lifestyle as fathers and sons. For the men, the experience of spending time in faith with a group of men will hopefully foster the development of a more fervent faith life.
- Please enjoy the pictures below as the below summary writeup of the 2009 Conquest Regina Father and Son Campout.
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The 2009 Father and Son Campout is now in the books, with 42 men and boys gathering for a wonderful overnight adventure. The campout started on Friday, May 22nd. The first activity was Father and Son cross making. The boys went with their dads into the woods to gather the perfect branches for their cross, which they tied twine. The crosses then became part of the Stations of the Cross that took place next. Other than the coolness of the evening I'll have to admit that this was one of the most memorable Stations of the Cross that I've been a part of. Each of the 14 stations were positioned along the lakeside, starting at the cabins and following all the way down and ending at the main campfire area. At each station, a new torch was lit and handed to one of the dads. As we completed each station and darkness tried to capture us, the light and warmth grew from the torches. It was a great visual display. Following Stations of the Cross, the boys and dads enjoyed a great campfire with weiner roasting and smores. This was a great start to the campout, but more, way more was to come the next day.
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Saturday started with a spectacular sunrise, an absolutely beautiful morning. I tried capturing some of this beauty in the pictures I took. The lake was like glass and the sun was starting to impart it's warmth on the day. As fathers and sons awoke to the new day they gathered to witness God's beauty unfolding. As the dads enjoyed that wonderful heaven in a mug we call coffee, we put on breakfast and started to cook. We had a great breakfast - sausage, eggs and hashbrowns along with cereal and yogurt. Following breakfast we split into groups for talks. Lynden gave a talk to the dads in the mess hall, sharing some of his thoughts and experiences about the importance of focus in our lives and playing a part in God's plan. The boys split into three different groups - Father Valentine had the teenage boys. Donovan Novak the 10 and 11 year olds and Trevor Novak the 9 and unders (this was my group - you'll see some of the pictures from our nature hike along the lake - our objective was to notice everything that was God made and capture some of that in our glass container. Yes, this include crawly things too). All the talks focused on recognizing the beauty around us, the gifts given to us and the great example that those who love us provide to shape our lives.
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As the dads stayed in their talk followed by great discussion, the boys finished their talks and broke into a great game called "infection", where 3 of the older teen leaders dressed up and were "infections" trying to catch the boys. The object of the game for the boys is to avoid the infections and to find three safe stations, which were hidden in various areas of the camp. At these stations the boys had to answer a catechism question to get a check mark on their game card. Once they had all three check marks (one from each station) they had to return to the home base, which was the fire pit. The playing area was the entire grounds of the camp, which led to some great game play, climbing and running.
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Mass followed the game, just before lunch. Father Valentine led us in the Eucharistic celebration in the beautiful outdoor sun at Camp Monahan's outdoor chapel. It was a beautiful celebreation for a beautiful day. Following Mass we broke for lunch, subs/chips/pickles. This great lunch deserved a restful, settling activity before we embarked on the rest of the day. This activity was saying the rosary as a group in front of the grotto with the statue of Mary. The grotto, built with stones and into the side of the hill was a great setting in the beauty of the sunshine and chirping birds.
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It's traditional at the Conquest Father and Son campout for the men and boys to work side by side in a work project to help Camp Monahan prepare for the coming summer camp season. Preparing for camp each year is a big task for the small crew of workers at Camp Monahan. Extra help from 42 enthusiastic helpers is much appreciated. This year had a special purpose to it as Camp Monahan is celebrating their 60th Anniversary and there will be special celebrations later in June. So, this meant that there was extra work to be done in preparation for this occasion. We painted the inside of the pool change rooms, both boys and girls - I think we might of had 20 boys and dads (mostly boys) in there painting away. They had a blast. Also part of the cleanup of the grounds includes regular mowing of grass, so some of the men and boys did this. And, there is always wood to cut. We had 2 men on chain saws cutting through two large piles of logs and branches, then a small army of men and boys carried the wood away and stacked it for future camp fires. This work is very appreciated by the camp staff and this is a beneficial and enjoyable part of our camp every year. We look forward to helping Dave and his staff again next year.
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I think it was about 2:30 when we finished our jobs and broke for a snack - ice cream cones and chocolate chip cookies. Not just any chocolate chip cookies but cookies baked by the dads right before snack time - they were still warm as we ate them (yum). After the snack, out came the water balloons. The older teens made close to 1000 water balloons on Friday night to be used Saturday afternoon. As men and boys headed out onto the calm lake on canoes and some of the boys were dropped off on the diving platform (the lake was much too cool yet to do alot of diving), water balloons were being loaded in our super catapults on the shore to be launched out at the canoers and the boys on the diving platform. A huge water fight ensued for the next couple hours. It was a blast. Also, on shore were some games that boys and dads alike played periodically. Everyone had a great time. It was a perfect afternoon.
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With the day starting to come to a close, we had our final meal...supper (bbqued burgers and hotdogs). This was also a great opportunity for everyone to visit and relive their favorite parts of the day. There was alot of lively conversation as the group certainly had a great experience with each other. Following the meal we drew for prizes - all the boys got a prize of some sort. Everyone then went home with some great memories, a little bit of sun and maybe a wood tick or two. In addition, everyone went home with some new friendships and some stronger ones.
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We look forward now to the rest of the spring and into summer. For Conquest we have Camp Aurora Borealis coming up in August, our true gem of the entire Conquest program...a whole week of Conquest fun, adventure, competition and faith formation for boys 10 and older. If I don't see you at camp I will see everyone in the fall as we start our new Conquest year. Registration will be Wednesday, August 26 at St.Annes, the Faith of our Fathers Banquet will kick off the year on September 18 and the first Conquest meetings will be the week after. Keep watching the website for new information. I wish everyone all the best until we get back again in the fall and I know I'll see many of you in between. God Bless, Trevor Novak - Conquest Regina President
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ĉ ď Conquest Regina, Apr 4, 2009 9:15 AM
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