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Friday, August 7, 2020

Virtual Soccer Camp 2020 Behind-The-Scenes Recap

After 40 years of the Camp Iroquoina body of believers serving the Lord at the camp grounds in Hallstead, PA, adjustments and adaptations needed to take place in the camp's 41st year due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore Teen Camp, Boys Camp, Soccer Camp and Girls Camp all had to be held virtually for the first time.


To say anybody at the beginning of the year was prepared for this would be a stretch. Many churches struggled in March to transition into this new normal, so many may have wondered how camps would fare. After all, camp involves being on the camp grounds and being with one another all day.


However, the four camp sessions that were scheduled to be done virtually have successfully come and gone.


It has been a week since Soccer Camp has concluded, and in looking back, it is hard not to see the Lord's hand throughout the whole week.


After volunteering a week prior to take care of the day-to-day technological operations of Virtual Soccer Camp, Ezequiel Montes assembled a group from Bethany Chapel in Yonkers, NY to help with those tasks.


The group, later referred to as the Bethany Chapel Tech Team, consisted of Hazel Montes, Valentina Rojas, Ryan Jackson and John Jackson. They helped set up the Zoom calls, monitor/screen/record the

calls, put up videos and PowerPoints during the calls, edit and upload the music and message recordings to the Iroquoina's YouTube channel and write the daily blogs, among other things. 


Beyond the tech team was a large group of individuals who helped in different ways to make Virtual Soccer Camp 2020 a success.


Rob Sullivan, Diego Mendieta and Phil Walker shared messages through the power of the internet from their respective homes in New York, New Jersey and Indonesia. 


Dan Pennisi recorded multiple videos of John Jones and Mark Pennisi explaining and demonstrating different soccer tactics and skill training with a group of guys from camp. Lisa Agate did the same with her sons Robby, Max and Ethan. The virtual campers were shown these videos via Flidgrid and were encouraged to record themselves partaking in the different drills.


As for the music, pre-recorded videos were put together by Jeremy Good and the trio of Ben Brown, his wife Carrie and their friend Genesis. The different videos were played throughout the week at the beginning of each morning session, as well as during the Annual Sing-A-Long and Closing Program.


Kristin Van Lenten helped keep the virtual campers engaged through daily trivia games she put together and through instructions on DIY crafts she uploaded to the Camp Iroquoina craft website.


Tina Harkness kept Iroquoina's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts up-to-date despite being away for the week.


Harry Neil helped bring the excitement, energy and organization to the virtual camp experience. He was heavily involved in many aspects of the camp and dedicated a considerable amount of time in planning for the week, praying for the week and executing the plans for the week. 


Soccer Camp was blessed to have a multitude of other saints on staff that assisted with other areas of the camp experience, opened/closed the different sessions in prayer, led breakout room discussions and participated in staff meetings/devotionals.


Although Soccer Camp has now come and gone, we continue praying to the Lord for both the staffers and campers, as well as the seeds planted throughout the week!


STAY CONNECTED WITH US!


Subscribe to Camp Iroquoina's YouTube channel


Like Camp Iroquoina on Facebook


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Instagram


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Twitter


Check out Camp Iroquoina's website


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's craft site, with word searches and Bible verses


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's Flipgrid site for campers to share videos


Use these hashtags on social media:

#campiroquoina #iroqsoccercamp2020 #online

Friday, July 31, 2020

Virtual Soccer Camp Friday Session

Following four days of sessions and the annual sing-a-long, Camp Iroquoina's Virtual Soccer Camp wrapped up it's 2020 program on Friday.

MUSIC

The trio of Ben, Carrie and Genesis led in singing Counting Every Blessing, Lord I Need You and The Blessing. Jeremy Good led in singing How Deep the Father's Love For Us and This Is Amazing Grace.

Check out their recordings on our YouTube Channel here:

MESSAGE

Phil Walker was the main speaker on Friday. 

Phil mentioned that his passion is to get into God’s word. He spent time during his message reviewing various verses from during the week such as Psalm 42:5, Luke 7:46-48, Isaiah 40:31, Hebrews 11:1, Titus 2:11-14, Philippians 4:6-7 and Romans 12:1-2.

Phil challenged the campers to make the verse memorization throughout the week not merely a camp activity, but foundational truths that they could build upon in their lives.

Phil also shared the impact that Galatians 2:20 had on him in his life. Phil was a 23-year-old camp counselor at Iroquoina when he encountered this verse in a different way. He realized that this verse did not apply to him at the time. He knew he was not truly crucified with the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not live by faith in Jesus. He felt that he was shown his own hypocrisy through this verse. However, he wanted that to change. He wanted the verse to apply to him. He called on the Lord and truly surrendered his life to Christ. He said God’s message to him after becoming saved was: “This is MY word, get to know ME!!” 

Phil asked the campers “Who is Jesus to you” and if the campers had personally made the decision to trust in Him.

Check out Phil's message on our YouTube Channel here:

SOCCER TACTICS AND SKILL TRAINING

John Jones concluded the week of soccer tactics and skill training with a weekly review. In addition to wrapping everything up, he highlighted how the Lord is most important above all else. God has given us the ability to do all the things which we do in day-to-day life and all glory goes unto Him!

CRAFTS

The craft for Friday was the same as Thursday, which was a personalized water bottle. The difference about Friday's craft was that this water bottle would be made for a friend or family member as a way to share the love of the Lord Jesus Christ with him/her. Campers would obtain their own water bottle and fill out the Google form on the soccer camp craft website to receive a customized vinyl cutout that they would then place on their water bottle. 

VERSE OF THE DAY

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

CLOSING CEREMONY


The closing ceremony began with Ben, Carrie and Genesis singing Hallelujah What A Savior! (Broken Hallelujah) and Prince of Peace.

The ceremony continued with a game of Nearpod trivia game led by Kristin Van Lenten.

Jeremy Good followed by leading the camp in singing Open the Eyes of My Heart

After Jeremy’s song, Ezequiel Montes continued the program with a devotional based on Psalm 27. King David went through many trials and tribulations at different points throughout his life, but spoke in this psalm about not fearing, but rather praising the Lord because He is on his side. Ezequiel shared a personal account about a car accident he and his daughter Emely had experienced a few weeks prior, and despite a lot of damage, he too praised the Lord for sparing their lives.

After Ezequiel’s devotional, people began surprising Harry Neil by wishing him a happy early birthday through the chat box.

After the surprise, Hazel Montes shared a slideshow of highlighted screenshots from the week.

Harry followed by highlighting some campers’ accomplishments from throughout the week and rewarding them for the accomplishments. Everyone followed by singing Happy Birthday to Harry.

A video was then played of Terrill Road Bible Chapel performing Living Hope.

Harry closed the program with some words of thanks to all who made Iroquoina's Virtual Soccer Camp 2020 a reality!

STAY CONNECTED WITH US!

Subscribe to Camp Iroquoina's YouTube channel


Like Camp Iroquoina on Facebook


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Instagram


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Twitter


Check out Camp Iroquoina's website


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's craft site, with word searches and Bible verses


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's Flipgrid site for campers to share videos


Use these hashtags on social media:

#campiroquoina #iroqsoccercamp2020 #online

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Virtual Soccer Camp Thursday Session


WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING RECAP

After Wednesday’s main session in the morning, two more brief sessions were held at 12:30 p.m. and at 6 p.m. The first session started with a Nearpod trivia game led by Hazel Montes. Afterwards everyone was split up into breakout rooms to spend time with each other virtually. The session in the evening consisted of a hangout time together as one group, led by Harry Neil.

MUSIC

Jeremy Good led the singing with This Is Amazing Grace and an original song of his based upon Romans 12:1-2.

Check out his recording on our YouTube Channel here:

MESSAGE

Diego Mendieta was the main speaker again on Thursday. He continued with the topic of hope, which was a core topic in his previous two messages. He opened with 1 Peter 1:3 which reads, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," and elaborated upon the use of "hope" within the verse. The Greek term for “hope” in 1 Peter 1:3 means “an eager, confident expectation.” The hope of the believer is not only “living” but “lively.”

Diego discussed the woman at the well as recorded in John 4. The Lord Jesus Christ gave her the hope of the living water and revealed Himself as the long-awaited Messiah to her.

Diego also discussed the sinful woman from Luke 7 who humbly came to Jesus and washed His feet and poured an alabaster jar of perfume on His feet. He forgave her of her sins and told her to go in peace as her faith had made her well. Diego ended his message with Romans 15:13 which reads, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Check out Diego's message on our YouTube Channel here:

SOCCER TACTICS AND SKILL TRAINING

John Jones explained the drill of the day which combined different soccer techniques, skills and tactics. The group of players who demonstrated the drill formed a large circle and one player was in the middle of the circle. The players forming the circle had to keep passing to one another using any tactic they wanted to use. The goal of the player in the middle was to knock the ball out of the circle so they could join in place of who they knocked it out of the circle against. After the combo drill, the players started a game of wall ball.

CRAFTS

Hazel Montes discussed the craft for Thursday which was a personalized water bottle. The directions for the craft instructed each camper to use or buy their own water bottle. They would then fill out the Google form listed on the soccer camp craft website to request a customized vinyl cutout. Once filled out, they would later receive the cutout in the mail. All they would have to do when received is firmly place the decal on their bottle and remove the transfer paper.

VERSE OF THE DAY

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Titus 2:11-14

ANNUAL SING-A-LONG

The annual sing-a-long began with Jeremy Good leading everybody in singing God Is For Us. Ben and Carrie Brown and Genesis continued with Prince of Peace.

A skit conducted by the McShain family was shown, which portrayed a deaf man getting his hearing back from Jesus. That was followed by a couple more songs by Jeremy: How Deep The Father's Love and 10,000 Reasons.

Hazel continued by sharing her personal testimony of how she became saved by the grace of God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ben, Carrie and Genesis continued with Counting Every Blessing and My Lighthouse.

Chris Cates shared his personal testimony and how he became saved at Iroquoina's soccer camp. His son Isaac ended Chris' testimony video by playing piano.

A video of members from Terrill Road Bible Chapel singing Living Hope and How Great Thou Art was then played.

Ben, Carrie and Genesis continued with Hallelujah What A Savior! (Broken Hallelujah).

Ezequiel Montes then instructed campers to turn their cameras off and turn it back on during the playing of I Have Decided To Follow Jesus if they indeed had made the personal decision to follow Jesus.

Harry Neil ended the sing-a-long program with a few words and Will Neil closed in prayer.

STAY CONNECTED WITH US!

Subscribe to Camp Iroquoina's YouTube channel


Like Camp Iroquoina on Facebook


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Instagram


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Twitter


Check out Camp Iroquoina's website


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's craft site, with word searches and Bible verses


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's Flipgrid site for campers to share videos


Use these hashtags on social media:

#campiroquoina #iroqsoccercamp2020 #online

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Virtual Soccer Camp Wednesday Session

TUESDAY EVENING RECAP


After Tuesday's main session in the morning, one more session began at 6 p.m. and lasted a little over an hour. The session started with a Nearpod trivia game led by Kristin Van Lenten. Afterwards everyone was split up into breakout rooms to spend time with each other virtually.


MUSIC


Jeremy Good led the singing with Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord and Blessed Be Your Name.

Check out his recording on our YouTube Channel here:

MESSAGE


Diego Mendieta was the speaker again on Wednesday. Before Diego gave his message, Dirk Hinnenthal introduced himself, his family and their ministry in Uruguay. He also went over some World Cup soccer facts.


Diego's message began with a video about the leper healed by the Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in Matthew 8:1-4.


After discussing the healed leper, Diego played a video he recorded that discussed God's perfect design, the broken world we live in due to sin and how the Lord Jesus is the only answer in this broken world in which we live.


Diego continued by comparing the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-31, Matthew 19:16-30, Luke 18:18-30) to Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). The rich young ruler made the mistake of choosing his riches over Jesus, while Zacchaeus decided to make Jesus the focal point of his life instead of his riches.


Diego also spoke about the thief on the cross who declared Jesus as Lord in his final moments of life (Luke 23:39-43). The thief spent the earlier portion of his time on the cross insulting Jesus (Matthew 27:43-44), but went a completely different direction as his time on Earth dwindled. Jesus told the thief he would see him again that day in paradise, proving that salvation comes from trusting in Jesus and His work on the cross and is not the result of doing good deeds, being baptized or anything else we can do on our own.


Diego ended his message with Proverbs 23:18: "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."


Check out Diego's message on our YouTube Channel here:

SOCCER TACTICS AND SKILL TRAINING


John Jones and Mark Pennisi discussed a shooting drill which they had a group of guys from camp demonstrate. John mentioned how passing and shooting go hand-in-hand, as a shot is simply a pass in the net.

The drill involved players making a couple of passes before a teammate took a shot at a wall. John noted that the rule of shooting is "Inside the 18, pass it in. Outside the 18, blast it in."


Lisa Agate discussed two shooting drills that her sons Robby, Max and Ethan demonstrated.


The first drill was a team power-finesse drill that involved a player in a coach position feeding balls to players on two lines which are far out from the net. They would take a long-distance power shot to the net and then a short-distance finesse shot. Another player would act as the goalie inside the net. When done by an entire team, the drill would be a competitive one between the two lines of players. Whoever misses both shots gets eliminated and whichever line scores the most goals would win.


The second drill was another team shooting drill that separated players into two teams. The first team would run past a line of cones before taking a shot on net. The second team would act as the goalkeepers. After the wave of shooting and defending is finished, the teams would switch roles. The team with the most points in the end would be the winners.


CRAFTS


Hazel Montes discussed the craft for Wednesday which was fluffy slime. The slime could be made using Elmer’s Glue, baking soda, acrylic paint, shaving cream and contact lens solution. The campers would mix together the glue and baking soda in a bowl before adding around a teaspoon of acrylic paint. They would then add about three cups of shaving cream and stir it in well. After the shaving cream, they would add two tablespoons of contact lens solution and stir to get their final product.


VERSE OF THE DAY


Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.


Hebrews 11:1

STAY CONNECTED WITH US!

Subscribe to Camp Iroquoina's YouTube channel


Like Camp Iroquoina on Facebook


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Instagram


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Twitter


Check out Camp Iroquoina's website


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's craft site, with word searches and Bible verses


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's Flipgrid site for campers to share videos


Use these hashtags on social media:

#campiroquoina #iroqsoccercamp2020 #online

Virtual Soccer Camp Tuesday Session

MONDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING RECAP


After Monday’s main session in the morning, two more brief sessions began at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. In both sessions, Kristin Van Lenten led a game of Nearpod trivia and Ezequiel Montes followed up by explaining how breakout group rooms work before everyone broke out into separate rooms based on their ages.


MUSIC


Ben and Carrie Brown, along with their friend Genesis, led the singing with Prince of Peace and Counting Every Blessing.


Check out their recording on our YouTube Channel here:

MESSAGE


Diego Mendieta shared his testimony in a message he entitled “Our Living Hope in Jesus.” As Diego grew up, he had no interest in spiritual things and switched between being an atheist and an agnostic. While on a trip to Bolivia, his father became saved and when he returned, the Mendieta family began attending Fifth Avenue Chapel in Belmar, New Jersey. Diego noticed a very positive change that took place within his family after becoming saved, but he still did not pursue a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Diego’s family wanted to send him to a soccer camp at Kutztown University and he really wanted to go to get away from his family. However, he did not know of the camp’s connection to the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) until after he arrived. Although initially dissatisfied with the camp’s connection to Christianity, Diego later surrendered his life to Christ at that camp.


Check out Diego's message on our YouTube Channel here:

SOCCER TACTICS AND SKILL TRAINING


John Jones discussed a passing drill which Mark Pennisi then demonstrated alongside a group of guys from camp. The drill involved two teammates passing the ball back and forth through a pylon by using the inside of the left or right foot. Once comfortable, Mark explained the next level of the drill which involved two touch-passes in between each pylon and switching which foot to pass with after a few consecutive passes. 


John and Mark then explained the next drill which was the “Star Drill.” This involved a group of teammates moving around in a star-like formation and passing with the inside of their foot to each other while simultaneously communicating their passing with each other.


John’s final words included the golden rule of passing which is: “Pass unto others as you would have them pass unto you.”


Lisa Agate discussed two passing drills that her sons Robby, Max and Ethan demonstrated. The first drill involved players passing to one another and moving around in a square. A potential fourth player would act as the defender in the middle of the square. 


The second drill involved three players lining up in a straight line and switching between long and short passes to each other. After a while Lisa told them to switch from two-touch passes to one-touch passes.


CRAFTS


Kristin discussed the craft for Tuesday which was a choice of salt painting and/or rainbow pudding popsicles. For the salt painting, the campers were instructed to get a design in mind, draw or trace it with glue, sprinkle with salt, let it dry and then paint. For the rainbow pudding popsicles the campers were instructed to make the pudding, add the colors in layers and then freeze.


VERSE OF THE DAY


but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.


Isaiah 40:31


STAY CONNECTED WITH US!

Subscribe to Camp Iroquoina's YouTube channel


Like Camp Iroquoina on Facebook


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Instagram


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Twitter


Check out Camp Iroquoina's website


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's craft site, with word searches and Bible verses


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's Flipgrid site for campers to share videos


Use these hashtags on social media:

#campiroquoina #iroqsoccercamp2020 #online

Monday, July 27, 2020

Virtual Soccer Camp Monday Session

Iroquoina's Soccer Camp kicked off for its first virtual session on Monday morning.


Music


Ben and Carrie Brown, along with their friend Genesis, led the singing with My Lighthouse and Hallelujah What A Savior! (Broken Hallelujah).

Check out their recording on our YouTube Channel here:


Message


Rob Sullivan gave the message with a focus on the Lord Jesus calming the storm while on the boat with His disciples (Mark 4:35-41). Jesus' disciples made two mistakes while on the boat. The first mistake they made was that they thought they needed to wake Jesus up to bring to His attention to what was happening. The second was thinking it was possible that the Lord did not care about them or that they might perish in the storm. However, they did do something right: They turned to the only one who could save them!

Check out Rob's message on our YouTube Channel here:

Soccer Tactics and Skill Training

 

David Henien conducted two dribbling drills. The first was dribbling around a straight line of cones and the second was dribbling around cones that were randomly scattered. 

John Jones and Mark Pennisi discussed and demonstrated the art of dribbling. They showed some inside-of-the-foot dribbling while keeping their heads straight. They then followed that up by showing some controlled speed dribbling.

Lisa Agate discussed a combo drill that involved sprinting, dribbling, defending and shooting, while her sons Robby, Max and Ethan demonstrated the drill.


Crafts


Kristin Van Lenten introduced the Soccer Camp Craft Hut website. The craft for Monday was rock art. The campers were instructed to find the perfect rock, get their design in mind and get creative. They were also instructed to share their work on Camp Iroquoina's Flipgrid page.


Verse of the Day


Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.

Psalm 42:5

STAY CONNECTED WITH US!

Subscribe to Camp Iroquoina's YouTube channel


Like Camp Iroquoina on Facebook


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Instagram


Follow Camp Iroquoina on Twitter


Check out Camp Iroquoina's website


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's craft site, with word searches and Bible verses


Check out Virtual Soccer Camp 2020's Flipgrid site for campers to share videos


Use these hashtags on social media:

#campiroquoina #iroqsoccercamp2020 #online