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!
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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
