REDO-Camping

[accordion_group][accordion title=”Set Up…”]You probably want to get your camp site set up as soon as possible, and for sure, you will want a place to sleep, so get busy and get those tents up.

At the gate you will receive some materials and will be directed to your camping area. Please pay close attention to all the people that will escort you to your camp site. They have been waiting for you, and they are ready and willing to help! When you arrive at you camp site, take a few minutes to stretch, then HAVE A PLAN!

Take a look at your given plot and have your leaders decide where everything will be placed and then go about your unpacking and set up of camp! If you thought ahead, you may want to offer everyone a little snack when you arrive; food works wonders on tired bodies. As much as possible, try to keep your young people busy so they feel like they are a part of the adventure, plus there are always people to meet![/accordion][accordion title=”Who’s In Charge, Camp Rules, Sign-Out Sheets, etc…”]Once your campsite is set up, don’t waste any time before you establish the rules you have already ‘gone over’ with all the people in your group. Reinforce that rules are good. You may want to have some kind of establishment of hierarchy within your campsite. Once again, you are camping with hundreds possibly thousands and a whole small city has just sprung up around you, you need to have order for the safety and protection of everyone. Someone may wander away from camp, and no one knows where they are. If you have established a hierarchy of who is in charge and who you report to, you won’t have a 16 year old telling a 6 year old that they are headed off to take a shower, they will know they need to report to someone older. Order is established and panic is prevented! At your campsite you may want to have a ‘sign out’ sheet to indicate where everyone is going and when they will return. You could hang the sign out sheet on a clipboard, and it will help to keep everyone in the loop. It’s also good to keep tabs on everyone in the stage area. It may be necessary to send at least one adult with children and young people, if they have to leave for any reason or if they want to be in the front of the arena during a huge crowd at night. Didn’t your Mom say, you can never be too careful?

Some groups may choose to have one adult at their camp site at all times, even during meetings and stage times. Your campsite will be protected and your group will also have a place to gather or meet that is a safe haven and point of contact. Have you ever tried to find someone in a crowd of hundreds, thousands? It’s next to impossible![/accordion][accordion title=”Devotions At Your Campsite…”]During the Festival, a great suggestion is to establish a time of devotions each morning that is in agreement with everyone at your campsite. It gives the leaders a chance to regroup, and pray for God’s blessing as well as share His word to start the day. We do encourage groups to take advantage of the times of worship in the area each day, if they possibly can. Remember how important it is to prepare our hearts for God’s word with worship. When you arrive, you will be given a program and each time of service, music etc. is notated in the program. The program is a good tool to use at your devotions in the morning, as it may help your group members decide where they want to go each day and you can encourage them to try to attend speakers, worship and the bands! The devotional time is also a great time to reinforce your ‘camp rules’. Al- ways send your group off to their day HAPPY! Let the joy of the Lord fill your campsite![/accordion][accordion title=”Campsite Schedule…”]Obviously, each camp site is going to have a different way of doing things, but may we suggest a bit of schedule, that will establish your camp sites order. You may want to make a printed sheet before you come, that has the schedule clearly printed on it, but you may not be able to do so, so bring markers, paper and clipboards or a bulletin board to enable you to keep things in order. You can also use the bulletin board for your sign out sheet, campsite menu, campsite schedule, a list of the Festivals activities, and a list of chores (who, does, what, when).[/accordion][accordion title=”Speaking of Bathrooms and Showers…”]On the Festival grounds, showers and portable toilets have been provided for you. The best policy is, that if you dislike going into a nasty bathroom, you should not be part of contributing to it. A good rule concerning bathroom cleanliness is: leave it like you found it, or make it better. As in any public camping shower facility we encourage you to wear flip flops or some other water shoes into the showers for sanitary sake. Our crews work hard and do their best to maintain and keep up with sanitation through out the day. Do your part for the one after you and every one will be happy! Try to remember to take everything with you when you leave the showers, may we suggest the bucket method used in college? Carry all your stuff in a bucket or bin and it’s easier to keep together! Try to remember, YOU ARE CAMPING!!!!

Did we mention that you may have to stand in line? Please be patient, meet someone new while you are waiting. Before you know it, it will be your turn.
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