July 31, 2003
Hye Camp visit by Primate - July 31
Our fourth full day at Hye Camp offered quite a tremendous treat. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian arrived in the evening, and the campers performed a number of vocal pieces they had prepared for his visit. Srpazan's short evening schedule included time to meet with the campers after the performance, as well as time to meet with the many clergy in attendance as volunteers at Hye Camp. Everyone, young and old, have a sense of excitement when they begin to think about how special it will be when Srpazan celebrates the soorp badarak tomorrow morning.
On this Thursday morning, Fr. Tavit was the celebrating priest for morning worship. Fr. Tavit expounded on his sermon from Wednesday morning, providing more thoughts and feelings on the concept of forgiveness and being forgiven. He used another personal story to tie in how forgiveness, and also searched for personal experience from the campers. After the short morning service, the normal daily class schedule went into effect.
In religion class, Fr. Mardiros let the campers provide the lesson plan. Instead of presenting material to campers, he allowed campers to ask him questions about anything they'd learned and anything they hadn't learned but wanted to know. Topics ranging from the making of Holy Muron to Fr. Mardiros' favorite movies were discussed. In arts and crafts, all campers were given their Hye Camp t-shirt and they spent the class decorating them with colorful paint pens. A Hye Camp t-shirt was also decorated for Srpazan, and all the campers put their names on it. In culture class, Sark Tatosian, owner of Oscar Isberian Rugs, brought Armenian rugs and rug making tools, showed campers how to identify different stitching techniques. Campers got to color in their own rugs on papers already formatted with different styles of rugs.
Lunch brought the announcement of the third special competition of the week. Tuesday, there was the Beat the Deacon Long-ball Contest, Wednesday was the Lisa Mardigian Shootout, and today came the announcement of a contest simply called Score on the Coach. John Chiodo, sports director at Hye Camp, played goalie while any camper up for a challenge was given one shot at kicking a soccer ball past him for a goal. The competition took place during the sports classes in the afternoon and, of course, prizes were up for grabs. In the end a handful of future soccer stars, mainly from the older groups, did score on Coach John.
Instead of dinner signifying that the day was beginning to wind down, on this special day the fun was only starting. Heated competition in a number of events was imminent as semi-final and final games were on schedule in softball, basketball and volleyball. After an excited dinner, all the Olympics teams met on the sports fields and the competition range fierce. Basketball and softball semi-final games were played, and then in the marquee event of the evening, Team Hye Fever dug, set and spiked their way to a volleyball championship game win. This display of athletic prowess does not bode well for the other teams in the field as Team Hye Fever is also in the basketball and ultimate Frisbee finals and will be competing for a spot in the softball finals.
Following the athletic competition, everyone gathered in the mess hall to greet Srpazan with a vocal concert, and then campers headed off to their cabins with the counselors-in-training, who would be filling in for the counselors because tonight was the much anticipated counselors night out. An evening of bowling and fellowship provided a much deserved reward after all the hard work the counselors of Hye Camp have put into making this such a fun and memorable week for all of the campers. As the evening came to a close, and the last full day of Hye Camp 2003 just around the corner, friends began to reflect on the fun they'd had, the new friendships they'd made, and the special Badarak Friday morning being celebrated by Srpazan.
July 30, 2003
Forgive others and ask for forgiveness
With a longing for days past and a yearning for days upcoming, Hye Camp took stock of its goals and accomplishments on Wednesday, July 30, the halfway point of the 2003 session.
Once again, the main routine was in effect, including a laundry list of planned items, as well as the unexpected surprises around every corner. For campers, the first surprise came just after breakfast. With Fr. Yeprem's departure from camp, the morning service gained a new priest: Fr. Tavit Boyajian (pastor of Sts. Joachim and Anne Church of Palos Heights, IL). Like Fr. Yeprem, Fr. Tavit provided a very engaging sermon that appealed to everyone.
After two days of thoughts about love, caring and compassion, Fr. Tavit changed paths and expressed the idea of forgiveness. The gospel reading was from the famous passage John 3:16, which speaks of God's sacrifice of his only son. It was explained that the offering of Jesus provides us with the ability to pray for and ask for forgiveness, and the reason why God continually forgives. Not only were the campers encouraged to turn to God for forgiveness of their sins, but they were also taught the importance of forgiveness towards each other.
Fr. Tavit concluded his remarks by reminding everyone that God wants us to forgive others as well as ask for forgiveness.
Following the worship service, the daily class rotation began. Campers in arts and crafts spent time making beaded necklaces and bracelets. Religion class examined the faith of the Karabagh freedom fighters through a movie and discussion.
Lunch provided the perfect environment for fun and fellowship, yet the two main conversation topics remained the camp Olympics and whether the rain would hold off long enough for the campers to get in all the events planned for Wednesday evening.
During the first sports rotation of the afternoon, the first annual Lisa Mardigian Shootout Challenge took place. After shooting through the designated spots around the basket, Lisa set a mark to beat of seven points. Though a daunting task to match, six boys and a girl managed to win prizes by scoring more points than Lisa. The rain held off until almost the end of the first afternoon rotation, however when it began to drizzle, the pool was closed down, and another kink in the schedule was introduced.
The would-be swimmers from the second half of the rotation were treated to an impromptu singing-along with Maestro Khoren, along with a handful of other rainy-day activities. The rain never exceeded much of a drizzle, which provided hope that the evening was not lost just yet.
Before anyone could get too down over the rain, a pickup truck came driving up the camp road, parked in front of the main lodge and mess hall, and unloaded a large charcoal grill. What went onto the grill was quite the site for sore eyes. Skewer after skewer after skewer of shish kebabs lined the grill, and the smell of pilaf wafted out of the kitchen, just in case there was any doubt why it tastes so good to be an Armenian.
The special guest grillers of the evening, Haig Pedian Jr. and Michael Kazarian, did a great job feeding every single hungry mouth. Also deserving of special mention is John Paklaian, who so kindly skewered up and marinated enough kebabs to last a long time. Without those three men, our dinner would not have been nearly as successful.
One other very special thanks is in order for Rev. Fred Parker, Director and Administrator of Camp Hickory -- the location of Hye Camp -- who has not only accepted Hye Camp with wide open arms, he also felt comfortable enough around our campers to lead the closing prayer.
Dinner came and went much too slow, as all eyes remained focused on the heavens, until finally the evening Olympics schedule was announced and the games began for the third day. The events scheduled for Wednesday evening were ultimate Frisbee, 3-on-3 basketball, and softball. In ultimate Frisbee, the evening's two contests determined the two finalists, while basketball and softball played only opening round games.
Following the evening Olympics competition came a surprise. Even though the evening activity had originally called for the building of a large bonfire, campers and staff found a bee infestation near the fire location, so the fire had to be cancelled. This left the seemingly daunting task of coming up with instant activities for the whole camp. The eventual solution provided each camper with a choice: watch a movie or play in the game room.
The majority of campers, most especially the younger age groups, decided to sit back and relax in front of the movie, while a small minority chose the more socially active route. As the end of the day drew near, the signs of fatigue began to show on the faces of most campers, and with the next few days being very busy with classes and Olympics, the prospect of lying in bed and falling asleep became an option too good to pass up.
July 29, 2003
“…the greatest of these is love.”
Our second full day at Hye Camp, Tuesday July 29, 2003, was a typical Hye Camp day: Schedules to follow, appointments to keep, food, fun, fellowship, and a couple of surprises in store.
The staff provided yet another wonderful breakfast to start the day on the right foot. By 8:30 a.m. the collection of campers had moved from the dining hall to the chapel for the morning worship. Fr. Yeprem once again led our worship service. And, as we've come to expect of him, he provided another gospel reading that campers and counselors alike could relate to.
This morning's topic offered thoughts on the power of love in the Christian faith. Quoting from 1 Corinthians 13:13, everyone recited out loud the verse "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
For the second day in a row, Fr. Yeprem's sermon contained a challenge to the campers. On Monday campers were inspired to perform acts of caring and compassion towards each other, and today the campers left the morning service with the impetus to perform loving acts towards one another. As Fr. Yeprem would later find out, there is no end to the love and compassion the campers express towards each other.
Following the morning service, the camp went through the first division of the day and the class rotation began. The arts and crafts classes had spent the first day creating crosses and pins illustrating the meaning of the colors of the cross. Today's classes wrote postcards home. Campers also decorated beach balls and created bead necklaces, both to serve as memorabilia for this unforgettable 2003 session.
Campers in the arts and craft class were also presented with a special challenge. Each camper was given a sticker containing a Bible passage reference. They had to look up the passage in their free time, summarize it in their own words, and report back in the evening with what they read. The overwhelming response to this voluntary activity was impressive.
The culture class, after spending the first day teaching tavloo, embarked on dance lessons, featuring all of the classic and popular line dances. Religion class varies by age, however a sampling from the oldest group included a discussion as well as some exercises on Acts 2:1-47.
The afternoon sports sessions were structured to provide campers with a chance to practice many of the events they would be participating in during the week-long Olympic competition. After a nice relaxing swim and a bit of free time to clean up, the campers realigned and sat down for dinner. Dinner was filled with anticipation over the upcoming volleyball, ping-pong, and tavloo semi-finals, as well as the opening rounds of ultimate frisbee.
Following the athletic competition came the big surprise of the day, the return of Maestro Khoren for yet another year. Maestro Khoren led campers through a blend of upbeat folk songs as well as instructing them on the finer points of singing the more common songs of the Soorp Badarak. Maestro Khoren's singing provided the perfect lead-in to the evening worship service.
It was back in the chapel that Fr. Yeprem asked for camper encounters of extraordinary acts of love towards one another, and for the second day in a row he didn’t have enough crosses to pass out to everyone that reported back to him.
July 28, 2003
First full day of Hye Camp
Monday marked the first full day of the 2003 session of Hye Camp. Campers were introduced to the daily schedule that they would be following for the rest of the week and many counselors began executing their unique tasks involving the different classes being offered throughout the day.
After a hearty breakfast, Fr. Yeprem Kelegian led the morning worship service. The highlight of the service was the reading of the gospel, Fr. Yeprem's favorite passage, John 15:16. The passage speaks to the ideas of love and compassion for one another, and Fr. Yeprem took the opportunity to challenge each camper to perform an act of caring and compassion towards one of their fellow campers during the day, and report back to him in the evening worship service.
After chapel, four groups of campers, separated by age, spent the morning rotating through four different classes. The morning classes consist of a religion class taught by a priest, a culture class, an arts and crafts class, and an open period.
After classes the campers gather for lunch, before spending the afternoon split up into two groups, again based on age. During the afternoon, campers rotate between outdoor organized athletic activity and time in the swimming pool. After dinner, the evenings are spent in a number of entertaining activities for the whole camp.
The Camp Olympics are a very popular and eagerly anticipated fixture and demand a lot of time and attention from both campers and counselors. Other evening activities include magicians, campfires, singing, and cabin skits. The last group activity is always the evening worship service.
It was during today's evening worship that Fr. Yeprem heard the fruits of his earlier challenge to the campers. With a chapel full of children eager to share their daily experience, Fr. Yeprem was treated to stories of sharing, of kind hearted assistance to fellow campers, and of campers looking out for one another and always being there for each other.
One camper, who was signed up for multiple Olympic events, gave up one of her events so that another girl who had not been able to find as many events that suited her interests was able to participate as happily as everyone else. Another camper spent her time in her culture class teaching a friend how to play tavloo. Instead of taking advantage of her friends novice talent and beating her soundly, she not only showed her friends the best moves and why they were the best moves, she even conceded a fair defeat that helped the beginner gain much needed confidence. A third camper was feeling like the fifth wheel of her Olympic volleyball team until three of her friends made the extra effort to encouraging her and making her feel a part of the team.
Finally, Fr. Yeprem heard the story of a young camper who wanted to write home but forgot all of her stationary. All of her cabin mates immediately offered up any and all supplies necessary to send a loving letter home to let this girl's parents know what a wonderful time she was having.
After the heartwarming evening service, the night began to wind down. At 10:30 campers headed back to their cabins. By midnight, every cabin had turned its lights out, giving campers a chance to rest and dream about another great day at Hye Camp.
July 27, 2003
Hye Camp - Sunday, July 27, 2003
Counselors arrived a day early on Saturday to begin the preparations for Hye Camp 2003 under the leadership of Dn. Aren Jebejian, deacon-in-charge at St. Gregory Church of Chicago, IL, and director of Hye Camp.
This is the second year Hye Camp is located at Camp Hickory in Ingleside, IL. After the work was done for the night, the counselors enjoyed a nice dinner out to celebrate the birthday of Martha Mekaelian. On Sunday morning, the counselors began their day with a worship service to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration.
Eager campers began to arrive by the carload in the afternoon. This year, families enjoyed spending a fun-filled day at Hye Camp's first "Open House", which welcomed past, present, and future campers. Once the 125 campers and 40 counselors and staff arrived, everyone gathered for a Hokehankiest service to honor the memory of longtime camp leader Fr. Haroutiun Dagley. During the service Dn. Aren dedicated the chapel in his memory by naming it the Haroutiun Chapel. Campers were so moved they stood and shared their heartfelt moments with their former camp director.
After the service, everyone was invited for a barbecue and welcoming ceremony to introduce board and staff members. Then the time came to for families to say their goodbyes. After bacheegs and patooks, families drove away and camp began. Campers then had an opportunity to get settled in their cabins and meet their roommates and counselors.
The fun followed with a magic show for the campers while the staff met to discuss the happenings of the upcoming week. The night winded down after a successful opening day.
July 19, 2003
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Well, on Saturday, for a change, we got to sleep in, which was a nice treat for all of us. We started our late day by going to breakfast than to chapel. We had a short closing ceremony for those children who were leaving after the first week of the second session.
As our afternoon activity, we all headed into town to shop and hang out with our friends. When we arrived back at camp we had free time until dinner. After dinner we as a camp played blanket volleyball, which was really fun. At the end, the staff decided to join in and try to beat the CITs.
Sincerely Yours
Christina's Group (the oldest teen girls)
July 18, 2003
Friday, July 18, 2003
Hey journal,
Friday we had the staff verses campers basketball game. Of course the campers prevailed 42 to 38, even though Hiak Amroyan wouldn't admit defeat. We guys played wicked hot. The girls then showed off their amazing Armenian dance moves. We had a great time.
Later,
Harout's group (the oldest guys)
July 17, 2003
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Dear Diary,
We just got back from the talent show, which was a blast. Once again, Greg blew everyone away with his remake of piano man. Our group exhibited our newly formed clothing line of Vartan Wear to the campers. We showed them outfits for swimming, sports, CIT Hunting, bedtime, and chapel. It was a whole lot of fun showing the camp that the junior boys sure had style.
Aside from Vartan Wear, we starred in remakes of The Last Supper, Prodigal Son, and Daniel and the Lions. Raffi, our counselor, surprised us all by playing Der voghormya on his viola. Who knew such a big guy could play such a little fiddle! All in all, the show was filled with a number of performances, talents, and skits -- enough that we had lights out extended an extra half hour. Yipee!!
The Star Junior Boys
July 16, 2003
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Dear Diary,
Today, because of rain, we canceled our pool plans and played extra sports in the gym. Since today was hero day, we had Hero sandwiches for dinner along with awesome watermelon slices. After dinner we had a little kef music on the patio. Harout and Arthur played some Armenian music, so we could all dance. It was so much fun!
Sincerley,
Noel's girls (the youngest girls)
July 15, 2003
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Dear Diary,
Today, as usual, we started our day with a morning full of classes. In our heritage class, Ani Gulbank, our instructor, taught us the Armenian language and common phrases, which were fun to learn. After our classes, the whole camp headed off to the pool to swim and hang out with our friends. Some campers decided to play volleyball, while others played basketball. Meanwhile, many campers stayed in the pool and decided to play football. After our time at the pool, we headed back to camp to play sports with Harout. After dinner, the whole camp got together to sing with Maestro.
Sincerely yours,
Christina's Group (the oldest teen girls)
July 14, 2003
Monday, July 14, 2003
Dear Diary,
Today marked the first full day of St. Vartan Camp's Session B. The group this year is by far the coolest yet! It i almost like the times just seem to get better every single year. Most of us are Vartan veterans, but there are a few in our group that are rookies. We are all here for the same reason, to have fun.
This year there is a new addition added into our class program, dramatic studies. This class is taught by our counselor, Harout. He is the coolest and yes we are all kissing up to him because we want a pizza party tonight. :) By the way, did you know he is a professional actor? Well, I guess we should get going now, we're always more punctual than the girls, and we want to keep it that way! Talk to you soon!
Peace,
Harout's Group (the oldest teen guys)
July 13, 2003
Sunday, July 13, 2003
Dear Diary,
My name is Harout Yerganian. I am one of the counselors here at St. Vartan Camp. After personally witnessing the entire group of campers from Session A leaving and a whole new group here for Session B in the course of a day and a half, I am completely speechless. The energy, hard work, effort, and team work that the staff and the entire Diocese spends for these campers is amazing! Every single person from a first year counselor-in-training all the way up to the Primate himself spends their own time and money to keep the traditions and spirit of St. Vartan Camp alive.
The campers are extremely fortunate to be a part of this wonderful family. In my eyes it is also a great way for these kids to become more knowledgeable and active of what is going on at their own parishes. Diary, I am really glad that nine years ago I started something that I never want to finish. An addiction that will live in me for the rest of my life. This wonderful addiction is St. Vartan Camp.
Signed with Love,
Harout Yerganian
St. Sarkis Parish Dallas, TX
July 11, 2003
A Farewell
Dear Diary,
Tonight is the big farewell dance! We are all so excited! Dances at St. Vartan Camp are so much fun. Nick Terkanian is the DJ tonight and he is so cool. He plays a lot of cool odar music, but even more awesome Armenian dance music. We are sad to say that our session of camp is coming to an end already. It seems like just yesterday we were unpacking and kicking our parents out of our rooms so we could all hang out and be our own family again. Camp rocked this year and it was the last year for some of us as campers too. Some of us are going to be CIT's next year. But no matter what the future brings us, we will always have St. Vartan Camp 2003.
With everlasting camp spirit,
Lori Odabashian's group (Teen girls)
Dearest Diary,
This is the last time we will be writing you as session A campers from the year 2003. It has been an amazing two weeks! Not all of us got to stay but the ones that did, realized that camp truly gets better the second week.
The memories created will live in our minds and our hearts for years to come. Then before we know it, we will be sending our children off to camp.
St. Vartan Camp isn't just a place for us to hang out for a couple of weeks in the summertime, camp is a place, both physical and spiritual, where we all live and learn together as a group about life lessons, friendships, and God. We all hope to see you at Camp next year, maybe at our own camp home.
Signed,
St. Vartan Camp
July 10, 2003
July 07, 2003
Jam Session
Dear Diary,
Today during free time, we had a jam session in Nick Birdman's room. While Mike Giv was playing his snare drum, Birdman was on his practice pad. Kiki was playing Raffi's Dumbeg and Peter was playing on Mike's practice pad. Everyone made their own beats and it was jammin'! When Krikor was playing he noticed his nails were painted blue. Thats when everyone else came to the same realization. It was really funny, but we can't wait to get the girls back in the spirit of camp fun!
Raffi Gulbank's group (14- to 15-year-old boys)
July 06, 2003
Badarak and a Picnic
Dear Diary:
Today we finally got to sleep in late! We had badarak at 9:30, followed by breakfast. During the service, Tina, Alana, Danielle, Talar, and Erika sang in the choir along with a whole bunch of juniors.
After breakfast we had time to get ourselves ready for the church picnic, which we had near the gym. At the picnic we listened to music, danced, and played games. Harout was grilling hotdogs and hamburgers, and of course had an exciting time with the super soaker water guns. It was a nice cool down in the heat.
The very last thing we did at the picnic was head to the field behind the gym where we were told we were going to play a game. The counselors said they were going to get tennis balls, but before we knew it, we became the targets of flying water balloons! It was wet, but very fun.
After dinner we had the opportunity to sign up to play in the campers versus staff volleyball game. The first team of campers played against the CITs and won. Then, after getting the ball stuck in the rafters three times, the second group of campers played against the counselors and staff and were defeated. As you can imagine, we are all very exhausted and now it is time for lights out. Good Night!
Talk to you tomorrow,
Nadine Zakian's group (12- to 14-year-old girls)
July 05, 2003
Ice Cream and Movie
Dear Diary,
We campers woke up on Saturday and knew it was going to be a fun day. Today we went to town. After breakfast, we took a camp photo and got ready to go to town. Since it was a hot day, the ice cream shop was filled. All the CIT's and a few counselors pigged out on a huge bowl of ice cream.
When we returned to camp, we watched a really cool movie, called "The Sandlot". After the movie, everyone was really tired so we all went to sleep so we would have enough energy tomorrow.
Gary Mardiros' Group (11- to 12-year-old boys)
July 04, 2003
Independence Day Party
Dear Diary,
Today we celebrated Independence Day. We started off with classes in the morning. In the afternoon, the whole camp headed to the pool to swim the afternoon away, which was good because of the extremely hot weather. We played this game in the water called keep away. Some of us decided to play volleyball with a huge beach ball. When we got back we were all excited about the dance! We danced the night away with Ricky and Chris as great DJs. Some campers decided to sit out on the patio and just play games, but in general we all had an awesome day.
TTYL,
Christina Davootian's Group (11- to 12-year-old girls)
July 03, 2003
The Talent Show
Dear Diary,
Tonight is the night everyone gets hyped for: The St. Vartan Camp Talent Show. You see everyone's talents shine and see things from people that you wouldn't ever guess. The host of the show was Haig Hovnanian, who has been the host forever and who we all know was born a comedian. Each group went up and performed something.
As a group we all think that the youngest girls were the best! They did a " Fashion Show", but I can't explain why it was so funny. I guess you had to have been there. Maybe you can be next year! Well it is almost time for bed and since tomorrow is the dance we really need our rest tonight!
Have Fun,
Lorie Odabashian's Group (the oldest teen girls)
July 02, 2003
Christians and Romans
Dear Diary,
Today we played Matt-ball at sports and the boys lost to the girls. Later on we went to class and learned how to make bracelets in our arts and crafts class. We also learned some new words in our heritage studies.
Our evening program tonight was a game called Christians and Romans. The Christians tried to get to "the light," which was a lantern that symbolized Heaven. The Romans were tagging Christians and putting them into jail for their beliefs. The only way out of jail was to talk to the prison guards and prove to them with either a personal or Biblical story that God exists. It was a cool game and we really enjoyed it. Haig is a great counselor, and Ricky is a fun CIT.
Later,
Haig Hovnanian's group (12- to 13-year-old boys)
July 01, 2003
First Campfire
Dear Diary,
Tuesday was filled with the usual camp activities, and two special evening activities, the Counselors-in-training (CIT) Squares Game and the very first campfire.
The CITs came up with this really cool game called CIT Squares, which was like the TV show Hollywood Squares. The CITs were the squares, and we all broke into teams. All of the questions had to do with camp. Some of them were wicked hard, but most of them were really funny!
After the game, we went straight to campfire. We told lots of funny jokes. All of the juniors were together and it was so cool! Lots of us got to tell stories and riddles, and in the end we played a game called Rain, where we all sat around the fire and made sounds with our hands that sounded like rain. It was so cool! Can't wait until tomorrow -- because it's Hero Day!
Patyl Oflazian's Group (9- to 11-year-old girls)