Campers jump on a bus on the Friday night, pick up our gear then head to camp Wandiligong to get to know each other, have fun, rest and prepare for the full day ahead of them.  

Saturday sees the campers rise early and head to Mount Hotham where we have a full day in the snow either skiing, tobogganing, snow boarding, snow fighting or downing lots of hot chocolates.

Sunday we have a slow(ish) start to the day before we start heading home via Beechworth for lunch and lolly shopping…

It’s a non-stop fun filled weekend, if you’re up for the snow we’d love to have you along!

Pricing Structure: 

People can join us for the weekend and choose between ski, snowboard, toboggan or just snow fighting.

The Trip cost includes transport, food, accommodation, administration, etc.   

The Ski lift ticket includes a full days access to the ski lifts and one lesson at Mount Hotham. 

If campers don’t want to ski or snow board they must tell us on their registration and will only need to pay the trip amount (you can still toboggan if you do not pay the ski pass).

Pay the complete amount with your registration, if you do have issues with funding the trip please do contact us.

• Student (up to and inclusive of year 12 only) Ski Lift Ticket and Trip - $175
• Student (up to and inclusive of year 12 only) Trip only - $120
• Adult Ski Lift Ticket and Trip - $190
• Adult Trip only - $120

• Snow Camper Registration Form 2008 (pdf file, click to download)
• Snow Camp 2008 Publicity Brochure (pdf file, click to download)

Review:

This has got to be one of my favourite books by Colin Thompson, author of books like Castles, The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley as well as many others that we’ve added to the growing list of picture books here.

This is a story of love, of not really knowing love when it’s under our nose, or even our feet, it’s a story of longing for love, for having hope that one day, the love you have for others would be shared with you.

Kevin, the family dog loves his owner Brian so much that he believes that he is God, and while the rest of the family take him for walks, feed him and care for him his love for Brian can never be compared to his feelings for the others.

Brian, on the other hand doesn’t even seem to even know that Kevin exists, occasionally stepping on him, not allowing him upstairs, forgetting to feed him and making him sleep outside at night.

One day however Brian becomes really ill, so ill that his wife needs to stay away from work in order to care for him and Kevin sits patiently waiting, hoping that Brian will be well. As Brian recovers he begins to recognise the love that Kevin shares for him, and, over time we, like Brian are invited to open up our eyes to the love that has always been there for us that we might have previously been blind too…

How often do you tell people that you love them?

Book Details:

Author: Colin Thompson
ISBN: 9781741690873
ISBN-10: 1741690870
Publisher: Scholastic
Date Published: 28/05/2008
Format: Hardback Book
Pages: 32
Language: English

The reflection asks some questions about the parable reading of the two houses built on rock and sand. Here are some more resources that you might find useful:

Readings:

Genesis 6:9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19 - link to NRSV text
or Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28 - link to NRSV text

Psalm 46 - Link to NRSV text
or Psalm 31:1-5, 19-24 - link to NRSV text

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-28, (29-31) - link to NRSV text

Matthew 7:21-29 - link to NRSV text

Resources:

• Song Suggestions: Together To Celebrate
• Textweek: Proper 4, Year A / Ordinary 9, Year A / Pentecost +3 - Textweek Resources
• Sarah Dylan Breuer’s Blog: Proper 4, Year A - Lectionary Blog
• Mustard Seeds: Proper 4, Year A / Ordinary 9, Year A / Penecost 3 - Worship Resources

Children’s Address:

I’m still trying to figure this one out…

Some suggestions can be found over at:

• MissBible.com: The House on a Rock
• Higher Praise Christian Center: The House on a Rock (pdf)
• Dramatix.org:House Building 101 (drama)

Music:

If you decide to use the Genesis reading as a focus you might be interested in checking out the song “Flood” by Jars of Clay. (HT Mustard Seeds)

• Bible study methods for youth leaders - the eBook
• Talking to God - three youth group discussion starters on prayer
• Getting started - three youth group discussion starters

Go over and say hello, and check out some of the resources while you’re there…

HT to Rethinking Youth Ministry for the link to the ebook

As someone in youth ministry I see this particular competition as something that could possibly benefit the community, your faith community and the young people in your ministries. How often do we get the time to seriously find out what makes someone tick, to find out what someone does for a vocation, to ask questions of our own sense of call?

The competition encourages young people to explore their career options. Entrants will produce a 2- 3 min video clip profiling an occupation from the list provided on this website. Information about the occupation you choose for your entry can be found at www.myfuture.edu.au. Myfuture, Australia’s national on line career information service.

The competition is supported with broadcast, online and DVD resources that provide a unique opportunity for classrooms and individuals to embrace careers education in a creative and innovative way.

The CREW Program on SBS Monday afternoon on SBS Television will broadcast regular updates and career stories as well as video production tips. This competition is an Australian Government initiative. Call the shots for your future today!!

Link: My Future Student Video Competition 2008

For youth workers, pastors and family workers I recommend that you grab a copy of the report and give it a read, and as you do stop occasionally to watch the Oasis piece which you can order on DVD or download online. I then suggest that you show it to your community and see if it spurs anyone to do something with it, after all “how can we worship a homeless man on Sundays if only to ignore the homeless for the rest of the days of our lives?”

I also suggest that you might be interested to listen to a number of the stories that didn’t make it into the final film, many of which are online to view as short films, there are also a number of other resources on the website for people to engage with.

“The National Youth Commission’s report Australia’s Homeless Youth is the result of the first national independent inquiry into youth homelessness since the Burdekin Human Rights inquiry in 1989.”

The National Youth Commission (NYC) held 21 days of hearings in 2007 across all States and territories. Altogether, 319 people gave formal evidence and 91 written submissions were received from community organisations, individuals and government departments.

The NYC’s findings have been published in this report, including over 80 recommendations. The report is available to download below as a summary or in chapters.

The National Youth Commission’s Australia’s Homeless Youth Report, and the feature documentary The Oasis were both launched during National Youth Week in April 2008.

Download the NYC Report: The National Youth Commission’s Australia’s Homeless Youth Report

Download the Oasis Documentary: The feature documentary “The Oasis”

Download The Registration Form: Winter Camp 2008 - (it’s all about) YOU (pdf)

The speaker list is huge, registrations are quickly coming in, things are beginning to get exciting, Wombaroo Campsite has never seen such an exciting camp before!

Come along and meet new friends, hear new stories, face up to new challenges, sleep on old beds, warm up at new fires, sing new songs, play new games…

It’s All About You at this year’s Winter Camp, we’ll be asking you to think about who YOU are, what YOU believe, how YOU live, what YOU do, what makes YOU who YOU are.  Come along and hear others sharing their stories and get the chance to share some of yours as well, this is going to be a fantastic adventure.

Last year’s camp saw about 55 campers gather and shiver together, let’s see if we can get a few more faces along this year!

This is a remarkable book, truly a masterpiece of a picture book.  Breaking a lot of rules, including using phonetic spelling (city = sitee), approaching a story that might not have made it into the normal “children’s book” categories and by the remarkable, emotive and haunting illustrations this book is an instant classic.  Margaret and Anne, the creators behind the beautiful book “Jenny Angel” bring us this haunting story of Ben, a young homeless boy who lives by himself and develops a friendship with a woman upstairs.  Ben’s world is one of woolves, it’s a frightening and dark place where his fears are confronted daily and even adults find difficult living in.  As we get to know Ben, and glimpse the world from his view we are invited to see through his eyes, travel down the roads he walks, see the things that frighten him and, eventually are invited to join him on his adventure to face up to the things that might scare and frighten others as he decides to reclaim the world as his own…

Probably a book best left for high school students and adults this is a book that should appear on many people’s bookshelves, a true Australian classic…

Resources: There’s a really good resource that goes along side this book. The Teachers Notes for Woolvs In The Sitee is a fantastic resource that is available for download for teachers and students to go through this wonderful and compelling book in a variety of ways including art, craft, literature, drama…

Book Information:

Woolvs in the Sitee
Author: Margaret Wild
Illustrator: Anne Spudvilas
Pages: 40
Published: 9/1/2007

Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1-59078-500-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-59078-500-3

Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley are best of friends, Except they differ in so many ways, while Pearl is outgoing, energetic, vibrant, loud, inquisitive and talks lots Charlie is quiet, likes to sit and think, likes to be safe, is careful and shy.

No matter how very different these two are, their friendship is one of the best there is… Charlie looks after Pearl when she’s ill and sick because she’s been running around and Pearl makes him try different things when he’s feeling scared, their differences suit each other and, even though they look and sound very different they are still able to be bestest of friends.

Aaron’s illustrations are pretty stunning and colourful, kids and adults will love this book, it’ll have you asking “What makes a good friend” and “Why am I friends with my friends?”

Beautiful, fun, simple…

Book Information:

Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley
Author:  Blabey Aaron
Illustrator:  Blabey Aaron
Publisher: Penguin Aus.
Published: 2 July 2007
Format: Hardback,  32 pages
ISBN-13: 9780670070947

I used to be on the South Australian Council of Churches team that worked with the Simply Sharing material and promotion, I’m so happy that it is still going oh so many years later, it’s a great idea for churches and youth groups to use in order to focus on their lives and how their consumeristic lifestyles affect the world around us and to also begin to raise issues around injustice, poverty, hunger, starvation, war, slavery.

The resource includes ideas for study, worship, action, reflection, discussion…

Alongside the Make Poverty History health campaign for 2008, Simply Sharing Week is encouraging Australians to ensure that children at risk worldwide have access to a nutritious diet and health care. Suggested dates for Simply Sharing Week are 18-24 May 2008. However, please feel free to participate at the time of year that suits your schedule best.

These education resources focus on UN Millennium Development Goal 4 – reduce child mortality (under the age of five) and have been designed to help students understand our relationship with the global community.

Today in our world:

• About 27,000 children under the age of five die every day, 21 each minute, mainly from preventable causes.

More than 70% of almost 11 million child deaths every year are attributable to six causes: diarrhoea, malaria, neonatal infection, pneumonia, pre-term delivery, or lack of oxygen at birth.

Link: Simply Sharing Week Website

Link: Caritas Website