Today is the day that gives meaning to my whole life. If Jesus had not risen from the dead then it would not make sense for me to be a Sister or to work at CYO/Camp Howard. The world would not need me in either place as they would not exist. The fact that He DID rise from the dead gives an awesome meaning to everything I do.
Thought to ponder – How does Easter make a difference in your life?
God Bless You
Sr. Krista
Karen von Borstel is the Facility Manager at Camp Howard and an excellent writer. She is our guest blogger today writing about her observations of sixth graders attending Multnomah county Outdoor School Program at the Camp Howard site.
Wet day at Camp Howard April 2012
The first yellow school busses arrived at Camp Howard today, loaded with 6th graders participating in Outdoor School. As the busses passed by the house I could hear the kids singing their camping songs, so excited to be here. Camp greeted them with a spring hailstorm and Outdoor School Counselors lining the road singing as the busses went past them. The students departed the busses in their rain coats with their waterproof shoes, laughing and singing, oblivious to the hail, and I was able to watch Camp Howard come alive once again with the infectious joy these children bring with them.
Camp has been resting the past few months, catching her breath, as we put some new boards up, painted here and there, and repaired a toilet or 2. The wildlife has taken over camp. The robins have moving in, conducting their mating rituals and patrolling the fields for worms. The camp deer wander through camp taking time to lie down and nap if they wish. The 4-point bull elk that wintered in camp just shed his antlers in the upper field. It will take a few days for them to adjust to the new arrivals, but they will, and the campers will be so excited to catch a glimpse of the animals and birds.
Outdoor School students will begin their day here at 7:00AM wakeup and then report to the Dining Hall for 7:15 table setting, flag raise, and the weather report. They will eat a hot, hearty, breakfast prepared for them in the kitchen, then on to cabin clean up and camp duties. At 9:00AM they report to Field Studies where they will learn about soils, water, plants, and animals. At noon they will eat another great hot lunch and they will be hungry. They will have walked several miles by now, through the woods, in all types of weather. They will devour that lunch and then head back out to Field Studies. At 4 PM it is snack time and then recreation. At 5:30PM they will have their evening flag ceremony, do their weather report, and prepare for 6PM dinner. This dinner will be a big hot homemade meal with hot homemade rolls topped off by dessert. They will eat like High School Football players. At 8PM they will have campfire and then lights out by 9:45PM. They will lay in their bunkbeds hearing noises they have never heard before, giggling, turning their flashlights on and off, scaring one another, walking to the bathhouse in pairs, whether they really need to go or not, just experiencing the night in the woods.
They will spend the remainder of the week here, walking miles every day, making new friends, experiencing nature like most of them never have in their lives. It is a wonderful experience just watching this process. What an adventure! They will leave Friday, worn out, but with memories they will hang onto forever.
A new concept, THE PATRON STORE, is coming to CYO/Camp Howard. Reading behind the scenes at CYO gives you up close first hand information! The Patron Store is an online shopping opportunity that was started and originated here in Oregon. Three high schools were the test pilot schools this fall. Since then, the Patron Store has added nearly 100 organizations to the online shopping concept.
The way it works is that The Patron Store has gathered a plethora of businesses to offer goods online. Whenever we, the shoppers, buy these items, a percentage of the profit is sent to the organization. One of the most interesting features will be the ability to design your own spirit wear. It will come in a variety of colors and you can design it the way you want it and it will be sent to you. I have tested it out and it I really like it. I hope you will check it out too.
I am excited about what we can expect to see from the Patron Store and I hope you will check it out as soon as it launches and become a CYO/Camp Howard supporter.
This is a pretty cool video about a high school CYO player. Worth the time to watch it! Cool guys!
I guess I am not finished sharing my enjoyment of the trip to the beach. This is spring vacation after all so I shall digress!
I really enjoyed my trip around the “loop” taking our visiting Sisters through Cannon Beach, eating at Mo’s, showing them my favorite place to crab (in a motor boat), on around to Tillamook with a stop at the Cheese Factory and ice cream of course, then back to Beaverton. Lots of great visiting, story telling, thanking God for His goodness to us, genuine fun and enjoying our friends.
I hope your spring break is filled with genuine goodness. Don’t forget to check out “Mighty Macs”
Walking to the "shore" at Cannon Beach
I took the day off to help share a bit of Oregon with some Sisters from Ohio and Wisconsin. If you read my blog yesterday then you know the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon (SSMO) (my community) celebrated 125 years as a religious community. Two groups of Sisters came from back East to help us celebrate: the Precious Blood Sisters (CppS) from Dayton, Ohio and the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity (OSF) from Manitowok, Wisconsin.
Sister Noreen Jutte CppS; Sister Charlene Herinckx SSMO; Sister Caritas Strodthoff OSF; Sister Louise Hembrecht OSF; Sister Catherine Hertel SSMO, Sister Joyce Lehman CppS; Sister Joyce Barsotti SSMO, Sister Krista von Borstel SSMO; and Sister Nancy Recker (not pictured)
This is a special message to the Girls of CYO/Camp Howard and your Mom’s. I would like to tell you about a film I watched tonight. It is called the Mighty Macs. It is about a college women’s basketball team, the struggle of a Catholic Women’s College and the first National Women’s College Championships.
Most of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon watched it tonight after our 125th Jubilee celebration and we found it to be very inspirational. I think you would enjoy it as well so I would like to recommend that if you have a chance to watch it over spring vacation you might do that then drop me a line about how you liked it!
Boys, I think you might like it too! 🙂
Some 500 people gathered to stand up for Religious Freedom in Healthcare today at the Mark Hatfield courthouse in Portland, OR. The group listened to several speakers as they made known their message to passers by from Noon until 1:00 pm. Several people passing by honked and waved support to the group. If you were unable to Stand Up today, Please LIKE this article and help spread it across Oregon. God Bless you.
MaryAnn Stewart and Sister Krista Stand Up for Religious Freedom in Healthcare today.
Jackie, Tom, Elizabeth and Debbie Fessler Stand up for Religious Freedom today.
Religious Freedom Gathering today at the Mark Hatfield Courthouse in Portland, OR - approx. 500 people gathered
St. Mary’s Academy is doing something special in May….they are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Title IX (Title Nine). I have often referred to myself as “a Title Nine Girl” because I entered high school the year that Title Nine went into effect. What did this mean? Practically speaking for girls like me who had one sport offered at my high school, the school had to provide sports for us if asked. I did not realize that at the time but asked for a basketball team for girls. The Principal, Mr. Len Bergstrom, coached us two or three nights a week then we would go out and get shellacked by our opponents! We had a blast! We made our uniforms. My Aunt made our black shorts and we silkscreened white tee shirts for our uniform tops. We looked really bad but we had the time of our lives! By the time I finished high school we had equity with the boys in sports. In the fall of 1975 the school purchased new uniforms for the girls (I had just graduated). Girls practices at that time did have to fit in after the boys practices but that in time changed as well.
If you are a Title IX Girl, I hope you will join me in attending this event at St. Mary’s Academy. I think it will be a lot of fun! I would like to hear some comments on your experience of Title IX.
Click on the flier below:
March 22, 2012 at Camp Howard
CYO/Camp Howard 