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Virtual Campfire #2

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Our first ever virtual campfire aired last Thursday night at 7pm and is now available to view online. Join us “live” this Thursday at 7pm for the second edition – even more staff and volunteers will be joining us. This week’s campfire will be packed with songs, skits, stories and family fun. We are adding a segment with silly jokes and riddles!

You can share your favorites by submitting them in video or written form to our YouTube email address – dbcprogramoffice@gmail.com. Be sure to keep the jokes clean and positive! No put-downs allowed! Remember to SPEAK LOUDLY! All submissions will be reviewed for appropriateness and some may be saved for later editions. Your submission implies consent for DuBois Center to use the submission in items produced and shared by DuBois Center.

If all goes as planned, we hope to join together around the campfire on these Thursday nights – June 18 and 25, July 2, 9 and 16. Each of these, except the last one, would have been the nights of our closing campfires this summer. We hope you’ll join us. Watch for details. The link will be available each Thursday.

Meandering with Marty

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One of the joys of Phase 3, is being able to expand our circle just a bit. On Saturday, Marty Kemper made the trek to DuBois Center to check out a number of areas around camp. If you have never met Marty, you are missing out. He is a biologist who recently retired from the Dept of Natural Resources. An avid birder, he is a founding member of the Green DuBois team and a long-time DuBois Center earth care volunteer.

The new grass and the accompanying weeds on the back side of the dam are growing. Now that a section of the trees and brush have been removed for the new spillway, we are developing a plan to keep the new growth under control. Some of this growth is very good, but some of it is definitely not. Pictured here is the stump of an Ash tree with new shoots. It needs to be cut back and the stump treated. Also pictured is a close-up of Spreading Dogbane, also found on the dam. It’s a keeper! This beautiful native plant is not especially common on our property, or anywhere in Illinois for that matter. In fact, this was the first time Marty had seen this specific variety.

Its close cousin, Hemp Dogbane, also known as Indian Hemp, is prolific at DuBois Center. The name of Indian Hemp comes from the fibrous strength of the stem. It was harvested by native peoples and used as twine or woven into rope and other items. One reason this is such a “good” plant, is its value as a rich source of nourishment for pollinators. Monarch butterflies love it!

As southern Illinois begins to slowly re-open, we hope to encourage small groups of volunteers to take on projects, such as the dam. Watch for details.

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A Salute to Week #1

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This week on Facebook and Instagram, we are celebrating DuBois Center 2019 campers and leaders from Week #1. Many were registered and excited about returning this summer… before the health crisis struck. We MISS YOU and have a bunk with your name on it for next summer!

A big thumbs up to our Just You & Me, Quest, Settler, Horsin’ Around and Trekkin’ It campers! If you haven’t already done so, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to stay connected.

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Sixty Seconds of Solitude

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Today we share another edition of 60 Seconds of Solitude from DuBois Center. It’s often difficult to take time to breathe deeply, relax ones’ shoulders and back, and remember that God is always with us. We hope these short videos of sacred scenes from around camp will help.

Today we are joining the herd for some rest and relaxation. Since there are no rides scheduled at this time, our horses are spending some of their days soaking up the sun and enjoying fresh grass in the Deer Run pasture. Watch for our weekly solitude postings on our website and Facebook page. We hope you enjoy this and future mini relaxation reminders.

Virtual Campfires

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Miss the crackle of the campfire? Singing silly songs with your counselors? Making s’mores with friends? Listening to inspiring words from chaplains? Praying together under the stars? SO DO WE!!

It won’t be the same, but staff and volunteers are working on creative ways to share some of these favorites with campers and their families via virtual campfires. The first release is scheduled for 7 pm on Thursday, June 11. That would have been the first closing campfire of Summer 2020. We hope you’ll join us.

Sixty Seconds of Solitude

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During these challenging times, many have found themselves even busier than usual and definitely more stressed. It’s hard to remember to take time to breathe deeply, relax ones’ shoulders and back, and remember that God is always with us. Beginning this week, DuBois Center will be sharing 60 Seconds of Solitude – short videos of sacred scenes at DuBois Center. These will be posted on our website and Facebook pages. We hope you enjoy this video and future mini relaxation reminders.

Throwback May

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Not nearly as poetic as Throwback Thursday, but the sentiment is the same. May is typically a very busy month for DuBois Center staff, volunteers and guest groups. Usually there are school groups wrapping up the year with quality time outdoors, artisans escaping to the woods to quilt and create, volunteers building, painting, repairing and installing during what has become a tradition – May mission week, and summer staff from local churches and around the world beginning to trickle in and begin preparing.

We celebrate Great May Memories and look forward to many more!

Graduation Edition – Amani

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Four of our 2019 Summer Program Staff are graduating this month! Since graduations will be so different this year, we wanted to celebrate this milestone with them here.

Mtipe Koggani AKA Amani graduated from Eden Theological Seminary on Friday night, May 15. It was a virtual ceremony – which was different – but it did allow friends and family from around the world to join him! Hailing from Tanzania, Mtipe graduated with a Masters of Theological Studies. Due to the current health crisis, his plans are still in the works. He was accepted at Princeton University Graduate School, but is also exploring the possibility of a one-year commitment to Deaconess Anne House in St. Louis, which is part of the Episcopal Service Corps.

Mtipe is a gifted musician who sings, plays the piano and now the ukulele. He brought his years of successful experience working with children, youth and young adults in ministry settings to DuBois Center. Mtipe’s goal for his time at camp was to immerse himself in another culture and work with young people from backgrounds very different than his own. Though nervous at first, especially about the horses and the lake – he embraced the experience. He even learned to ride and swim at DuBois Center and now enjoys both immensely! In fact, one of his favorite memories from last summer was a dock to dock swim – which he completed. He also loved playing on the water mat with campers and staff!

Mtipe worked with every age group at DuBois Center from the youngest campers and their adults in Just You & Me Camp to high schoolers in X-Plore and related well to all of them. Mtipe is one of the most positive, gentle and kind people I have ever met; many, many others echoed this sentiment as well. His camp name is Amani, which in Swahili means peace. This is especially fitting for two reasons – PeaceWorks was our theme last summer and Mtipe embodies the word.

CONGRATS Mtipe!

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Graduation Edition – Minnow

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Four of our 2019 Summer Program Staff are graduating this month! Since graduations will be so different this year, we wanted to celebrate this milestone with them here.

Bailey Reichert AKA Minnow will be graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and a minor in Psychology. Illinois Wesleyan has postponed graduation until August, so she is hoping to actually walk with her class – live and in person. Bailey is moving to Carbondale and plans to finish some prerequisite courses before applying to an accelerated nursing program. After a year in that program, she will have a second Bachelors – this one in Nursing.

Bailey attended summer camp at DuBois Center in 2016 and then spent most of the summer of 2017 volunteering as a counselor. She joined our summer staff team in 2018 and returned in 2019 as our Waterfront Coordinator. When asked about a favorite memory from last summer, she couldn’t pick just one. She especially enjoyed returning to the rustic cabins for a week of counseling during High School Week and the evening of wacky relays at the waterfront. Bailey loves to sing, dance and act! Spending time with the horses and at the waterfront are two of her favorites activities, but she’s also a fan of candle times, crafts, creek walks, water games and almost anything DuBois! One of the many gifts Bailey brought to our staff was her organizational skills.

In addition to a heavy course load and work schedule, Bailey served on the Executive Council of her sorority – Kappa Delta – for three years and as the president for 2019. These experiences only served to strengthen her administrative and leadership skills. Bailey’s attention to detail, creative program planning, and the care she extended to campers and staff were an asset to our team.

CONGRATS, Minnow!

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