SAMBICA

Because we didn't have a lot of money, we were often eligible for "scholarships" to go to camps. The first camp I remember was SAMMAMISH BIBLE CAMP (More often referred to as: SAMBICA)
They had weekend camps during the school year and weeklong camps in the summertime. I don't remember if we ever went a year without being able to go to a camp.
SAMBICA was very rustic and right on Lake Sammamish. The grounds were on both sides of a busy highway. The Main entrance, dorms, cabins, beach, Office, "Little Store", and Tabernacle were on on side of the street, and the other side of the street was where the dining hall was located. Also the playfields and woods for hiking were across the street.
We had so many wonderful times there!
My favorite memory of SAMBICA was the morning. EVERY morning at breakfast the special Aunt Rubie & Uncle Annus Jepson (the husband and wife team that ran the camp) would come into the dining hall just as we were about to say the blessing and begin to sing this song:

Good Morning in Jesus precious name,
Good Morning everyone!
This is the day the Lo - ord ha - ath made
Let us exalt His Son.
This is a new day before us,
Let us rejoice and sing
It may be that He will come to - day.
So - let - us rejoice and sing!

GLENDAWN

We also spent many wonderful times at GLENDAWN BAPTIST BIBLE CAMP. It was located on Five Mile Lake in Federal Way. It's funny to think back on the drives to these camps. They always seemed like such LOOoooooong trips to get to camp! The camps were so far out in the "toolies".
For some reason, GLENDAWN didn't seem to me to have as much property as SAMBICA, but maybe that's because I was older. Everything seems so huge when you are young.
One of my favorite things to do at GLENDAWN was to take a rowboat and row across the lake to the little cove on the other end of the lake. It was virtually covered with lily pads and you had to be careful that you didn't get the oars tangled up in the vines. The cove sort of curved away from the rest of the lake in such a way that you couldn't see the camp or the houses that were built on the lake. It was so peaceful and beautiful there! It felt like you were a million miles from civilization.
We went to camp there so many times I can't keep them separate in my memories. We even went there as a family: "FAMILY CAMP"! Mother made bedrolls for us because we didn't have any sleeping bags.
They always served Oatmeal (we called it gruel) as a choice for breakfast and it was so awful that the campers made up a song about it:
(to the tune of the old N-E-S-T-L-E-S commercial)

G-L-E-N-"D-A"-W-N
GLENDAWN MAKES THE VERY WORST....
"GRU-EL"!