Search
-
March 24, 2022Each year, many campers look forward to summer when they can spend time with their friends, make new friends and pass the time with creative outdoor activities at Our Lady of Guadelupe Catholic Camp.
“Camp OLOG not only is a place where people come to have fun and enjoy the beauty of nature, it is a place where people come to know God,” said Rae Biesiada, a coordinator of youth evangelization and summer camp.
“It is a camp for students from 4th-12th grade and even entire families. The goal is for people to leave behind the distractions of everyday life and to encounter God in the sacraments, in prayer, in relationship, in nature and in fun activities.”
Biesiada, and her husband, Chet, said they are looking forward to this year’s camp. It will be their first year as coordinators.
“We are so excited to step into this position. We pray it is a summer in which many souls are set on fire with the love of God and cannot help but go out and share that love with others,” Rae Biesiada said.
At camp, she said, students learn about their Catholic faith and gain friendships centered around Christ. They encounter God in powerful prayer experiences and find joy in adventure. In addition to students attending summer camp, families also can join the camp and grow in faith as a family, and they are involved in an array of activities.
“Camp is a place where families can come together to go to Mass, to pray and to do things outside they may not typically get to do. We hope at camp families are able to encounter the love of the Trinity, imitate that love in their families and bring that love to the world,” she said.
Some of the most popular activities at camp are archery, canoeing, campfire, smores, Mass, adoration, and arts and crafts, she added.
To run an effective Catholic summer camp, the camp staff have to be enthusiastic, positive and have a love for the outdoors and for God.
“When hiring camp staff, we look for people readily living their Catholic faith and desire to go deeper. We want our staff to come to camp with a heart ready to serve and prepared to live the costly life of discipleship. And, of course, we look for people who love to work with kids of all ages and are up for an adventure!”
The Biesiadas met at Camp OLOG.
“Chet and I met at camp the summer of 2015. The camp was where we became friends. We were both silly counselors who loved camp and wanted to grow in our relationship with Jesus. As we grew in our friendship, we discovered we had the same goal, sanctity. This common goal led to deeper friendship and eventually to marriage. Now, we are striving to live out discipleship in our marriage and with our 9-month-old daughter, Iva,” Rae Biesiada said.
For more information, visit archokc.org/camp or contact Chet Biesiada at [email protected].
Jolene Schonchin is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
Photo Avery Holt/Sooner Catholic.
