Ahhhh Escaping to Pinecrest Lake
Ahhhh! Escaping to Pinecrest Lake!
by Barbara Hiura
The Excitement! The Rush! The immediate calm cascades within you as soon as you exit the car at Pinecrest Lake. Not a sound can be heard, but the crunch of dirt and gravel beneath your feet. And the scent of fresh pine wafts through the air and you know, yes…finally…you’re at Wesley’s All Church “Family Camp.”
Held over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 thru Sept. 2, it is always a weekend to look forward too. In fact, our intrepid and undaunted leader John Ng, who with his family plans the entire year around making this our not-to-be-missed event of the summer, asked? “Do you know what my favorite holiday is? No…not the 4th of July! Not Thanksgiving! None of those!” he stated. “It’s Labor Day!!!”
And we’re thinking, “But man, you have to work hard with long hours of preparation, and you literally pack up your entire house and haul it up here, and serve us campers. YOU have to make it fun and interesting for us. You’re the servant,” we say.
“Well…do you wanna know why?” he asks, and then explains, “It is the only time I get five hours of uninterrupted time for FISHING!” And there you have it. John Ng’s total dedication and love for Labor Day and translates to our joy too.
We had around 80 folks attending from littlun’s to parents and grandparents, extended families and singles too, so quite the cross section of our church. And it’s all about family…our church family. Fun! Joy! Rest! Release! were operative words as we fished, hiked, swam, boated, and ate our way through three magical days at the end of August and early September. No one is doing their usual stuff because this is the break we’ve all been looking forward to and to do it with family in clean and pristine air at 5,500 ft. What’s not to love being on this side of God’s creation. And the campfires were hot and wild, the s’mores tastier this year because NO RAIN! And did we ever eat. Yes, the prepared meals were good, but the after-dinner snacks (if you can call them that, were delish). Camps A and B had hot dogs and nachos. Camps E,F, and C had musubi, mazegohan, BBQ sausages and cup of noodles or pho with curry.
The fish were plentiful this year as John kept the excitement up at our famous Wesley Rock. We did miss Steve Tabuchi and Bob Yasukawa and we all wish them well but we forged on. The scavenger hunt was tough this year and no one achieved 100 percent, that’s the good news for our coordinators who think about the list a year in advance. The battle for the top prize was close. This year, unlike last year, the teams were once again multigenerational and far more interesting. And no…Jeffrey Oldham and Carmen Cook didn’t win! Team Trent took top honors. The skits were hilarious and the camp song from Sing 2 was an integral part of our camping experience and done by all age groups. All were uplifted by the audience’s accolades and laughter.
There were crafts, volleyball, ping-pong and basketball for those who didn’t want to do long hikes. Some went kayaking and others rented a party boat and easily glided around the lake. Nothing beats a yummy root beer float after trekking around the lake and beyond.
The older folks and some families are now enjoying the four seasons cabins which can fit as many as 6 has become a huge new selling point to the camp experience. Let’s just say, it’s a way to enjoy the outdoor experiences without being exposed to the elements. All of them were filled this year. But there are the stalwart older folks and youngsters who enjoy the original cabin tent experience, the dust and dirt, the heat and cold, and walking outside to the bathroom at night. So there’s something for everyone.
Sunday, Rev. John gave brief message on his path to being called to serve, and heeding the request to keep it short, we were done in 19 minutes. But you know, no matter where we are, every second, every minute, every hour, is God’s time. And, we honor God in all we do and all God gifted us as we were uplifted by being together in our Creator’s presence. We are forever thankful because we experienced this beautiful location and made precious memories with all of you, our church family.
We once again thank John Ng and Christine Ozawa and their family who plan this annual trek to Pinecrest Lake and make it such an awesome experience. They are already thinking about next year, and so should you!
by Barbara Hiura
The Excitement! The Rush! The immediate calm cascades within you as soon as you exit the car at Pinecrest Lake. Not a sound can be heard, but the crunch of dirt and gravel beneath your feet. And the scent of fresh pine wafts through the air and you know, yes…finally…you’re at Wesley’s All Church “Family Camp.”
Held over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 thru Sept. 2, it is always a weekend to look forward too. In fact, our intrepid and undaunted leader John Ng, who with his family plans the entire year around making this our not-to-be-missed event of the summer, asked? “Do you know what my favorite holiday is? No…not the 4th of July! Not Thanksgiving! None of those!” he stated. “It’s Labor Day!!!”
And we’re thinking, “But man, you have to work hard with long hours of preparation, and you literally pack up your entire house and haul it up here, and serve us campers. YOU have to make it fun and interesting for us. You’re the servant,” we say.
“Well…do you wanna know why?” he asks, and then explains, “It is the only time I get five hours of uninterrupted time for FISHING!” And there you have it. John Ng’s total dedication and love for Labor Day and translates to our joy too.
We had around 80 folks attending from littlun’s to parents and grandparents, extended families and singles too, so quite the cross section of our church. And it’s all about family…our church family. Fun! Joy! Rest! Release! were operative words as we fished, hiked, swam, boated, and ate our way through three magical days at the end of August and early September. No one is doing their usual stuff because this is the break we’ve all been looking forward to and to do it with family in clean and pristine air at 5,500 ft. What’s not to love being on this side of God’s creation. And the campfires were hot and wild, the s’mores tastier this year because NO RAIN! And did we ever eat. Yes, the prepared meals were good, but the after-dinner snacks (if you can call them that, were delish). Camps A and B had hot dogs and nachos. Camps E,F, and C had musubi, mazegohan, BBQ sausages and cup of noodles or pho with curry.
The fish were plentiful this year as John kept the excitement up at our famous Wesley Rock. We did miss Steve Tabuchi and Bob Yasukawa and we all wish them well but we forged on. The scavenger hunt was tough this year and no one achieved 100 percent, that’s the good news for our coordinators who think about the list a year in advance. The battle for the top prize was close. This year, unlike last year, the teams were once again multigenerational and far more interesting. And no…Jeffrey Oldham and Carmen Cook didn’t win! Team Trent took top honors. The skits were hilarious and the camp song from Sing 2 was an integral part of our camping experience and done by all age groups. All were uplifted by the audience’s accolades and laughter.
There were crafts, volleyball, ping-pong and basketball for those who didn’t want to do long hikes. Some went kayaking and others rented a party boat and easily glided around the lake. Nothing beats a yummy root beer float after trekking around the lake and beyond.
The older folks and some families are now enjoying the four seasons cabins which can fit as many as 6 has become a huge new selling point to the camp experience. Let’s just say, it’s a way to enjoy the outdoor experiences without being exposed to the elements. All of them were filled this year. But there are the stalwart older folks and youngsters who enjoy the original cabin tent experience, the dust and dirt, the heat and cold, and walking outside to the bathroom at night. So there’s something for everyone.
Sunday, Rev. John gave brief message on his path to being called to serve, and heeding the request to keep it short, we were done in 19 minutes. But you know, no matter where we are, every second, every minute, every hour, is God’s time. And, we honor God in all we do and all God gifted us as we were uplifted by being together in our Creator’s presence. We are forever thankful because we experienced this beautiful location and made precious memories with all of you, our church family.
We once again thank John Ng and Christine Ozawa and their family who plan this annual trek to Pinecrest Lake and make it such an awesome experience. They are already thinking about next year, and so should you!
In the morning, camp life wakes up to Japanese exercise to "Radio Taisho" and uhm..."Does anybody remember how it goes?"
And eating in the mess tent...Hideo and Sato get ready for a full days worth of activities by carbing up.
A group trekked around Pinecrest lake up and over boulders for a 3.8 mile hike and then treated themselves to root beer floats as their reward. Trent Ueunten, Tyler Bakoshi, Bev Acuna, Bobbie Ueunten, Carmen Cook, Carl Miya, Mark Teagle, Barbara Hiura, Ashley Cook, Hikaru Bakoshi, Art Black, Erwin and Violeta Polar, and Ann Cowels.
The E-2 Girls Cabin...Ashley and Carmen Cook, me, Bev Acuna, and Tina Urata.
The Gee Family on the party boat. Sadly, no fish were caught.
Rev. John's short Sunday sermon.
Trent's Team #2. Yay! Winners of the annual scavenger hunt!
John Ng and families fishing at Wesley Rock.
Wow! What a catch! Yoko, Yoshitaka, Yuzuru and Oliver catch at least five trout.
And then he cooked the trout at Camp E's fire pit. It was awesome!
Sunday, Kayaking on the lake: Hikaru and Tyler Bakoshi on the left and guru kayaker, Mark Teagle, leading them out.
Carly Miya brought his own kayak wheels and all.
Capt. Jeffrey Oldham and Tristen on the Gee Party Boat.
Capt. Ashley Cook finally takes the wheel.
The ship's captains "ABANDON SHIP!"
All our new camp families take the stage for a welcoming skit. It was hilarious.
Camp groups show their talent by singing "I Can't Hear You" from Sing 2. Trent led Camps A and B.
The high schoolers take the stage and try their hand at the song using only their 1-phones.!
The adult campers from C, E and F brought their own musicians and were led by Ashley Cook.
These three youngsters from camps A and B performed. Sooooo cute!
Students from Tina Urata's Wesley Keiki (Children's) Ukulele class from Wesley delighted the camp audience with their rendition of "Lava."
John Ng presents the awards to our top three winners of the fishing derby from left: Oliver, Clara and Yuzuru. All the kids who fished received prizes.
Our last gathering campfire ends with roasting marshmallows for... (see below)
S'mores. Hideo is enjoying the best S'more ever!.
It's the only time adults can remember actually eat and enjoy this time honored tradition of their youth. Here Trent Mikami shows us how it's done!
Posted in Newsletter 2024-09-26