Category: Stories
Inside the Cove | Stories | Summer Staff
by Pine Cove
Believe it or not, it’s time for us to sing the Birthday Rap to the Ranch—our East Texas junior high camp just turned 50 (let’s count ’em!) years old! The Lord has used the Ranch to transform the lives of thousands of campers and staffers since its very first summer back in 1974. Buildings have […]
Inside the Cove | Spiritual | Stories
by Pine Cove
Editor’s Note: The following story was shared by Kyndra “Crusty” Samaniego, a current student of Pine Cove’s Forge program. The Forge Class of 2025 is back from Turkey! A once-in-a-lifetime trip like this is not easy to put into words, but we’re going to try our best to recap all the incredible experiences we had […]
Tags: faith, forge, lessons, life transformation
When parents dream and pray about their children’s future, they often envision the extracurricular activities they’ll participate in, the church youth groups they’ll join, and the universities they’ll eventually attend. Less frequently thought of—though still prevalent—is anxieties they may develop along the way. Anxiety is at an all-time high for the generation born since 1995, […]
Tags: technology, transformed
From the Slidosaurus to the zipline to the bungee trampoline, Pine Cove is jam-packed with “seriously fun” activity classes for campers to create memories that last a lifetime. But we want campers to take home more than just a fun camp experience. We want them to take home a deeper understanding of the Gospel and […]
Tags: activity classes, counselor, faith, gospel, lessons, ministry, summer
by Pine Cove
Editor’s Note: The following story was shared by Sami Grace “Scoob” Donnelly, a summer staffer at the Pine Cove Woods. I was a Crew counselor for Week 5 in 2022, so I was super excited when I found out my assignment for Week 5 of 2023 was Crew again. My old cabin and my new […]
Tags: prayer, story, summer staff, woods, zipline
“Toda palabra de Dios es purificada.” If you grew up in a Spanish-speaking home like Joi “Fuzzy” Hernandez did, you know that the above sentence translates to: “Every word of God proves true.” That key truth transcends language barriers, because His word remains true no matter the dialect. The Gospel is the same in English, […]
Tags: bible, gospel, life transformation, silverado, stories
Spiritual | Stories | Summer Staff
When a camper heads home after a week or two at Pine Cove, we hope they’re bringing with them the memories of silly skits, stories about their new friends, and maybe a few souvenirs and Ebenezers of their time at camp. Most importantly, though, we hope they’re leaving with a deeper understanding of the Gospel. […]
Tags: gospel, how-to, story, summer staffers
Spiritual | Stories | Summer Staff
by Lizzie Klein
In October 2015, Ayden “Trips” Drake prayed over a verse, Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” That month, her mother had passed away from a condition called cystic fibrosis. Through the pain and confusion, Ayden […]
Tags: family, family camp, gospel, life change, prayer, scripture, stories, summer staff, woods
Spiritual | Stories | Summer Staff
Caroline and Ashlen had a lot in common. They both were college students—Caroline (or “Chip,” as she’s known at Pine Cove) at the University of Texas, and Ashlen (aka “T-Feels”) at Ole Miss—who had been serving for several summers at the Pine Cove Timbers. Both were thriving in their roles, seeking after the Lord, and […]
Tags: 2023, gospel, jesus, life change, life transformation, ministry, summer, summer staff, timbers
When Joshua “Cool Front” McDonald came to work at the Woods in 2006, he didn’t know it would turn out to be one of the most spiritually pivotal years of his life. “My dad was a pastor, so I was always in the church in some form or fashion, but there wasn’t a lot of […]
Tags: ministry, stories, summer staff