Zemeira W., Age 12
Tribe of Manasseh

 Moose is the funny, sweet director of Camp Gilgal West, though he loves all of the camps that Jews for Jesus does. We play a lot of games during Camp Gilgal and his favorite is Capture the Degel. He sings a lot of songs when he is in jail to get help and to entertain himself. One year he got poison oak in his eye but it didn’t hurt, it was just uncomfortable.

 He likes sushi, ice water with lemon, and he doesn’t have a favorite ice cream but he likes Moose Tracks. His favorite colors are brown and blue and his favorite dinner theme is Utensil Night. He doesn’t have a favorite song but he really likes “How Great Thou Art.” His favorite candy is dark chocolate with almonds. His favorite cartoon characters are the Roadrunner and the Coyote. His comment on camp names is, “If it fits you, wear it.”

 He made camp for young Jewish people to grow closer to Yeshua (Jesus)as their Messiah and to meet other young Jewish believers.

Sophia M., Age 11
Tribe of Manasseh

Dynamite is our camp nurse. She was once a tribe leader and before that she was a camper. She’s gone to campfires like us, played the same games, and she’s sat at the same tables we’ve sat at we sit at.

She came to Camp Gilgal when she was ten years old. On Feed Your Friend Night, that’s when she fed Squirt and they are friends to this day. One of Dynamite’s favorite night games as a camper was Wells Fargo. And when I asked her what her tribe was her first year as staff, she said Manasseh, too!! One of her favorite parts of camp was making new friends.

Dynamite has an older sister, an older brother, and a twin brother. Her twin brother also went to camp. She met Brickhouse at Camp Gilgal when she was ten years old but they started dating when they were 16. Then they got married and had Norah, a two year old that is the cutest girl in the world. Norah loves Elmo and Frozen.

I’m so glad that Dynamite came to camp again. She’s so sweet and I hope she comes back next year!

Zoe N., Age 11
Tribe of Manasseh

I chose Brickhouse for my article because he is nice and funny. This year he is a part of the CIC. The CIC stands for Cabin Inspection Cheerleaders, and they inspect our cabins. Brickhouse is also our worship leader. His wife’s name is Dynamite and he has one child named Norah.

Brickhouse has been going to Camp Gilgal since 1997. Brickhouse’s name was suggested on his first day of camp and it was his first year. His tribe leader who suggested his name was Sush-Dogg. Brickhouse loves all the night games at camp, especially Capture the Degel. But as staff he likes meeting the campers and seeing them grow in Yeshua. Brickhouse loves to play the electric guitar, and he has been playing the guitar for 13 years.

Brickhouse loves sarsaparilla so much that in his first year he bought a whole case of it. Brickhouse’s sister Snapple first came to camp in 1999. Brickhouse was in the tribe of Judah the year when he first came to camp, and their tribe won Tribe of the Year. Brickhouse came to teen camp in 2001. Brickhouse did go to adventure camp, he went all the way through to 2007. He was also a tribe leader at junior and teen camp.

Madison H., Age 12
Tribe of Manasseh

For my article I decided to write about my tribe leader, T-Rex. I chose to write about her because she has been in my tribe for two years. I also like T-Rex because she is really funny.

Did you know that T-Rex’s favorite color is purple? Well it is! I found out that she likes sarsaparilla more than 1,000,000,000 times that number. T-Rex’s favorite part about camp is Columbia and being with campers. She loves Wells Fargo but playing as staff. And did you know that T-Rex’s favorite song is “One Thing Remains”?

Also T-Rex loves water polo because she is trying out for her college team. You will never believe what T-Rex’s favorite things from the Gilgal store are. They are the wet goods which are sodas, Otter Pops, Mountain Dew and Sour Patch Kids. T-Rex’s brother Stix told me that T-Rex loves ranch dressing so much. One time she put ranch on her blueberry muffin. That is why I chose to write about T-Rex.

Elizabeth R., Age 11
Tribe of Manasseh

Poppins is our camp mom. She helps us when we are sick, homesick or just if we need a hug. She’ll drive us to the doctor’s office if we need to go. She is always there for me when I need her.

When I was talking to Poppins, I found out many different things about her. One of the things I found out was that she’s been coming to camp for eight years. Her favorite part of camp, like Moose, is the campers. She got her camp name by bringing a big bag of supplies for the campers and staff, so they called her Mary Poppins but Poppins stuck. She has no words to describe how much she loves camp.

Her favorite theme night is Super Hero Night because she loves capes. Her favorite colors are any of the colors that the camp shirts have been printed on. I also asked her what her favorite animal was she said, “puppies, oh, and kittens – well, I guess I like all baby animals, even baby skunks. I love cuteness.” And that’s why I love Poppins so much.

Choose the Way of Life

(Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

“Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.”

The Gilgal Gazette is published by Camp Gilgal campers for Camp Gilgal campers and their families and friends!

Tribes:

Tribe of Benjamin: Carrie-Fu M., Claire C., Elizabeth R., Erica B., Persaeus B., Sophia M., Waffles, Galaxy

Tribe of Judah: Maddie H., Noa B., Shannon O., Zemeira W., Zoe N., Acorn, Whimzy

Tribe of Zebulun: Elizabeth K., Lizzy N., Monique L., Sarai M., Taliah S., Nike, Vintage

Tribe of Manasseh: Dinah N., Emmalee S., Haneen R., LaTanya H., Mia C., Yamen L., Sauté, Hershey

Tribe of Simeon: Boaz B., David R., Isaiah L., Nathan B., Sasha S., J-Box, Ewok

Tribe of Ephraim: Corey W., Danny G., Elijah Y., Josiah C., Michael K., Maverick, Yamaha

Tribe of Dan: Daniel P., Emmanuel R., Isaac H., Josh L., Reuven R., Sam F., Simba, Professor

Tribe of Gad: Elliot K., Isaac J., Jacob S., Jaden W., Jeremiah H., Nathan P., Nacho, Java

Out-of-cabin staff: Mr. Tumnus, Snapple, Bazooka, Sherbert, Sonic, Onyx, Poppins, Streetlight, Moose

Guests: Swedey, Hoops, Esquire, Sparkler

Only at Camp Gilgal

Corey W., Age 10
Tribe of Ephraim

When you decorate the flag you put paint and glitter and you get a cool tribe name. And you get to help pick the flag color and flag name. It is fun. You can have the bull, snakes, grapes, wolves. Then you let it dry. The next day they give it to you. You take it to the cabin. You take it with you to every meal. Everyone writes their name and tribe name in Hebrew. You take the flags to Tabernacle, too! We also march in the Fourth of July Parade with our degelim. Everyone in Columbia sees our beautiful flags. The tribe of Ephraim has a bull with fire in its eyes on a white background. It has a golden ring in its nose and red horns. Every tribe writes “Camp Gilgal 2012” on their flag. At the end of the year the camper of the year gets to take their degel home. Everyone always wants to carry their tribe’s degel around to meals and Tabernacle.

Taliah S., Age 11
Tribe of Zebulun

If you are looking for a camp that is the most fun, the best, or the most awesome camp ever, come to Camp Gilgal! We have everything from campfire, to games, to craft. I don’t think I have ever met anyone or ever will meet anyone who hates or does not like camp.

Not only do we have crazy activities at this camp, we also have Hebrew, devotions, and Tabernacle. This camp is sponsored by Jews for Jesus, so we also want to focus on learning more about God, and what it means to be believers in Y’shua. In Tabernacle we sing and worship, then one of the out-of-cabin staff will give a short message. For devotions, every night we have a short talk and pray together as a tribe. Every year at camp we also have Hebrew class and learn how to say, write and chant things in Hebrew.

We also have awesome games at camp. The best one (I think) is M.I. or Mission Impossible. This is a night game, and you have to try to find all the clues, and if you get spotted by the staff you are out. Everybody loves this game because right when you are about to go to bed, a van with Mission Impossible music drives through camp, and nobody knows when it is going to be.

As you can see, everything here is awesome, and if you are looking for an amazing camp, Camp Gilgal is the way to go!

Jaden W., Age 12
Tribe of Gad

Shabbat was really cool. Me, Nathan, Noa, and Mia read Bible verses and did blessings. First we worshiped and said the Sh’ma afterwards. Before we worshiped we ate dinner, but it wasn’t an ordinary dinner. We dress up for Shabbat and are more orderly about what we do. Onyx spoke and sang the Aaronic benediction. Sherbert shared her testimony. Moose read Colossians 3:12-14: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Emmalee S., Age 11
Tribe of Manasseh

This year in the Oylimpics, Maverick dressed up as Moses and he said, “Let my people go.” We teamed up with a men’s tribe and competed in the Oylimpics, which involved obstacles based off the ten plagues. My team paired up with Simeon and our team’s name was Simenasseh. We won because we were the only tribe that did the leap frog right. Some of the obstacles were shaking tic tacs out of the container, throwing cheese balls on a shaving cream head, eating a bucket of popcorn, and milking a plastic glove like an udder. Also there was the sit-on-the-balloon relay race, filling half a cup with red water with straws, swatting fake bugs with a fly swatter, blindfolding a tribe leader and screaming directions until they got to Moses, and sliding on the slip’n’slide. It is super messy but really fun. My favorite part was when I went on the slip’n’slide because there were bubbles that make you go fast. The Oylimpics was really fun and I fully enjoyed it.

Elliot K., Age 12
Tribe of Gad

Just as I am in the middle of prayer, Dr. Root Canal knocks on the door then comes in. He checks our teeth, but before that we say, “Once again you interrupted Elliot.” Then he says, “Sorry,” or, “Wow, again.” We think he’s doing it on purpose. While he is checking our teeth, Jacob hides his gum in his mouth. Before he checks Isaac’s mouth, Isaac literally drinks Scope mouthwash. At one time, I lost my toothbrush and used mouthwash. One day, Jaden had his jawbreaker out. Another day he did not even brush his teeth. Once Nathan walked out the door saying, “I need to brush my teeth.” Dr. Root Canal has really awesome and huge glasses and a toothbrush. He has a coat and this untied tie that he always wears. You have to brush your teeth and then make it really white with nothing in your mouth. It has to be pearly white and minty fresh. If it is not any of those then you lose points. You can get a maximum of 100 points. It is kinda easy to get the maximum points because all you have to do is brush your teeth every day and then it will be as easy as pie, if you have a toothbrush. We always say our tribe leaders have bad teeth. No matter what you should brush your teeth.

Dinah N., Age 11
Tribe of Manasseh

Did you ever want to learn a different language? Camp Gilgal has Hebrew class. You can learn the alphabet and vowels, or if you are more advanced you can learn phrases. There are two groups: Team Alef which is for beginners, and Team Bet which is for more advanced. If you are in Team Alef and if it is too easy, you could switch classes to Team Bet. The teacher is Mr. Tumnus. He grew up in Israel so he knows how to speak and write in Hebrew. In the class you can write in your own ABC Hebrew book. You can write the alphabet or phrases in the book. So when you go home you can show your family what you learned. Then maybe you can go to Israel. Mr. Tumnus teaches the alphabet song and how to greet people and have conversations. You also learn how to write in Hebrew. Hebrew is after Tabernacle or arts and crafts, depending on which class you are in. It takes place in the Tabernacle area. It is every day except on Saturday, which is the Sabbath. Sometimes we might go horseback riding so we can’t do Hebrew. In Hebrew Mr. Tumnus sometimes gives out snacks like sunflower seeds. It’s really fun.

Sarai M., age 11
Tribe of Zebulun 

After lunch comes nap time (FOB which means Flat On Bunk), unless it is Lady’s Day. On Lady’s Day FOB is more like fun on bunk. On that day most of the girls did each other’s hair, make up, nails, and designed each other’s outfits for the rest of the day. Sadly, there is only one Lady’s Day. So on most days it is regular FOB. FOB is one hour of nap time. In my cabin we made up six rules about FOB:

#1 No camper may ever look forward to FOB
#2 No camper may sleep during FOB
#3 No camper may speak during FOB
#4 You may never wake up counselors during FOB
#5 You must be flat on your bunk during FOB
#6 If it is fun, it is not FOB.

So these are our six rules of FOB in which we try our best to follow.

David R., age 10
Tribe of Simeon 

Devotions are more like a story before you go to sleep. My favorite part of devotions is it helps me go to sleep. One night during devotions I heard “iron sharpens iron.” God speaks to us through the Bible and He speaks through parables. The meaning of iron sharpens iron is if you’re a believer in Y’shua your life could help someone else’s faith in Y’shua. Last night in devotions we talked about training; if a child is trained in something when he grows old he will never depart from that training. The meaning of the parable is when a child is still young he should train well so that child does not forget what he was taught. I really like devotion time with my tribe because I learn a lot about God.

Isaac H., Age 11
Tribe of Dan 

Ah, your tribe just got picked by out-of-cabin staff to go into the dining hall for lunch. Nourishment awaits!! Could it be burgers? Noodles? Tacos? Pizza??! These thoughts make you relaxed and hungry at the same time. All ruined when you enter the dining hall: BONKITTY BONKITTY BONKITTY! Ear shattering sounds of not one, but ALL the plastic cups bashing into wooden tables. Most people think it’s quite the outrage. But have no worries, it is simply the ancient tradition of CUPPAGE! Everyone at lunch time bangs their cups on the table top. This will not last all lunch time though. How could we eat lunch while smashing cups? It all ends when the out of cabin staff raises their hands and swipes it down. Cuppage ends, then we eat. Some probably wish cuppage never existed. Even I have. But always remember: IF THERE AIN’T NO CUPPAGE, THERE AIN’T NO CAMP GILGAL!!!

Emmalee S., Age 11
Tribe of Manasseh 

Mail call usually happens around the end of dinner. It starts with Snapple, Bazooka, and Maverick running from the deck screaming “Mail call,” carrying a box of mail and packages from your friends and family. When they run through the doors screaming, a roar breaks out, then Snapple raises her hand and slices it down to stop the screams. There is always a spinner who does a spin when a tribe leader is called. It is exciting to get your name called. There is one special night where you sing or dance for your mail. Sing and Dance for Your Mail Night is when music plays and if you get called you can either sing or dance for your mail. This year, I sang the macarena and I got my mail. Then I got called again! But you don’t have to sing or dance if you’re called again. Mail call is super fun!

Sarai M., Age 11
Tribe of Zebulun

Once after FOB we all came down for free time. Before we had really started Streetlight called us all together for lost and found. Before she finished, “It is way too hot, let’s go inside to cool off.” When we went in there was a 20-foot clean gutter of ice cream sundae. In the ice cream sundae there were strawberries, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream with cherries, sprinkles, chocolate bits, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and who knows what else! It was really good, especially on a hot summer afternoon. Some people got so much that it towered over the rim of their bowls and drenched the floor. In my ice cream I had chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream with sprinkles and nuts. I think my favorite part of my ice cream sundae was the nuts.

Haneen R., Age 12
Tribe of Mannaseh

Morty and Minerva are the Camp Gilgal Cabin Inspectors. Every day all of the tribes have to make their cabins spotless clean! If a shoe or hair brush is askew, you receive an infraction. An infraction is when five points are deducted. You start off with 100 points each day. A minor infraction deducts five points and each major deduction is ten points. Major infractions rarely happen unless you do a horrible job cleaning. Morty and Minerva are supposed to be an old Jewish couple, but they are really Streetlight and Sonic. They are really funny. You can also get an infraction just for having a spot of dirt on the cabin floor or if a bag is unzipped. In case you wanted to know, the unzipped bag infraction is known at camp as “open bag syndrome.” Another thing that is really funny is Morty has a hunchback and wears ugly old man’s glasses. Minerva has an ugly dress, a curler in her hair, and an annoying voice. It is important to remember as a camper that it is possible to nail the cabin inspection. If your cabin nails it that means there were no infractions in the inspection.

Crazy Nights

Mia C., Age 12
Tribe of Manasseh

Superhero Night is a Camp Gilgal tradition. It’s when every tribe dresses up as superheroes! This allows people to be creative and make up awesome costumes and a phrase for line-up. Other tribes did “Super Sheep,” “Super Stars,” and more. Our theme was “Super Seniors.” We all dressed up as seniors, and practiced our “accents.” For line-up, we each said something funny. Some said random stuff like “I love grapes,” Or “Where’s Lenny?” Some of us pretended to be forgetful or totally unaware of the conversation, which was our “Super Chant.” Then altogether, we shakily put our arms up and said, “Go, Super Seniors!” I really got into it and put baby powder in my hair to make it gray. Our leaders, Hershey and Sauté, bought hair curlers for us to wear. Eventually, that caused a lot of ripping, frustration and many tangles and split ends. While we were still in costume, we took a tribe photo, trying to look as old and hunched over as possible.

Sam F., Age 10
Tribe of Dan

Skit Night is so much fun! You get to see what all the tribes come up with. My tribe (Dan) did the Ten Commandments. Manasseh did a Do Not Steal message. Zebulun did a magic carpet ride through Moses’ life. Benjamin described and acted out 1 Timothy 4:12. Judah did people from the future and Bible times. Simeon did pantomime. Ephraim did a detective story. Gad did a puppet show. Skit Night was very funny. You try to get more points for Tribe of the Year. In the intermission you could buy refreshments from the Gilgal Store. They sell throwback sodas made with real sugar and good candy. When we got there we picked who would go first out of a hat. We also got to bring our sleeping bags and pillows. Morty and Minerva would play a song on the piano and did funny stuff and the judges would give our points at the end. Then we watched part of a movie with Waffles in it when she was little. It was very fun and encouraging to watch all the skits and hear different spiritual messages from all the tribes.

Shannon O., Age 10
Tribe of Judah

“Hey, kids, who wants to know what tonight’s theme is?” asked Streetlight. “What?” “It’s Stop and Go Night!” “Yay!” the kids shouted. Stop and Go Night is when Streetlight blows her whistle at dinner, and if you don’t freeze, no matter what you’re doing, you get a utensil taken away from you! One time, I was moving and Streetlight didn’t even notice me! One of the tribe leaders even randomly broke into song. When Streetlight blew her whistle, the tribe leader “sang” the new version of “If you take away my fork, you take away the biggest part of me,” but he got his knife taken away instead. Usually, the boys want to get their utensils taken away. Streetlight kept blowing the whistle so much and so fast that we didn’t know if it was stop or go. “This is the funnest night ever!”

All this news is weird (and funny), but it’s Stop and Go Night. It’s the way it is. Until next time, for those of you who understood what I’m saying, this was Stop and Go Night.

Isaiah L., Age 9
Tribe of Simeon

On Monday, July 2^nd, we went to an awesome creek. First we went in back of the dining hall, then we went on the rough path to the creek. When we got there, we sang the Kiddush and Ha-Motzi, then some of the staff went back to get the dinner. For dinner we had sandwiches. While we were eating some people tried to fish but they didn’t succeed. Some dropped food in for the fish to eat. There were these little crawdads Danny caught in a water bottle but in the end they let them go.

Jaden says his favorite part was when he saw Daniel reach under the algae and pull out a little crawdad. There were a lot of water insects and fish. It was a fun time and I enjoyed it.

Isaac H., Age 11
Tribe of Dan

It hits everyone at random. It cannot be foreseen. But all must be prepared when Streetlight announces it’s………….. FEED YOUR FRIEND NIGHT!! During this meal, you must find a friend, get your food, and begin feeding your friend. Everything on your plate must be fed to you by the friend. But not everything must be eaten. A good strategy is to switch the plate with your food with your friend’s plate, so when you reach to get some food, it’ll be the friend’s food, and you can feed them. Take turns and there will be no mess. On each turn, ask your friend what food he would like. He or she will say what their choice is. Proceed by feeding them what they request. Don’t put too much or too little on your spoon; the food should actually go into your friend’s mouth. While all solid food must be fed by your friend, it is perfectly fine to drink from your own cup. When all your food is gone, you may put away your dishes. This meal is over, and you can look forward to your next great activities. Feed Your Friend Night is one of the most fun but silliest parts of camp.

LaTanya H., Age 12
Tribe of Manasseh

Mission Impossible is a fan-favorite at Camp Gilgal. Kids love the darkness and the intenseness. One of the oldest campers, Mia, says, “MI is a lot of fun with stealth.” MI is a mission that can be impossible. Tribes have to go from clue to clue. Doesn’t that sound easy? Well, it’s not. Out-of-cabin staff have flashlights and try to catch you. When you get caught you have to go back to your cabin, no matter where you are.

Every year MI is a big, fun surprise. This year the lights went out when we were in our cabins. One camper, Jeremiah, says, “When the lights went out, my cabin went crazy!” I agree, cabins went ballistic. Playing the game is absolutely so much fun. You have to roll, slide, and drop down hills or surfaces.

This year the youngest girls cabin, Benjamin, won. Even though other tribes didn’t win, they still go to have fun!

Madison H., Age 10
Tribe of Judah

One day at camp, Streetlight announced that it was Animal Night. All of us went crazy. Zemeira said, “I wanted to be a chinchilla.” Zoe said “that I wanted to be a wolf.” Shannon was a sheep, but she wanted to be a raccoon. All the people I’ve asked are in my tribe. I wanted to be a tiger. But instead our tribe leader Acorn had a glue gun so she glued cotton balls to our white shirts so that we would look like sheep. Then we went knocking on other cabin doors because we needed to borrow some black pants. After that we ran down the hill and lined up for diner and when they called us we said, “We feel a little sheepish.” Then we took pictures. And finally, we got to go to dinner. Animal Night was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Claire C., Age 7
Tribe of Benjamin

The campfire I liked because… The s’mores were gooey and hot and they tasted awesome. And the flames looked like they were dancing tall and wide and pretty. And Onyx said some things about himself and did a long testimony and it was amazing. And the moon was glittering everywhere I looked. Also the staff sang beautiful songs about the Bible, God, Jesus and good and bad. Also when we came to the campfire I got a piggy back ride, and after that I sat down on the campfire benches. Taliah came up to the front of the patio and sang another song from the East Coast Camp Gilgal called Hine Ma Tov with Streetlight. It was a camp song in Hebrew. Every time we repeated the song it got faster and faster. We lastly stood up to sing more songs and pray. Then everyone was excited from having s’mores and really tired, too. So we finally went up to our cabins as a tribe and fell asleep.

Daniel P., Age 10
Tribe of Dan

Hi, my name is Daniel. The night swim is a great event and thing to do on the Fourth of July. We played Moby Dick and basketball. But to all I must advise: get Simba or Professor to ride on. It was a really refreshing time because the day was hot and long. I was playing Leech and it was a really fun day. Leech is where you hang onto someone like Simba – he’s fun. I like to play Leech and a football game. We were playing knock out, but soon we had a lot of fun and there are a lot of kids and I mean a LOT OF KIDS! That swim was great and I am really enjoying my first year of camp with the tribe of Dan. I can’t wait for next year!

Josh L., Age 11
Tribe of Dan

After Streetlight announces it is Utensil Night everyone gathers in the dining hall. Onyx brings out a big pot full of random utensils, and everyone reaches in and grabs a utensil without looking. I see some people getting spatulas, big spoons, slotted spoons, whisks, etc. The lucky people get plastic forks. Isaiah says he got a big spatula with a wooden handle and had a really hard time eating with it. He says he scooped the food up and ate off the spatula. Sam says he got a spatula. Also he says he had an easy time eating. He scooped up the food and sucked it off. I got a small spoon and had a hard time eating. For dessert there is chocolate cake that is really good. The only bad thing is if you have a hard-to-eat utensil. Utensil Night can be hard, messy and sticky, but there is no more fun than having to eat with a whisk. The End.

Sasha S., Age 8
Tribe of Simeon

The moon was very bright when we went stargazing. We all got our sleeping bags and we went to the black top. We saw Saturn, and Mars, and the moon, and the Big Dipper. We also saw the Little Dipper and the North Star. We were talking about the nebulas, where stars are born and how they are made out of gas. Some stars are hot and some are cool. Some stars are old and some are young. We also learned that our sun came from a nebula. We had lots of sun. I saw a bat gliding through the sky. We saw lots of stars and all of us were lying next to friends, so we were not afraid of the dark. We talked about the black holes and how supernovas form. We also learned that no matter how big the universe is God is with us, no matter what. I had lots of fun doing stargazing at Camp Gilgal.

Isaiah L., Age 9
Tribe of Simeon

The first thing we did was split up the teams. The boy campers grouped up with the girl tribe leaders and the girl campers with the men tribe leaders. Next we made the groups. The people who were defense guarded the jail and the degel (flag). The offense went to the enemy’s side to get the degel or free people from jail. Josh said his favorite part was chasing the boy tribe leaders.

David’s favorite part was trying to help the offense find the flag by screaming in the jail. My favorite part was when I was behind enemy lines. Onyx found us and we ran in the paintball course jumping over rocks and logs and then we slid under the net and lost him! Then I really had to go to the bathroom so I let myself get caught. All of the people who escorted me didn’t know that I wasn’t the one. As soon as one of our people got in the flag circle the other team won.

Danny G., Age 10
Tribe of Ephraim

I am going to tell you about the men’s campfire. It was so funny because I fell asleep. I helped start the fire, and it was pretty cool. I like when we worship God. I thought we were going to make s’mores again, but we didn’t. I liked when we all sat down on top of the tables. It was funny when I fell on the floor. Sonic and Maverick were the speakers. It was the best campfire I have ever had. The fire was pretty big. I hope this year we make a big fire. Well, I think you should come to campfire. It is very fun. I hope we have another men’s campfire. Well, now you know about the men’s campfire.

Fun Days

Carrie M., Age 8
Tribe of Benjamin

I woke up really early for the trip on Sunday. We went to pick up the vans and drove to pick up the kids, five girls, and so many boys!

It was quiet. We played music. I didn’t know the song, but I liked the music.

I liked the view! But we had to stop a lot because the boys had to go to the bathroom!!!

Then we got to eat at McDonalds! I got chicken nuggets and a milkshake.

I liked to sit in the back because it’s like a roller coaster. It’s so bumpy!  😉 But then I got a headache from reading in the van. I fell asleep for an hour or so. I woke up by someone kicking me. When we got there, there were people pounding on the window to welcome us.

Nathan P., Age 12
Tribe of Gad

Morty and Minerva helped teach us how to make the challah. I learned how to braid challah from Jeremiah. The challah tasted pretty good for me making it. We learned why we braid challah. It stands for justice, peace, and love. We added poppy seeds to our challah to make it taste and look nice. They gave us like 30 or 20 minutes to make our challah. Some people tried to write their names with food coloring. It didn’t work out that well, so they had a blob of food coloring on it. Most people wrote their names on the side of the wax paper that we had to put challah on. We put the challah on the trays that they gave us and we put them on it.

The Next Generation Chooses God

(Joshua 1:9)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

The Gilgal Gazette is published by Camp Gilgal campers for Camp Gilgal campers and their families and friends!

Tribes:

Tribe of Naphtali: Ellie M., Erica B., Claire C., Sarah M., Shalom M., Persaeus B., Acorn, Toto

Tribe of Benjamin: Lizzy N., Mekerah P., Monique L., Sarai M., Shannon O., Yael S., Sparkler, Galaxy

Tribe of Dan: Eithan S., Jonathan P., Sam C., Sasha S., Boaz B., Gilligan, Yamaha

Tribe of Asher: Carrie M., Elizabeth R., Maddie H., Noa B., Sophia M., Zoe N., Nike, T-Rex

Tribe of Levi: Corey W., Daniel P., Isaac H., Michael K., Sam F., J-Box, Stix

Tribe of Reuben: Dinah N., Emmalee S., Haneen R., LaTanya H., Rebekah V., Taliah S., Waffles, Willow

Tribe of Simeon: Daniel C., David R., Isaiah L., Nathan B., Nathan S., Java, Ewok

Out of cabin staff: Esquire, Moose, Poppins, Sauté, Sherbert, Snapple, Sonic, Streetlight

Erica B., Age 8
Tribe of Benjamin

My first day of camp was greeted by my tribe leaders. When I got to my cabin, everyone in my tribe was making name tags. I made a name tag, too. I wrote my name in turquoise because it is my favorite color. After, we heard the whistle blow. That meant it was dinner time. My tribe and I all walked really fast down the hill together. We sat down as tribes and found out it was Utensil Night! My utensil was a pie-server. A girl in my tribe named Elizabeth got tongs. I could barely eat anything with the pie cutter so I asked for another utensil. This was my first time at summer camp and I was already having so much fun. After dinner, all the tribes made their degelim (flags). We had to compete for the aqua degel and we got it! Benjamin’s symbol is a wolf. We all helped make the background, and Sophia drew the wolf. I drew a tree next to the wolf but that’s not the end of it yet. After we made our degel, we went back to our cabins and got our toothbrushes, toothpaste, and went to bed.

The end

Fun Days

Jeremiah H., Age 12
Tribe of Gad

The Fourth of July parade had gone as planned for Camp Gilgal. We had won the award for “Best Marching Group” in Columbia’s Glorious Fourth of July Parade once again. Gilgal was singing until their voices were completely gone from worshiping the Lord. The songs that we had sung were “The Happy Song” and the chorus and bridge of “Our God.”

Many other marching groups were also competing in the parade to win best marching group for the parade. After the march, the camp got a break and ate lunch in the SHADE!!

Once we ate lunch, we went out to explore and enjoy Columbia. Once our freedom was up, we took our group picture and went back to camp.

Sasha S., Age 9
Tribe of Dan

During camp I bought an insect catching set. The first bug I caught was a big red centipede. And the first animal I caught was a lizard. All the bugs and animals were a big beetle, a big red centipede, two moths, a stink bug and a lizard. And I have people that help me – Boaz, Sam and Jonathan. And they help me catch bugs and animals. Boaz loves helping me catch bugs and animals. We use nets, a small cage, a bug watch, tiny nets and a magnifying glass. I find bugs and animals at the big rock and up the hill, and the small rock and down the hill. I release all my bugs because it is fun to catch bugs and animals and release them. I love bug and animal hunting.

What is your favorite bug or animal?

Boaz said: “It was a skater.” Where is your favorite spot to catch bugs and animals? Boaz said: “In the bathroom.” When do you like to go bug and animal hunting? Boaz said: “After lunch.” What gear do we use? Boaz said: “Nets and tweezers and magnifying glass. Small nets work.”

Monique L., Age 10
Tribe of Zebulun

Carpetball is awesome! Carpetball is a rectangular table, with rims and a drop off on both sides. There are five pool balls on each side and one ball that is used to knock the other balls off the table. How you play is you set up your pool balls on the table in any order that pleases you, and then take the other ball and try to knock the opponent’s balls off the table by rolling the ball across the table. In the beginning when you start, you are supposed to set up your balls, but after that you aren’t allowed to move your balls, unless you hit your own ball. Then you can only move it back to where it was before.

Noa thinks carpetball is a really fun game. She also thinks that the rules are fair and should be followed. Carpetball is truly awesome!

Erica B., Age 9
Tribe of Naphtali

One of the top things to do during free time is go swimming. One of the games we do is whirlpool. We go around the pool really fast and try to form a current. Sophia loves to swim. She goes underwater and swims with all her might. She’s like a fish.

A lot of people think the water in the pool is cold. Some people don’t even like to get in the pool. Whenever Stix goes in the pool the campers attack him. One day it was raining and everybody was sad because we couldn’t go swimming but we made it fun.

Last night we went down to the pool for night swimming. We played all sorts of games like Rings and Marco Polo. For Marco Polo someone is chosen to close their eyes and say Marco and the people who are playing with the person must answer with Polo. I hope you enjoyed my article.

Zemeira W., Age 10
Tribe of Judah

We were lining up and this music just started blasting our ears out, and everyone started yelling, “It’s Ladies Day!” It was lunch time so we went in to the dining hall. For lunch we had pizza and the boys would just walk in for fun. Every time they walked in we would sing, “Hit the Road, Jack.” On Men’s Day, we never go in to the dining hall, we just get ready and go.

Now back to Ladies Day. After lunch we had FOB, which means “Flat On Bunk.” But this FOB was different. We didn’t have to be flat on our bunks, so I said that it was “Fun On Bunk,” and we got to be on each other’s bunks. We ate candy and talked all FOB until the whistle blew. Then we had free time. I mostly swam. This year our theme was colors. I went on a hike to find things to make a wreath. It was so calm without the boys and I loved it. There were no rude jokes, less bad grammar, and just girls. Who wouldn’t like it? Well, I guess boys wouldn’t. So that just tells you how fun it is here. My friends and I had a great time the whole day, even after the boys came back. Don’t worry, every day is really fun.

The end

Emmalee S., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

Dodgeball is an optional game you can play at camp. I chose to play! The way you play is you split the players evenly on two sides. Then the whistle is blown and everyone runs to the balls set up in the middle of the court to bring them to their sides. Then you throw the dodge balls at other players on the other side. If you hit them they are out but if they catch it you are out and one of their players gets to come back in.

My strategy was to stay in the back when the whistle sounded and then let the balls be thrown to my side. Then I would grab a ball and collect all the balls on our side to throw at once. Usually, it worked and only one person got out. The most dangerous players are the staff like Java, J-Box, Sauté, Nike and Moose. Java’s favorite part was when Nathan S. was the last on his team and Java threw a ball thinking he would get him out. Then Nathan, eight years old, turned around and grabbed it with one hand to win the game for his team. Dodge ball was so fun. I recommend it.

Carrie M., Age 8
Tribe of Benjamin

After Hebrew, we have free time! We get to go swimming! After swimming, we played carpetball.

We have choir!!

I play the piano. I just learned the chords on the piano. Yamaha told me that the more you practice, the more you can play other instruments. We have choir for about 30 minutes. They also teach guitar, drums and dancing.

We get to eat snacks because there’s a shop. They have ring pops, popcorn, goldfish, Airheads, gummy bears, gummy worms, Otter Pops, soda, gummy hamburgers, fruit snacks and more!!!

When Yamaha gives me a break, I take out two dollars for the snack. They’re really cheap. I always put the money I don’t need back into the money bank. Sonic carries the money case with him so he won’t lose it. I buy Otter Pops because they are only ten cents.

Corey W., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

Carpetball is one of many fun games at camp. In carpetball you are supposed to hit down all the other players’ balls before they knock your balls down. If you knock all of theirs down they get one more shot, and if it gets to a tie then the two people put one out of five on the table. It progresses by one if you keep tie-ing. If you win you keep the one extra throwing ball and if you lose you can get back in line or go do something else and you can watch.

I asked J-Box about carpetball.

Q: What is your best winning streak?
A: About five or six games.

Q: What is your favorite thing about carpetball?
A: Having a good time with everyone.

Q: What’s your favorite strategy?
A: To put the balls I have close to me so they are hard to hit.

You can try to get two in one shot or as many as you want in one shot, but it is a hard game to play. There is one other way to play with ten balls but that’s just a made up game.

And that’s my article about carpetball.

Josh L., Age 11
Tribe of Dan

Everyone is hoping it’s that day and suddenly music from the dining hall comes on. All the boys start yelling and laughing and screaming, “It’s Men’s Dayyy!!!” Soon Onyx wearing plastic medieval armor and carrying a sword runs out and yells, “It’s Medieval Men’s Day!” Then all the boys run into the dining hall. We say the blessings and pray then they bring out pizza. After lunch we have FOB, then we hear a whistle blow, and we go outside. We see lots of staff wearing armor, then they split us up in three groups. They take us over to the picnic tables and have us pick a champion out of our group, and we voted on Jacob. Then we had to suit up Jacob using cardboard boxes, duct tape, and aluminum foil. The judges (Sonic, Onyx, and Mr. Tumnus) voted on Jacob as champion, but it’s okay because everyone had fun and in the end, everyone drank men’s brew.

Sophia M., Age 10
Tribe of Asher

Hi, I am Sophia M. and I will be telling you about workout with Esquire. To do the workout you will need shorts and closed-toed shoes. The first thing you do is a warm up lap around camp. Next you go to the Tabernacle area to do warm up. Here are some people that did workout with Esquire: Zoe, Carrie, Nike, Streetlight, Monique, Sarai, Lizzy and me. Some of the stretches we did were burpies, downward dog, sit ups, pushups, rock climbers and others.

My favorite part was the warm up lap, the downward dog, pull up and burpy. One reason why I liked all of these things are because they were easy.

I’ve asked Streetlight questions about her opinions on the workout:

Q: What was one of your favorite things about the work out?
A: I liked dead bugs.

Q: What stretch did you not like?
A: Planking.

Q: What was the hardest?
A: Burpies.

Q: Did you like the workout?
A: Yes.

Q: What was the easiest?
A: Sit ups.

David R., Age 10
Tribe of Simeon

Archery was really hard at first. We had to hike downhill and then hike down another hill that was really narrow and steep. Then we ran across the soccer field and there was an archery guide there expecting us. It definitely feels really cool pulling back the string on the bow with an arrow in it. You have to pull back the string with two fingers and you have to aim just above the target. The arrow has a holder on the back of it for it to attach to the string. You need to hear a snap in order for you to know the arrow is placed in the right place. You need to pull the string until the string is about to touch your cheek; you will have maximum power if you pull that far. If you pull the string further than you should it will snap. I have not experimented to see if that is true, but if I even bought my own bow I still would not experiment with it because the bow would cost too much and that would be just a plain waste of money. There is a shed that has a lot of bows and a lot of arrows because if someone broke an arrow they could run in and grab a new one. And that concludes archery.

Latanya H., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

Hungry at free time? Come to the Gilgal store. We have all kinds of candy, soda, and crackers. Is it a hot day? That’s okay, we have popsicles. They’re the perfect thing to eat when you’re hot. And guess what? We just got jewelry! You can send it to your loved ones at home. And here at Gilgal we like cheap, so we made our store affordable to our campers. Come on down.

Josiah C., Age 10
Tribe of Ephraim

In free time you do knockout, carpetball, swimming, tree climbing, knot tying, and you can buy things at the Camp Gilgal store. You usually have free time after Tabernacle, after Hebrew class, and after FOB. My favorite thing in free time is knockout. The best knockout player is J-Box. If J-Box misses it he shoots it back up and almost always makes it before the other person. I usually come in third or fourth. In carpetball my longest winning streak is 11. In the store there are Sour Punch Straws, popcorn, Airheads, soda, and other things. When you tree climb you get to climb a really big tree. Also the tree has lots of branches. In knot tying you get to learn how to tie really good knots. There is also choir. In choir you get to dance, you get to sing and you get to learn how to play the piano, drums, and guitar.

Yael S., Age 12
Tribe of Benjamin

Hi, my name is Yael. This is my first year at camp on the West Coast. To get to camp I had to take a very long drive from Oregon. It took me two days to get there. I was not alone in the car. In the car with me was my friend Noa, our brothers Boaz and Eithan, and our dads. We were all very excited. I asked Noa how she enjoyed the drive. She said it was quite relaxing. She also said that on a scale of 1 to 10 her excitement was up to 10.

Noa’s favorite part of camp is Mission Impossible (MI). We watched some movies while we were driving. We had to stop at a hotel. I was very tired when we got there because we were driving all day. How would you feel if you were driving for two days?

After we had breakfast we got in the car and drove for two hours until finally we were at camp. We were very, very, very excited. All the staff banged on our car. It was worth it to come to this camp.

Emmanuel R., age 12
Tribe of Dan

Swimming is a fun way to cool down, especially on a hot summer day. Some days the pool is cold, other days it is mild. Most of the time we get a sudden urge to swim or it is a desire to relax when we see the pool. There are a lot of things you can do besides swimming; you can tan, or sit and relax with friends. Swimming is a great way to work out and get your mind off things. While you swim your body uses your arms to pull yourself through the water. If you swim daily you will see a difference in your upper body strength. While you swim you can just forget the day and relax. The pool is also completely safe: it goes down to five feet, the pool is cleaned every day, and there is always a first aid kit nearby. The pool is open from 3:00 to 5:00 during free time. Some days the pool is not open because we are going somewhere or the lifeguard is not there at that time. The pool is a wonderful place to be on a hot sunny day. Just ask your friends. So come on down at free time and have a little dip!

Daniel C., Age 10
Tribe of Simeon

One of my favorite activities of Camp Gilgal is pool activities. My favorite pool activity is Launcher. It’s when some tribe leaders throw campers high up in the air and into the pool. I had a lot of fun when they do that to me. Another favorite pool activity is Whirlpool. It’s when everybody in the pool goes around the pool. It will cause a drift that will pull you around the pool. Then you go the other way around. It’s not as easy as it sounds because the whirlpool’s current will pull you back if you don’t do it hard enough.

I asked Java what was his favorite thing in the pool. He said that he and J-Box would go around splashing all of the people whose hair was dry. They splashed everyone by doing an enormous cannonball right next to them. Their favorite targets were camp staff.  They remembered many situations where multiple staff were splashed at one time. Other than those activities, there was one more that I enjoyed a lot. When male staff were distracted, my friends and I would jump on their backs. It’s so fun, but not for the staff!

Corey W., Age 10
Tribe of Ephraim

Tying knots is fun. Moose teaches a bunch of knots like the taut-line hitch, the square knot, or the bowline. With the bowline you can’t get it undone by pulling one part of the rope. The slip knot is another knot that is fun to show to your friends. When you pull it in the right place it will undo. The bowline knot won’t come undone when you pull the rope. The fisherman’s knot is good for holding onto a piece of rope or tying a hook. The figure eight knot looks like the number “8.” The square knot is easy to undo, because it has a “safety latch,” but it takes practice to undo it right. Moose always brings ropes for us to tie with!

Noa B., Age 11
Tribe of Asher 

Water is cold
Amazingly fun
The mats are blue
Excitingly fast
Rapidly the water runs

Slamming into the sides
Laughing all the way
I ride
Down the slide
Everything I love

Lizzy N., Age 10
Tribe of Zebulun

Water balloon volleyball takes place in a volleyball court. There are two tribes that take place on either side of the net. They each have a tarp on which one of the teams gets a water balloon and must throw it over the net, but the water balloon must stay on the tarp. If the water balloon hits the net and it pops, it is a point against you. If the water balloon goes under the net it is also a point against you. If it hits the net and doesn’t pop, and it makes it back to your tarp safely, no point is given. If the water balloon makes it over the net but doesn’t make it into your tarp, it is a point against you. If the water balloon makes it over the net, and into your net, no point is given. If the other team has three points, you lose. Each team gets two tries. Benjamin and Simeon were up first. They were the two youngest tribes. Simeon won and Benjamin lost. The next two tribes were Ephraim and Judah and Judah won. It went on and on and on until the finals. Simeon won and had victory to themselves. When our team was playing, it was so much fun. The other tribes were cheering for us, and it was wonderful. I wish we could play it again! It was a fun and wonderful game!

Crazy Nights

Jeremiah H., Age 12
Tribe of Gad

Men’s horseback riding was very enjoyable and scenic. The horse-to-camper bond had enhanced the thrill of this activity so much.

Specifically in my group, Jacob S. would stop his horse as we went on our ride until there was room between him and the person in front of him. He would then give his horse a kick and off Jacob would go running on his horse, causing the horses behind to run forward. All the others caught up to him except Java’s horse. Java’s horse would not move like the other horses. He was left behind so far that the cowboy had to go get him.

After a long ride up a big hill, we safely got back to the ranch. There we got off our horses and headed to the meadow to play beside the creek going through it. While we were playing by the creek, campers were jumping up on rocks. One of them, Reuven R., fell on a rock! Luckily, he was ok. Everyone played until we headed back to camp.

My friend Jaden had some words to say about the ride. He enjoyed horseback riding very much. Jaden’s horse, Dorothy, had at one point bitten Jacob’s leg, which was Jaden’s favorite part of the ride.

Eithan S., Age 10
Tribe of Dan

You copy the cat and it was so much fun with Boaz, Sasha, Sam, Jonathan and me. Whoever wears the cat mask is the copycat. We take turns wearing the mask. It was good and I liked Copy Cat Night. Gilligan did a crazy dance and Sasha was yelling. I saw a girl wearing a cat mask. It was made out of a plastic plate with fuzzy pipe cleaners. People did crazy things and I didn’t get to eat a lot of my food. I really liked Copy Cat Night and I hope we can do it again. I am interviewing Yael S. “Did you have fun?” “Yes, I did.” “What did you do on Copy Cat Night?” “I did all kinds of crazy things.” “Who was the craziest copycat and why?” “I think Galaxy was the craziest.”

Tribes of Gilgal

Michael K., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

Water balloon volleyball was a blast. My tribe got second place. We played at the volleyball court just down the road from camp. In water balloon volleyball our tribe had to launch a water balloon over a net with a tarp. Our tribe held the tarp by the sides, launching balloons and catching them. I helped on the side of the tarp keeping it tight so our tribe could launch it. To catch a water balloon, our tribe had to try to move the tarp wherever it was going. They made up something called the “23^rd Annual Glorious Double Elimination Bracket System Tourney” and this is how it goes: it is very complicated and when asked, Sonic declined to comment. During the night all the tribes cheered for each other. My tribe came up with the best cheers and dances, and it was so much fun cheering for other tribes. One of the cheers we did was, “Simeon sharp as a blade.” My favorite part was the championship game. We played Reuben and beat them the first time. Because the girls were undefeated we had to play against them twice. They won the second game which made them champions. We came so close. It was sad but I am happy that we got so close. Hopefully my tribe will win next year. We did a good job doing it. Thank you, staff, for putting it together. I can’t wait for next year’s game. I really liked it!

Interview with Corey:

Q: How did you like water balloon volleyball and why?
A: He liked it very much because we kept winning.

Q: What is your favorite part about water balloon volleyball?
A: His favorite part was playing the girls in the final championship.

Q: Why?
A: Because he had a lot of fun.

Persaeus B., Age 7
Tribe of Benjamin

There are nice ladies in the cabin of Benjamin because the tribe leaders are really nice and we made name tags for all of the beds. We love Camp Gilgal because they split you up with the staff members and I got Waffles and Galaxy. They are super nice. When you first came, they banged on the car doors. It’s super fun. After you get there they tell you their names and after a couple hours they tell you the cabin that you’re gonna be in. Camp Gilgal is awesome because it’s like you’re in a huge family and you are. Camp Gilgal has like forty-four people here this year. It is awesome because you are never lonely in your cabin because you at least have to talk to somebody in your cabin. The tribes are awesome but the tribe of Benjamin is much better. The name of our cabin is Hermit Valley. It’s awesome because the cabin can fit a lot of people. Claire likes to eat outside of the box. She makes funny food creations.

Zoe N., Age 10
Tribe of Asher

First, when Skit Night is here your tribe leader gets all the stuff that you need for your skit. Then you have to rehearse your skit so you can get lots of points to win Tribe of the Year.

Next, for Skit Night you should practice every day so you can nail it and get Tribe of the Year. Then you have to put a Bible verse in your skit.

Then, if you get 300 points from Skit Night then they add the points to what you have already. The way to earn 300 points is 100 for creativity, 100 for the Bible verse and finally another 100 for teamwork.

Yamen L., Age 11
Tribe of Manasseh

Eight ladies in our cabin make up the tribe of Manasseh. We have six campers in our tribe. Their names are Haneen, LaTanya, Mia, Dinah, Emmalee, and Yamen. (That’s me.) My two tribe leaders are Sauté and Hershey. They are really nice. We have the Grizzly Flat cabin. That’s where the oldest girls stay. We also like this cabin because it’s the biggest one. We all like to work together when it’s Animal Night, Cabin Inspection, and Cabin Decoration Day. Every night we have devotions. Sometimes we go in a circle and everyone tells what they want to pray for.

In our cabin, Mia is the oldest. We have this thing. Since me, LaTanya, Haneen, Emmalee and Dinah are all turning 12 we just say that we are. Mia says that she is 13 because that’s how old she’s turning. Even though I was new I made friends with them instantly. They are probably the nicest people you will ever meet. Our tribe also tries to guess what we are going to do. We like to wear each other’s clothes. We all get along, and we have never gotten in a fight. I’m the only one in this tribe who’s only been here for one year. Everyone in my tribe pretty much wants to be a tribe leader when we are older.

Shalom M., Age 8
Tribe of Naphtali 

Time Warp Tuesday is a theme night.

Backwards Night

Taliah S., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

Backwards Night is one of our many theme nights at Camp Gilgal. Backwards Night is when each tribe dresses up in something backwards for dinner.

Elijah Y., Age 9 2/3
Tribe of Ephraim

I am in the tribe of Ephraim. Our two counselors are Maverick and Yamaha. The campers are Josiah, Danny, Corey, Michael, and me. During FOB we invented a game called FOB Ball. You sit on the top bunks and pass the ball around. Here are the rules: if in any way it falls off the bed, the person whose bunk it is ends up out of the game. If the person who throws it makes the ball hit the wall and go out they’re out. If it hits the wall then the bunk nothing happens. It is also the same if the person catches the ball. If it hits you then the wall it is a foul. If you get a foul you have to sit on your back and throw and catch the ball once. If it lands on your bunk without touching the wall you’re out. That is how you play FOB Ball. We also invented FOB Hockey. Basically, you flick a piece of noodle, shape it into a disk and try to score it into the opponent’s goal. It cannot roll or flip.

That is my article.

Sarai M., Age 12
Tribe of Benjamin

Utensil Night is when a big container full of utensils is passed around, and without looking everyone picks a utensil and has to eat with that utensil. Sonic had the big container full of big spoons, strainers, whisks, huge ladles, funnels, spatulas and all kinds of kitchen utensils. I got a giant spoon with many holes. So did LaTanya. Toto got a spoon, Mekerah got a spatula, and Willow got a ladle. Sherbert’s favorite was trying to eat the meatballs with her whisk. She also really liked watching everyone else eat. From the big container Sonic was carrying, I picked a spoon with holes that was almost as big as my head. It was very hard to eat my spaghetti, meatballs and bread with my spoon with many holes in it. Moose’s favorite part was trying to eat spaghetti and meatballs with a paint brush because he had never done it before. My favorite parts were watching everyone else and trying to eat without making a big mess.

Jacob S., age 12
Tribe of Gad

The people in the tribe of Gad are Nacho, Java, Isaac, Jeremiah, Nathan, Elliot, Jaden and myself (Jacob S.). The things the tribe likes to do are eat, sleep, swimming, and everything that can be done with water balloons. Most of the time, approximately 90%, we are goofing around. One time, Jeremiah, Nathan, and I were filling water balloons and then J-Box came in and asked what we were doing. Nathan hid the water launcher in his pants. I put the water balloons in my arm pits and Jeremiah ran away. Then we regrouped and started launching water balloons at our own cabin. When Nathan remembered this story he said, “We looked great when we did that!” When FOB comes along, our tribe goes nuts. We run to our bunks, scream, and have a great time. Also our tribe loves to care for each other. Gad is an awesome tribe!

Dinah N., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

Wells Fargo is a night game we play at Camp Gilgal. We start this game during the evening and end when it’s dark. How you play is all the staff members are the faithful and loyal Wells Fargo agents and they spread out outside on the hill hiding bags of gold. The campers are the outlaws who try to steal the bags of gold. The Wells Fargo agents are trying to guard the gold. The outlaws have to steal and bring it back on their side. There are three rounds. “Wells Fargo is really exciting to play when you get into it and the staff are hilarious,” says Latanya (age 12). “This is my favorite year at Wells Fargo since I tried to play and it’s really fun,” says Haneen, one of the campers (age 12). There are about 15 bags of gold and the outlaws have to steal as much as possible. Emmalee, one of the campers tells us one of her strategies: “You have to be stealthy and pretend to be one of the Wells Fargo agents.” Wells Fargo is a really fun game and it gets you to exercise. 

Elizabeth K., Age 11
Tribe of Zebulun 

The girls of Zebulun run a tight ship. Literally. The tribe leaders, Nike and Vintage, keep it that way. For Cabin Inspection, the hard rock mine sparkles. Shoes are lined up. Suitcases are zipped and beds are neat and tidy. Nike strives to make these two weeks the best for first-time campers. She’s very sweet, just like candy we can buy at the store. Taliah is good at everything; from swimming to doing makeovers to lining up shoes, she is the one to ask. Monique has a unique personality that calms the spicy tempers in the cabin. She is a good listener and very funny. Sarai is the fashion chick in the group. Her outfits are cute and her sunglasses go well with anything. Ooh La La! Lizzy is the athlete like Nike. She is a competitive swimmer. Vintage is quiet and reserved. She likes to listen to us toss around ideas for the upcoming theme night. She helps us make the fun ideas possible to do. I like to laugh and talk with Sarai and my favorite time is right before FOB. We all like to get our giggles out. I enjoy being in the tribe of Zebulun. I hope to come back to Camp Gilgal next summer.

Madison H., Age 11
Tribe of Asher 

Animal Night is a really fun night. There are so many different animals. My tribe, Asher, dressed up as pandas. First, we looked for black pants, next we put on white shirts and Nike did our hair like panda ears. Then Nike and T-Rex put black makeup on our eyes and noses. After that we heard the whistle and we ran down the hill and we got in line. Snapple picked us and we said, “Kung Fu Pandas Heya!!”

After that we got to see all of the animals that there were. Party animals, sea water fish, jelly fish, animal fries, zebras, bandit birds of Levi, and us the pandas. My favorite one was the zebras. They wore black clothes and white duct tape. The out of cabin staff dressed up as monkeys. I thought it was funny because they had a paper plate on their faces with a monkey picture on it.  All of them had a banana as a telephone and Streetlight had a blow up tree with coconuts. She was hugging it so it looked like she would never let go.

Animal Night is a really fun, awesome, yet amazing  night but that is not the only theme night.  Yes, there are more theme nights like Utensil Night, Be Nice to Your Fellow Camper Night, and Feed a Friend Night. But don’t worry there are more theme nights. So that was Animal Night. It is awesome.

Interviews and Family

Emmalee S., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

Capture the Degel is one of the games we play at camp. How you start the game is the leader blows a whistle and the two sides of male staff and camper ladies against lady staff and male campers charge each other’s sides to find the degel while the other side hides. The safest way I think you can play is by having a lot of defenders who are people who guard the Degel. My strategy was have people go scream on the other side to get caught and then find the jail and degel. Then they say they have to go to the bathroom and tell our team where to go. Then I went with Java and Ewok to get it. We were almost about to catch it, and they sacrificed me to get caught. Then Java fake jumped in the jail and we all started running and J-Box got the degel. In all the chaos Ewok jumped in jail to set us free to go. So our plan worked after all.

Dinah from my tribe liked defending because it was funny watching campers getting tagged. Moose liked chasing little campers. To win the game you have to bring the degel back to your side. Then the whistle blows three times and you know it’s over. Afterwards we tell war stories in the dining hall.

Lizzy N., Age 10
Tribe of Zebulun

Onyx is an out-of-cabin staff member at Camp Gilgal this year. Onyx has been coming to camp for eight years. His favorite part about camp is getting to know the campers and to let them know more about God in a fun way. When he is at home, he loves to cook and play backgammon in coffee shops. He likes to study psychology and languages. 

More about Onyx:

Q: Did you already graduate from college?
A: No.

Q: What do you think about FOB?
A: I love FOB. It saves my life from being exhausted.

Q: Do you have a job?
A: Yes, an internship at Jews for Jesus.

Q: What is your best memory from when you were a camper?
A: Being at Bass Lake at teen camp in a banana boat.

Q: Describe Capture the Degel from your past.
A: It was kind of the same. It was one of the most exciting things in camp.

Q: How were the meals from the past?
A: I ate salad, never anything else.

Q: Who are your closest friends?
A: Mr. Commissioner and Cucamonga.

Q: What are your favorite hobbies?
A: Calligraphy, swimming, and reading.

Q: What is your favorite game?
A: Carpetball.

Haneen R., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

A few nights ago we played Counselor Hunt. The point of the game was to find and get the leaders down to the dining hall. The hard part is that each leader is a different animal or thing. So, say because Waffles and Acorn were frogs you had to do something to lure them to the dining hall. It was really fun. T-Rex was a t-rex, J-Box was an athlete, Java was a penguin, Sauté was a fainting goat, Snapple was a jelly fish, Willow was a llama, Ewok was a nerd, Sparkler was Doug from UP, Toto was Toto, Sonic was Sonilla Ice, Stix was a mocking bird, Gilligan was a whale, Yamaha was a koala, Sherbert was a cat, Esquire was a dog, and Streetlight was Minerva. Altogether, Counselor Hunt was so much fun and we got all the leaders. I hope we continue playing in the future. I asked my cabin and they really enjoyed playing it too. 

Elizabeth K., Age 11
Tribe of Zebulun 

For my second article with the Gilgal Gazette, I chose to interview Whimzy, a fun-loving, assistant tribe leader of Judah. This is her first year as staff, although she has been a camper many times. She loves the colors of the rainbow which shows how bright and bubbly she is. Her favorite foods are chocolate, potatoes and fruit, though not together! She loves to swim, but she’s not into sports very much. She has a favorite hobby – reading! She loves to read. Her favorite books to read are fairy tales. When asked if she had any advice for campers, she paused, thought a bit, and then said: “Have fun at camp, still make time to do business with God.”

Maddie H., Age 11
Tribe of Asher

My name is Maddie and my tribe dressed up as everyday heroes. Nike and T-Rex, my tribe leaders, told us what we were going to be. Sophia was a teacher, Carrie was an army ranger, Zoe was a lifeguard, Elizabeth was a nurse, Noa was an underwater finder, and I was a veterinarian.

Daniel P., Age 10
Tribe of Dan 

I asked Sherbert questions and here’s what I got. Her favorite sport is tennis. Between tacos and pizza, she said she likes tacos better. She likes Coke over Mountain Dew. Her favorite animal is an elephant. I love penguins. I have a stuffed penguin that everyone in my cabin likes. Her favorite car is a Mustang convertible. My favorite car is a Bugatti Veyron. I asked her why she likes Camp Gilgal and Sherbert said because she loves all the campers. Camp Gilgal means a lot to her. She says it’s a family of people growing closer to God. She thinks my hair is awesome. She got her name because she loves sherbet ice cream and it was her grandmother’s nickname. I asked her how she liked Ladies Day and she said it was fun and relaxing. Her favorite part about camp is getting to know all of us campers. Her favorite spot in camp is sitting out on the porch because it’s peaceful and has a beautiful view of God’s creation. Her favorite ice cream is sherbet, of course.

Only at Camp Gilgal

Jacob S., Age 12
Tribe of Gad

J-Box is one awesome tribe leader. He is very athletic and loves Y’shua. When I interviewed J-Box I asked him some questions. The first question was how long he has been playing basketball. He said he has been playing for five years. The second question is how long he has been coming to camp. J-Box said, “Two years.” The third question is, “Where do you get all your swag?” He said, “From my momma.” I thought that was funny. The fourth one is how much he can bench press. He said, “I don’t usually bench press but I usually get up around 200 pounds.” The fifth question is when he accepted God into his life. He said, “Eight years old.” The next question is whether he has any siblings, and he said, “Yes, one brother, three sisters, one half-sister.” “What are you going to college for?” J-Box is going to college for sports. The eighth question was how many sit-ups he can do. J-Box said, “125 in a row.” The ninth question is what’s his favorite food. He said, “Pizza and hamburgers.” The last question is how much he reads his Bible daily. He said, “Two to four times.” That was an interview with J-Box.

Daniel P., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

Well, camp life is great. You wake up at 8am. If you come you’ll do things like crafts, Hebrew, FOB, free play, swimming and games!!

So in my cabin FOB is great. Oh, by the way FOB stands for “Flat on Bunks.” At camp the food is great and of course carpetball bum dumb bum!! Yes, my great friend Corey’s best streak is winning 20 in a row. Camp is great.

Oh, games… Wells Fargo and MI (Mission Impossible). So Wells Fargo is a game of running to grab bags of gold. It takes strategy too. So that’s the…..oops!!

I didn’t tell you I am in the tribe of Levi. My tribe mates are Isaac, Sam, Corey, and Michael. The leaders are J-Box and Stix. The leaders of camp are Moose and Streetlight. Then there’s Chuck, not Chuck Norris, but close.

So there’s cuppage which is bomb! Bam bam! Cuppage is banging cups on the table – fun, right! Yeah, I know, and cookie butter!!! Yaaaa! The top secret black market item from Trader Joes is the unusual spread of Awesome!!! Thank you, thank you, I know.

So I hope you enjoyed my article. Just remember you have not tasted awesome until you’ve tasted cookie butter. So to end my story article, 

I just want to say
Stay classy, Camp Gilgal.

Nathan B., Age 9
Tribe of Simeon

I interviewed Snapple. She is awesome. I asked her how old she is and she said, “That is an excellent question.” She has been at camp for six years as staff. Her favorite Snapple flavors are Lemon Tea or Diet Peach. Snapple comes back to camp because she LOVES camp. She wishes it was all year. I do, too! I love camp and want it to last all summer. There is a game called carpetball and I love it. Snapple loves it, too. I played her. She beat me. I was sad. We’re still friends. I am so happy Snapple is at camp. She is always happy and funny. She is nice. Snapple always gives me hugs. I love Snapple.

Emmalee S., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

I chose Hebrew because I am interested in learning another language. Poppins and Esquire lead Hebrew. When you walk into Hebrew class you can sit anywhere you want. Once you sit, there are two cups, one with colored pencils and one with markers. There are five staff who hand out Hebrew packets, and in them are a bunch of English words that are translated into Hebrew. Then you have to draw a picture and write the Hebrew characters and translation five times. Once that is done you have a leader check it and give you a sticker. Then you write the word in English and Hebrew. you put it on your back and have all five staff sign your sticker once you say your word in English and Hebrew. After all five signatures you go to Poppins for your pick out of the prize box. I got these small frogs that pop when you suction them to the table. Sarai from the tribe of Benjamin likes that people get to draw on your back and the prizes in the prize box. Nathan B. from the tribe of Simeon likes prizes and learning Hebrew. I like Hebrew because Poppins and Esquire are the best teachers. They make learning fun.

Zoe N., Age 9
Tribe of Judah

Mr. Tumnus has been part of camp for two years. He likes playing soccer. He loves the color blue and eating sushi. He grew up and went to school in Jerusalem. Mr. Tumnus likes teaching Hebrew. He thought Narnia was great. Mr. Tumnus’ favorite game was Capture the Degel. He learned Hebrew from the age of three and he has five siblings.

I am in the Alef group. We are learning the Alef Bet, which is the Hebrew alphabet. I only have to learn three more letters until I know the whole thing. Mr. Tumnus sings us the Alphabet Song to help us remember it. He is a good teacher and Hebrew is really fun. We write the letters that he teaches us in a book so that we can use it when we are older. At line up before every meal, Mr. Tumnus gives us the Hebrew word of the day. Mr. Tumnus gives words to us for the meals and food we eat. I hope I get to learn more Hebrew with Mr. Tumnus.

Latanya H., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

Everyone at Camp Gilgal knows what FOB is but for those of you who don’t know, FOB means Flat on Bunk. The whole tribe will chill on their bed for 45 minutes to an hour. Some campers sleep, write home, eat candy and so much more on their beds. However, the campers have to be quiet because the tribe leaders like to sleep.

Sarai, age 12, says, “I like FOB because you can sleep.” On the other hand, Michael, age 11, says “I don’t like FOB because it’s super long.” As you can see, the campers all feel differently about FOB. Haneen, age 12, feels like FOB is a nap during the day. I personally agree with that because I didn’t participate in nap time in kindergarten. So FOB is a great way to make up for that. Furthermore, FOB is basically free time in the comfort of your bed.

Mia C., Age 12
Tribe of Manasseh 

My article is about Sauté, my co-tribe leader. This year is Sauté’s first year as a tribe leader. She has a great personality and many talents. She loves dancing and has been doing it for nine years. Her ballet teacher had her compete with boys, and that pushed her to become a good jumper, and thus the name “Sauté” was born. She can do so many cool things that she learned as a dancer, like the splits. However, Sauté has also played soccer, and she had to choose between that and ballet. She also loves being in the outdoors, traveling, swimming and physical stuff. She even wants to pursue physical therapy as a career. In the past two years, Sauté has been to Germany and the Netherlands. She is very enthusiastic and energetic.

Aside from her hobbies, I need to also address her staff member career. Although Sauté was never a junior camper, her brother, Simba, told her all about camp. They met the same people, and she became friends with a lot of current tribe leaders. Sauté said that everybody that she and her brother met either are or have been camp staff. Sometimes siblings don’t always get along, but Sauté said, “It’s fun leading with him because I can ask him stuff since he’s been doing it longer.” She said that she loves “spending time with awesome campers and staff.” She hopes that she can continue at camp as long as possible.

She loves kids and obviously likes playing with them. If you wanted to know Sauté, she would want to tell you that she loves dancing, being in the outdoors, swimming, traveling and being with kids. And if you wanted to know her favorite food, she loves almost every kind of pasta with good sauce and meat in it.

So, moral of the story: meet Sauté and you will have lots of fun!

Latanya H., Age 12   
Tribe of Reuben 

Mail Call is a time right after dinner when campers and staff receive mail. Junior camp is a two week sleep away camp with no electronics, so the way families communicate is through mail. Anyone can send a letter or package to someone at camp. Anyway, Mail Call is a fun time at camp because who doesn’t want to receive mail? Campers love it when they get mail because there is usually candy and it means someone cares for them.

Dinah (age 12) says, “I like Mail Call because it is exciting and I like to receive mail.” Haneen (age 12) says, “When I receive mail it makes me feel loved.” Awww.

As you can see, campers love Mail Call. 

Mail Call has two rounds. The first one is just letters, but the second is more than that.  We call it The Bonus Round!! The bonus round is when campers receive packages. The best package is the package that contains candy. During both rounds we have a spinner. A camper gets picked to spin and show off their jazz hand skills when a staff member receives mail.

In conclusion, Mail Call is a time we receive mail and have fun.

Nathan P., Age 12
Tribe of Gad

Nacho likes jalapenos on his nachos. Nacho has secrets but refuses to tell me. Nacho is 5’9” and weighs 147. He has curly brown hair, has glasses, a wonderful beard, and has a perfectly oval head. He thinks he has tons of swag and my nickname for him is Swagedy. But I’m being sarcastic with the nickname. He says he loves all my siblings equally. Nacho is confident in himself. He listens to Indie music. He tells me that it’s none of my business if he has a wife or girlfriend. He likes rock underground hip hop and old people music. Nacho doesn’t know his social security number. He goes to college in Texas and lives in his mommy and daddy’s house in the summer. Nacho is majoring in Anthropology and wants to become a better critical thinker in college. Nacho’s happiest times were at camp. Nacho says his favorite food besides nachos is ribs with delicious barbeque sauce flavors. Nacho’s favorite part of San Antonio is the food. Nacho has two parents, an older sister and older brother. Nacho’s favorite beverages are Dr. Pepper, green tea, Sprite, mango juice, and water. That’s the basics of Nacho.

Monique L., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin 

You know what we do right after breakfast? Cabin clean up. You might think that it is a long and monotonous task, but it’s really quite fun. You not only learn to keep your room clean, but also you learn to get along with your tribe mates.

So first you should check under your mattress for “schmutz,” which are things like crumbs, dirt or dust combined. Then you should neatly tuck in your bed and straighten your sheets or sleeping bags. Then make sure your suitcase is properly stored and zipped and no straps are sticking out.

Next sweep, check the vanity, do litter patrol. Morty and Minerva, an elderly couple that live in the shack next door, check your cabin and walkway for infractions. They are very thorough and will find the slightest little thing wrong with your cabin so make sure you are very neat and continually check your cabin. You can leave notes and treats for Morty and Minerva. They enjoy surprises.

Cabin inspection is a lot of fun and you learn good cleaning techniques. I asked Sarai and she said it’s a good thing we have it. Otherwise we would never clean our cabin.

Elliot K., Age 12
Tribe of Gad 

Q: What is your favorite food?
A: Scones with clotted cream and lemon curd. 

Q: What is your favorite restaurant?
A: Chili’s. 

Q: What does Vintage mean?
A: Old-fashioned. 

Q: How long have you been involved with Jews for Jesus?
A: Nine years. 

Q: How long of a drive did it take you to get here?
A: Six and a half hours. 

Q: What are your favorite hobbies at camp and at home?
A: Writing poetry, knitting and illustrating. 

Q: What is your favorite camp in Camp Gilgal?
A: Junior camp. 

Q: How was camp when you were a kid?
A: Encouraging.

Q: Which is your favorite part about camp?
A: Worship and Wells Fargo. 

Q: Are you a lefty?
A: Yes, I am. 

Q: What was your favorite year?
A: My last year at junior camp.

Zoe N., Age 10          
Tribe of Asher

Dear Reader:

What we do during Tabernacle is first we worship. We usually sing three songs. After we sing the songs then we do the Sh’ma. Next, we do memory verses with Waffles and Gilligan. The verses are Joshua 1:7-9 and it says: “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not let this book of the Law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be successful wherever you go. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous; Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1: 7-9. We do it four times.

Finally, after we do the verses Moose comes up with his Bible and teaches us from the book of Joshua.

I love Tabernacle because Moose tells us about what happened when Joshua sent out two spies.

I asked Carrie questions about Tabernacle. Carrie likes Tabernacle a lot. Carrie’s favorite worship song is “The Happy Song.” Carrie’s favorite part of Tabernacle is to worship. Carrie’s favorite lesson so far about Joshua is when Rahab helped the spies.

Michael K., Age 10
Tribe of Ephraim 

This year at camp, I interviewed Moose. He has been the director of camp for 21 years. His favorite part of camp is the campers. He likes Capture the Degel a lot, but Waffles kept catching him and he didn’t like going to jail. Moose’s favorite meal is breakfast. He said that horseback riding was fun and his horse was named Bullwinkle. He liked to eat pine needles! Moose liked being a rooster on Animal Night. Moose has actually been a camper before, but not at Camp Gilgal. Moose doesn’t sleep during FOB. He loved men’s campfire. He also liked the campfire with s’mores. He thought Skit Night was wonderful. Moose really enjoyed the 20-foot sundae. He also thought stargazing was amazing. His favorite color is blue because of the LA Dodgers.

My favorite thing about Moose is that he loves me and he is my friend. Once during Mail Call he was so excited he fell over, that was really funny. Moose teaches in Tabernacle, where we worship and learn about God. I saw Moose throw at the egg toss in Columbia on the Fourth of July. He won third place! Moose caught my tribe twice during Mission Impossible. He was really good at that game. During free time, Moose hangs out with campers tying knots.

Elizabeth R., Age 9    
Tribe of Asher 

I got to sing with the Shabbat worship team this week. I asked Nike some questions because Sauté and Nike are leading it. I asked Nike why she chose the song, “Psalm 23,” and she said, “It is a fun song to sing and easy to learn.” I asked her why she likes worship and she said she loves music and praising Y’shua.

The reason why I want to do Shabbat worship is because Nike wanted me to and because I love the song Psalm 23. I really like this song because I like the tune and I really like the words. The people that were in Shabbat worship were Sophia, Carrie, Sarah, Noa, Yamaha, Nike, Maddie, Zoe, Erica, Shalom, Mekerah, Sauté and Shannon.

Maddie played the fiddle and Yamaha helped Carrie and Sarah play the piano. Nike and Sauté played the guitar, and Stix helped Sophia and Zoe with the drums and everybody else sang. I stood next to Nike and sang with her.

I had so much fun doing Shabbat worship. I hope to do it again next year. I really had a great time this year and am looking forward to learning a new song the next time we do it.

Noa B., Age 10
Tribe of Judah 

Galaxy is Benjamin’s ATL (Assistant Tribe Leader). She does things with wolves. In their tribe they have six girls. And I’m Noa (from Judah) and I am going to be interviewing Galaxy. Now Galaxy has gone to three summer camps and five winter weekends. Her favorite part of camp is being involved in the spiritual growth of campers.

When she was in fifth grade she went to a five-day nature science camp. And she was 12 years old when Galaxy first came to Camp Gilgal. Her teammate made her bed. Her favorite Bible verses are Matthew 6:25-34.

When she came to camp as a camper she enjoyed it so much that she wanted to help other campers have the same experience. She likes every shade of blue. Her favorite animal is a horse. And her tribe has never won Tribe of the Year.

I enjoyed interviewing with Galaxy and I am glad she is here.

Taliah S., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

Campfire is a very fun and uplifting part of Camp Gilgal. One of my favorite parts of campfire is camp songs. This is when we sing silly camp songs about God or about camp. I grew up in Camp Gilgal East and we do a lot of camp songs there, so sometimes Streetlight invites me up to help her with the camp songs. Another thing that we do during campfire is worship songs. Usually Streetlight, Nike and Stix (two other tribe leaders) would come up with a guitar and a drum. Then Streetlight and Nike would sing some worship songs. After we sing some worship songs usually a female tribe leader and a male tribe leader come up and share their testimony with all of us. They talk about their childhood and give all the campers advice. They also add a verse or two in there as well. The last thing that we do is probably my favorite part of the campfire. It is when all the staff come up to the front and the campers can come up and grab one of them then go out somewhere and talk and pray with them. I interviewed four campers and asked them all two questions:  

1. What is your favorite part of campfire?
2. What have you learned from the testimonies given this year?

One of them said to the first question, camp songs, one of them said worship. One of them said testimonies, and last but not least, they said praying. Then to the second question, two of them said there will be hardships in life but God will help you through it. One of them said he loves seeing the works God has done in their lives, and the last one said that she is thankful that her parents have a great relationship.

Boaz B., Age 8
Tribe of Simeon

I was able to interview Sonic for my first year of camp. Speedy Sonic has been at Camp Gilgal since he was nine years old. The next question I asked Speedy Sonic was what things he has done at Camp Gilgal. Speedy Sonic replied he has done everything at Camp Gilgal. He loves the night games. I asked him what things he likes about camp and he said that he likes Capture the Degel and having fun with campers. He has been on staff for seven years and he enjoys doing it very much.

Sonic was able to travel to Jerusalem two years ago. On this trip my dad was able to meet him and get to know him. When he was there he learned a lot about the Bible. I get along with Speedy Sonic very well. Sonic is always kind to me and hangs out with me. He is nice to the campers and I am glad he came this year. I like when we play games in the swimming pool. I always get horsey rides from him.

I had a great time getting to know Sonic. I know Speedy Sonic has had a great time at camp just like I did.

Emmalee S., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

In Tabernacle we were learning about Joshua picking one person from each tribe of Israel to carry twelve stones, one per person across the Jordan River. The water stopped so all could cross. Moose taught the lesson and he loves rocks so he wanted us to make a memorial of twelve stones. He took us up in between the men’s and ladies sides to the place where we made it. Then each of our seven tribes helped find our main rock and pulled it with ropes. Then every tribe found a rock for our memorial. Afterward we read out of Joshua to see how they made a memorial. Moose liked that we as campers worked as a team and made something to remember God’s promise.

Latanya H., Age 12
Tribe of Manasseh

Waffles is a beloved tribe leader at Camp Gilgal. She has been at camp since she was eight years old. You would think that Waffles, as a camper, would have been outgoing when she got to camp, but she wasn’t. She was really nervous with tears in her eyes. Soon after, she was totally fine and had lots of fun. She made lots of friends like Snapple, Bazooka, Hoops, Acorn, Nike, and lots more.

When she is not at camp she likes to bake, ride horses, and photograph. Her favorite color is minty green. Waffles’ parents named her Waffles because she had hair color like the color of waffles and she loves to bake.

Everyone at Camp Gilgal knows about the tribe of the year. Well, Waffles won it three times in her whole experience at Camp Gilgal. Her favorite part of it was paddle boating in 2011. I, Latanya, was in her tribe that year. I totally agree with her. Paddle boating was so much fun. When I asked her if Camp Gilgal has helped her with her journey with God, she said, “Definitely, yes!” Waffles is a fun, loving, awesome person. Camp Gilgal loves her, especially me!

Samuel C., Age 9
Tribe of Dan

First we pick a color of the degel. Second, we pick the tribe and its symbol. Third, we have to do the best drawing. Fourth, we write our names and draw the symbol and write the tribe name. We use green, purple, red, orange gold and yellow. We use it during tribe line up. Sometimes we forget the degel. Sometimes we use it when we go places like when we go to the creek or to Tabernacle. If we forget the degel after a meal, we have to get it because DPS takes it away. DPS stands for the Degel Protective Services. They protect the flags and protect the area. The person with the degel stands at the front of the line when we line up for meals. During the meals, we put the degel on the wall. The other degels are yellow, blue, green, orange, red and black. We are going to use it when we march in the Fourth of July parade in Columbia. When we are in line for meals and it is raining, we put our degel inside to protect it. Degels are important and we love ours.

Danny G., Age 10
Tribe of Ephraim

Simba is a very awesome tribe leader at camp. Simba has been my tribe leader before, so I want you to get to know him. I asked him some questions about his life and I got some awesome answers. The first question I asked him was how long have you been here? He has been on staff for three years. Then I asked him what are some of his favorite sports and he answered Ultimate Frisbee and dodge ball. When I asked him what his favorite thing to do with the campers was he said Mission Impossible because it is a very awesome game to play with campers. If he had another job he would choose to do whatever God told him to do. Some things he likes to do for fun are singing and playing the guitar. I asked if he went to junior camp and he didn’t; he started at teen camp. I asked him what he liked to do at teen camp. He enjoyed paintball, jet skiing, and Capture the Degel. I asked him how he has been and he said, “Pretty good, thanks.” I thought I should ask him something crazy so I asked him what he would do if I pushed him off a cliff. He said he would most likely get hurt. I asked if he went horseback riding. He said he did and he had an excellent time. Then I asked him if he liked Wells Fargo. Of course, he said “Yes, it is a very fun game.” If you didn’t know, Simba is an awesome lion.

Noa B., Age 11
Tribe of Asher

The Gilgal store is really cool. When you arrive at camp you give staff your spending money so that when you want to buy something you go to Bank Gilgal.

After FOB the Gilgal store is open. You get your money from the bank. There is a folder with your name in it. It says how much money you brought and every time you take money out to spend they subtract the amount you spent.     

There are two parts to the Gilgal store. The first one is food and the second one is toys, jewelry, swimming pool things and journals, oh and stickers.

The food there are mostly sweets like Airheads, gummy bears, gummy worms and more. There are drinks too, like Crush, Pepsi, Squirt, Dr. Pepper, grape, Coca Cola, water, and 7 Up. Also, there’s popcorn, cheese puffs, and fish crackers.

Some campers told me what they thought about the store: awesome, fun, useful and amazing. I definitely agree with useful because I wanted to write a letter to my family but I had no envelope or card. But in the store I found some.

Jaden W., Age 12
Tribe of Gad

Java’s favorite part of camp is Capture the Degel. He is a tribe leader because he felt God called him to be here. Jacob, Elliot, Nathan, Isaac, Jeremiah, and I were in his cabin. He also had Nacho as a tribe leader in our cabin. The name of our tribe was Gad and we were definitely rad! His favorite place in the camp is the dining hall because the food is served there. He seems to like camp and he likes having the opportunity to interact with the campers because he can get to know them and pray for them as well. The thing he likes most about Capture the Degel is when jail break happens after he is imprisoned. I think he had a wonderful experience. Also he loved the 20-foot sundae and ate too much. Maybe he can work it off by swimming from me, Reuven, Elijah, and everybody else in the pool. He decided to be on staff after he went to Ingathering and found about it. He got excited and made it a goal to join the Camp Gilgal staff. This is his second year as a tribe leader. In Tabernacle he especially likes the worship because that is where God speaks to him. His favorite food at camp is a tie between spaghetti and hamburgers. He hopes one day they will have steak at camp. I don’t think that will ever happen. I also asked him who his favorite camper is. He answered saying, “That is an excellent question.” I’m not going to lie, that answer annoys me, but I enjoyed having him as a tribe leader.

Tribes of Gilgal

Sophia M., Age 9
Tribe of Benjamin 

Q: What did it feel like when you first met Snapple?
A: It felt like a refreshing sip of ice cold tea.

Q: How old were you when you believed in Jesus?
A: I was six. 

Q: Who got you involved in Jews for Jesus?
A: I was on a Jews for Jesus music team. 

Q: What is your favorite story in the Bible?
A: When Jacob wrestles the angel. 

Q: Has God ever done a miracle? What is it?
A: Given me a job where I get to spend time with amazing campers. 

Q: What is your most favorite thing to do at camp?
A: It’s to play in the pool with campers and Ladies Day.

Streetlight loves music and having manicures. Streetlight is awesome because she’s sweet, kind, fun to talk to, and most of all beautiful and awesome in music. I met her last year in 2011 at my first year!

Persaeus B., Age 8
Tribe of Naphtali

Our tribe is Naphtali. Our tribe members are Toto, Acorn, Erica, Ellie, Claire, Sarah, Shalom and me Persaeus. All of us like carpetball, and Acorn is the 2010 champion. Sarah’s nickname is Cookie and everyone on her street calls her that. Everyone likes the pool. All of Naphtali likes the waterslide more than carpetball. Ellie, Claire, and Erica like Wells Fargo because Ellie thinks it’s fun to sneak up and Claire said it’s fun to get the gold. Erica said it’s fun to run everywhere. All of us think we did well in the parade in Columbia and Ellie thinks we did a good job at drums and singing. Everyone loves FOB. Claire is the FOB queen.

Elijah Y., Age 9 2/3
Tribe of Ephraim

I am writing an interview on Yamaha. These are the answers. He picked the name Yamaha because he likes pianos and the company Yamaha makes pianos. He loves camp. To the question, “Do you like being a camper more than a tribe leader,” he says, “That’s an excellent question.” I asked how is it being in charge and he answered, “See above answer.” He loves all of camp. His favorite camp food is the pancakes. His favorite thing at camp so far is his tribe. He thinks Skit Night is awesome and everybody’s skits were great. He lives in L.A. That is my interview with Yamaha.

Shannon O., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin

So, I bet you’re all wondering… who is the tribe of Benjamin, what does Benjamin mean, who are you, what do you guys do all day… do you like Waff- well, before the questions inflate, I’d like to say I am glad you “asked,” because that’s just what I’m going to talk about. So listen up! J

Now, I will be taking three exclusive interviews from Monique, Lizzy and Mekerah. But first I will inform you what Benjamin really means. It is “wolf” in Hebrew, which also happens to be one of Yael’s favorite animals. (Yael is one of my cabin mates.)

Elizabeth R., Age 8
Tribe of Benjamin 

I met Nike at Camp Gilgal. She heard about camp from her sisters. She loves sports. Her favorite is soccer. What Nike loves about camp is that it is one big family. Her favorite night game is water balloon volleyball. Nike’s favorite theme night is Feed a Friend Night. She has been going to winter camp for a year. Her name is Nike because her parents knew she would like sports. Nike’s favorite meal is chicken and rice. Nike doesn’t just like camp, she most definitely loves camp. She loves everything about it. Some of the things that she loves most are FOB, cuppage, M.I., campfires and Tabernacle. Nike really likes spending time with her tribe as well as all of the campers. She is so thankful she got to be here this year. She’s very sad that camp is coming to an end, but she knows God did a great work over the last two weeks. She is looking forward to seeing her Camp Gilgal family next summer.

Jonathan P., Age 8
Tribe of Dan

My name is Jonathan P. I am going to write about the tribe of Dan. Our names are Jonathan, Eithan, Sasha, Sam and Boaz. We are in the Chili Bar cabin. We are in the youngest men’s cabin. We like to play during FOB with Sam’s beach ball. We like free time, too. Boaz and Sasha like to go bug catching. I always sleep during FOB. I usually sleep but it’s hard to when a beach ball’s hitting your face every twenty seconds! We love being at camp. I usually play racquetball with Yamaha. We go swimming, catch lizards, play carpetball and other fun stuff.

During free time we buy stuff at the store. I like to buy food and collect the Camp Gilgal T-shirts. We liked Men’s Day. This is a great first year of Camp Gilgal. I really enjoyed learning Hebrew and getting closer to God. I think that camp is a good experience for everyone to enjoy.

I asked Boaz, “How old are you?” He said, “Nine.” Then I asked him, “What’s your favorite part of camp so far?” He said, “Water sliding.” I asked him what his favorite sport was and he said it was tennis. I then asked him, “How mad can you get?” and he said not much.

He lives in England and later would like to live in Australia. His favorite color is blue. His favorite place is Australia and his favorite food is chicken taco salad.

Reuven R., Age 12
Tribe of Dan

In my interview with Maverick, I found out some nice stuff. For example, this year is Maverick’s fifth year at camp. Also, not shockingly, his favorite activity at camp is going to Columbia. That day is a lot of people’s favorites. He really likes sushi, but Maverick’s favorite camp food is barbeque. Maverick loves FOB. His name is from the movie, Top Gun. He plays baseball, racquetball, and basketball. He only sings when he has to, but he loves humming tunes anyway. He says, “That’s an excellent question,” a lot. He has two brothers and one sister. He bakes well. He was nine during his first year at Camp Gilgal. Capture the Degel is his favorite game. He is rumored to be amazing and stupendous at it. Maverick’s brother is Professor; they mostly get along. He loves studying science, especially biology. He wears loafers and sports his own unique style. Maverick is a very supportive and good tribe leader. Maverick is a long-serving member of Camp Gilgal staff, and is a key part of the Camp Gilgal family.

Carrie M., Age 9
Tribe of Asher 

Hello, my name is Carrie, and my tribe is Asher. There are five other campers in my tribe. They are Sophia, Zoe, Elizabeth, Noa, and Maddie. We sleep in a little cabin called Fiddle Town. Its neighbor is Hermit Valley. We sleep in twin-sized beds which are pretty comfortable. I sleep on the bunk near the door. Noa sleeps on top of my bunk. T-Rex, our assistant tribe leader, sleeps across from me, and Maddie is on top of T-Rex. Across from T-Rex and Maddie’s bunk is Nike and Sophia. Across from that is Elizabeth and Zoe. 

I’ll tell you a little more about them, starting with me, Carrie. I’m clean and neat and not messy because I hate messiness. Just saying. Sophia is messy but she cleans up her mess afterward. I am glad she does, because usually people don’t. Maddie is neat and sometimes messy. Elizabeth is neat. Me and Nike are the same, neat. We do almost everything together. During FOB we play Pass the Duck and we draw or sleep or read. FOB stands for “Flat on Bunk,” if you are wondering. Pass the Duck is when you pass the duck to anyone you like to without dropping it. If you do you’re out. Whoever is the last one in wins and gets a piece of candy from someone. 

I love FOB and Camp Gilgal.

Isaac H., Age 12
Tribe of Levi 

Camp is simply a great place to spend 14 days of your summer. You have all your activities set up for you, you’re surrounded by campers and the food is probably the best I’ve tasted, camp wise. But this place would be nothing if there were no cabin mates to enjoy the greatness with you. At the beginning of camp, everybody is split into tribes of about four to six campers, with two staff. I was put into J-Box and Stix’s tribe with four other campers: Daniel, Michael, Sam and Corey. Our tribe chose the name of Levi, whose symbol is a breast plate and composed a degel of awesomeness. I already knew most of my fellow tribe mates well, but since our first day of being a tribe any ice remaining has been broken. Now we’re officially camp chums.

For this article, I have interviewed my tribe mates on these topics:  

Which year is this for you at camp?
Daniel said second year.
Corey said fourth year.
Sam said fourth year.
Michael said third year.

 How do you think our tribe is doing?
“I don’t think we’re doing well,” said Daniel.
“Very good,” said Corey.
“Good,” said Sam
“Okay,” said Michael. 

What are your favorite camp events?
“Wells Fargo,” said Daniel.
“Capture the Degel and MI,” said Corey.
“Night games,” said Sam.
“Capture the Degel,” Michael.

How do you like the camp experience so far?
“I like it,” said Daniel.
Corey and Michael liked it also.
“I love it!” said Sam.

Our tribe works well most of the time, but we do have our bad moments. Nobody’s perfect. We have our ways of communicating during FOB with paper airplanes. So we still have our good points. Being the oldest cabin the tribe of Levi is a great experience day and night.

Haneen R., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

We are the tribe of Reuben. We all get along really well. There are eight of us: Waffles, Willow, Taliah, Dinah, Rebekah, Emmalee, LaTanya and of course me, Haneen. We are the oldest tribe. This year because of our age we are acting as leaders and serving as much as we can. Today is only the fourth day. We have had a lot of fun so far. Yesterday we won the championship game of water balloon volleyball and it was really fun, except for poor Taliah who fell down twice and got soaked. So far we have not nailed it in the cabin inspection, but today we did better than previous days. Taliah’s favorite camp activity is campfires, LaTanya’s favorite is MI, Emmalee’s is also MI, Rebekah’s is, too. So is Dinah’s and mine. Wow, I guess everyone loves MI.

I think this year will be very fun because we love camp and everyone in it. I love my tribe and I am sure everyone else does, too. I can’t wait for the rest of camp and am already looking forward to next year.

David R., Age 11
Tribe of Simeon

I really like the tribe of Simeon. I will now describe each person and how they act.

Nathan S.: He is nice and kind. He loves playing fantasy football. Nathan is very smart, and he knows a lot about sports and does what he’s told to do.

Nathan B: Nathan is nice once you get to know him. Nathan is ticklish and is very creative.

Isaiah: Isaiah is my best friend in the tribe. Isaiah cares about others, is very, very smart and knows a lot about everything. Also, he likes to kid around.

Java: Java is great with ideas, understands what we’re talking about and is great at cleaning.

Ewok: Ewok is great with ideas also. Also, Ewok is straight to the point and on task.

Daniel: Daniel is a friend.

I asked Isaiah what he thinks of our tribe and he answered, “We’re a good team.”

Interviews and Family

Ellie M., Age 7
Tribe of Naphtali

I interviewed my tribe leader Toto. I got to ask her many questions and really got to know her.  The first question I asked her was what her favorite activity at camp is. She said, “There are so many it’s hard to choose. But my favorite might be carpetball. It’s super fun.”  I also asked her what camp was like when she was a camper. It was really interesting to hear about camp back in the day. She told me that it was pretty similar to camp now but she had more theme nights. She also said that when free time came everyone was in the pool. Wow. That sounds like camp this year! 

Q: What is your favorite food?
A: All food of course! I eat more fruits and vegetables than regular people, but I like almost all food.

Q: What’s your favorite movie?
A: I love Disney movies! I think they are so fun. Another favorite is the Wizard of Oz.

Q: How long have you been on staff?
A: This is my first year on staff.

Q: What’s your favorite part about being on staff?
A: I love spending time with campers and talking with them. I also like watching the campers grow in their faith in Y’shua.

After a lot of questions I finished my interview with Toto by asking what her favorite part of the Bible is. She loves the book of Ruth. She said that she likes how God was there for Ruth even when He didn’t seem like it. It was really fun getting to know my tribe leader better.

Sam F., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

I did my interview with Sonic. The first question I asked him was how he was when he started camp. He said he was nine. The second question I asked him was who were his tribe leaders his first year at camp? Sonic said they were Jaws and Waldo. The third question I asked him was what his favorite activity is during camp. He said Capture the Degel. The fourth question I asked him was what makes him want to come back to camp every year. He said it has a big effect on his life and he likes seeing us every year.

Claire C., Age 8
Tribe of Naphtali

Willow is a first year assistant tribe leader here. She is having a lot of fun being on staff. She likes camp a lot.

Willow mostly wanted to come to camp because she wanted a closer relationship with the Lord and she wanted to meet new people. Willow loves all the campers in her tribe very much. Willow has not gone in the pool yet.

Willow was a camper here at junior camp for one year.

She also likes the food here. Her favorite colors are purple, blue and black. She loves all of the staff equally. When Willow first got here she had a really fun time, she saw a lot of old friends and she had a really fun time worshipping.

This article has talked all about Willow’s very fun life at Camp Gilgal and all of her favorite things to do at Camp Gilgal.

Isaiah L., Age 10
Tribe of Simeon

Today I interviewed Ewok. I asked Ewok how long he has been going to camp. He said that he has been going to camp for seven years. I asked him how long he has been a tribe leader. He said that he has been a tribe leader for three years. I asked him how he found Camp Gilgal. He said that he went to some going away party. At that party there were campers who encouraged him to go to camp. I asked him how he got his camp name. He said that at teen camp a lot of his friends started to call him Ewok. He wasn’t sure at first if he liked the name but he liked it the more he was called it, and the name Ewok stuck. I asked Ewok what are some of his favorite things to do at camp. He said that he enjoyed buying things from the Gilgal store and he also liked night games such as Mission Impossible, Capture the Degel, and Wells Fargo. I asked him if any friends from when he was a camper are tribe leaders. He said that Garfield, Professor, Acorn, Yamaha, Stix, and Sparkler were campers when he was. I asked him who was a tribe leader when he was a camper. He said that Jet, Nova, Diesel, Gonzo, Cucamonga, and Bandit were. I asked him who was his tribe leader his first year? He said, “Gonzo was my first tribe leader.” I asked him what things weren’t here when he was a camper. He said that the campfire area wasn’t there. Ewok is a great tribe leader.

Dinah N., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

My name is Dinah N. and I interviewed a tribe leader named Waffles. Waffles is the tribe leader for the tribe of Reuben. I asked her some questions and got some funny answers, like what her favorite animal was. She said anything small and furry.

Waffles started coming to Camp Gilgal when she was eight for winter camp and ten for summer camp. Her parents named her Waffles because of her golden brown hair that was the same color as Waffles. Her birthday is October 11^th and her favorite colors are sea foam green and peach. Her hobbies include photography, cooking, baking, and running. She came to accept Jesus when she was three and her brother prayed with her. Later, she made the commitment for herself when she came to Camp Gilgal.

When Waffles comes to camp she looks forward to spending time with the people in her cabin and campfires. Her favorite activity at camp is horseback riding because of the beautiful meadow and it’s relaxing. Lastly, a characteristic of God that has been the most prominent in her life is faithfulness.

Nathan S., Age 9
Tribe of Simeon 

Intro
Honestly, I was going to do J-Box but I lost the battle against Isaiah and Nathan B. Now I had to choose, and I chose Yamaha. 

Interviewing
So here it is, First I went with the simple question of “What’s your name?” He answered, “Yamaha.” Now I was curious about his name. “How did you get your name?” He answered, “I like playing the piano and Yamaha is a good piano company.” So, it’s based on the company. I was wondering how he got to know the Lord. I asked him, “When did you accept the Lord, and how?” “I accepted the Lord in kindergarten. My teacher prayed with me and I accepted Him.” Now on to camp questions. I started with this, “How many years have you gone to camp?” Yamaha answered, “This is my ninth year.” Now I was wondering, “Were you a camper?” “Yes, and I still am, I go to adventure camp.” Now I was wondering what his favorite thing to do was. I asked, “What is your favorite thing to do at camp?” Yamaha answered, “I like going to Columbia.” Now there was another average question. It was about his age when he came to camp. He answered, “When I was eight.” So I asked him, “What is your favorite part about being a leader?” He answered, “Sharing the Lord with campers.” Now I was seeing what made him want to go to camp. “What made you want to go to camp?” “It’s the best time you can have in the summer.” Before I conclude this interview, “is there anything you would like to say to conclude this article?” He said, “I hope you enjoyed interviewing me.” Conclusion, “Well, that was fun.”

Haneen R., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben 

Poppins is the most amazing camp mom. She even helps clean and fold our laundry. She is the Best!!! Everyone loves her and she is super funny! She always makes sure everyone gets their medicine and is feeling well. She is literally everyone’s second mom. That’s why I chose to interview her. Today we had Time Warp Tuesday, and Poppins and Esquire played Morty and Minerva twenty years ago, and they were hilarious. Poppins pretended to be a singer, and it was sooo funny. She loves camp and has been coming since 2007. Her favorite part of camp is the campers. Her favorite game is water balloon volleyball because it has the least injuries. She was a lifeguard when she was sixteen and is now a high school teacher, and also plays a huge part of camp and is soooo needed here. Camp would literally fall apart without Poppins.

Sam F., Age 11
Tribe of Levi 

I did my interview on Stix. My first question I asked him was, “How old were you when you started camp?” He said, “Nine.” My second question I asked him was, “Do you like FOB?” He said, “When I’m tired I like it.” My third question I asked him was, “Who were your tribe leaders your first year at camp?” He said, “Sonic and Gonzo.” The fourth question I asked him was, “What’s your favorite activity at camp?” He said, “Oylimpics.” My fifth question I asked him was, “What’s the worst injury you got at camp?” He said he got sick. The sixth question I asked him was, “Is it fun to be an assistant tribe leader?” He said yes, because it’s fun to be around us. My seventh question I asked him was, “How did you discover camp?” He said it was through older siblings. The eighth question I asked him was, “What’s your favorite candy?” He said Red Vines. My ninth question I asked him was, “How long do you practice drumsticks daily?” He said two hours or more. The tenth and final question I asked him was, “What would you say to motivate a future tribe leader who looks up to you?” He said, “It’s a great experience doing it and learning your faith and being living examples of Y’shua.”

Stix is a very interesting guy to talk to. Stix is very funny and smart. He really likes music and he and I talk about it a lot. Stix is very good at drumsticks. He even takes very good care of them. When we did Time Warp Tuesday, he took the sticks and held them until we needed them for line up. Anyways, Stix is awesome.

Mekerah P., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin

For my article for the Gilgal Gazette I interviewed my tribe leader, Galaxy. She was very obstinate and usually wouldn’t answer the questions I wanted her to properly.

Our conversation was like this:

“So Galaxy, what’s your real name?” I asked. She answered, “That is an excellent question, Mekerah.”

I groan and ask again, “Ok, Galaxy, what is your name? And no saying, ‘That is an excellent question’ or anything like that!”

Galaxy smiles and says, “Galaxy.” I glare at her and say, “Fine. We’ll talk about this later. So what’s your actual age? No saying ‘Good question’ or anything.”

Galaxy answers, “My age is timeless.” I groan and say I give up.

“What do you think about Wells Fargo?”

Galaxy replies, “Playing Wells Fargo is very fun. You get to chase campers and watch them scream and laugh at the same time while guarding your bag of gold.”

So than I said, “Are we playing Wells Fargo tomorrow?”

Then Galaxy said, “I am glad you have such an inquisitive mind.”

I groan again and say, “You actually have to answer the question.”

Galaxy said, “You will know when it happens.” So I said, “Fine. Why did you become a tribe leader?”

Galaxy said, “I became a tribe leader because after going to camp as a camper and getting to know God better I realized I wanted to invest in future campers both spiritually and by being there to have fun and encourage them.”

Then we ran out of time and had stop.

Nathan B., Age 11
Tribe of Simeon

I asked J-Box what his experience was with basketball and he told me that he had been playing for six years, four years in high school and two in middle school. Then I asked, “What’s your strategy in carpetball?” and he responded, “It’s to get all the balls in.”

Then I asked, “Do you like soccer?” And he said he almost played in it high school. He also enjoyed football. He likes camp.

I asked him how he got so awesome? And he told me he had no idea.

He likes being a tribe leader.

I think J-Box is really cool and nice.

I love having him at camp and playing basketball with him.

I like when he throws me in the pool. 

He is my favorite tribe leader.

Lizzy N., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin

Sparkler is my tribe leader so I wanted to know more about her. Here are some questions I asked her. “What made you want your name to be Sparkler?” She answered, “I was born on July 4^th and I don’t like loud noises, and a sparkler is a loudless firework.”

Then I asked, “How old were you when you first went to camp?” Sparkler answered, “I was seven, and I turned eight during it.”

“What made you want to be a tribe leader?”

She answered, “It seemed really fun and I wanted to influence campers the way my tribe leaders influenced me.”

“What are some of your friends from camp?”

“Acorn, Smalls, Bologna, Professor and Ewok.”

Then I asked, “What were some of your favorite camp activities?”

Sparkler answered, “Wells Fargo, MI, swimming and FOB.”

“What are some of your favorite camp memories?”

“Just doing everything with Acorn and Smalls,” she answered.

“What are some of your favorite dares with Acorn and Smalls?” She answered, “The time at WWW when Acorn dared Smalls to wake up the oldest cabin at two in the morning and tell them it was breakfast and they were late.”

I hope you had as much fun as I did learning more about Sparkler.

Boaz B., Age 9
Tribe of Dan 

I interviewed the staff member Java. The question I asked him was first, “How did you get your camp name?” He answered, “I drank coffee all the time.” Next I asked, “What is your favorite color?” to which he answered, “My favorite color is red.” Then I asked what his favorite food is and Java replied spicy rare steak. He also likes red soda. His favorite sport is karate, and he has an orange belt.  He has been doing karate for three years. Java is a really cool tribe leader.

Lizzy N., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin 

I interviewed Acorn and here are some of her answers. “What are some of your best camp memories?” I asked. She answered, “When I was a camper I liked Ladies Day because we always sang, ‘Hit the Road Jack’ and had creative themes. Right now I like being in the same cabins I was a camper in and being able to be an influence to ladies now.”

I also asked what she liked to do during FOB when she was a camper. Acorn answered, “I loved to pass notes and throw the notes across the room trying not to wake up the tribe leaders.” I wanted to know who some of her friends were when she was a camper. So I did. Acorn answered, “Waffles, Sparkler, Bazooka, Snapple, Hershey, Smalls and Bologna.”

“Why did you pick your name to be Acorn?”  I asked. I knew the staff pick their own camp names. Acorn answered instantly, “I love squirrels,” and then at teen camp Zildjian called her Acorn and then everybody started to call her that and it stuck.

“What are some of your favorite games and theme nights?” I asked.

She answered, “My favorite game is Wells Fargo because it’s staff versus campers and everyone gets to have fun. My favorite theme night is Super Hero Night.”

I asked, “What is your favorite cabin?” Acorn answered, “Hard Rock Mine, second to the oldest cabin because I was in there for all of my favorite years of camp.”

“How many years have you been a camper?” I asked.  Acorn answered, “I was at junior camp for four years.” I learned a lot about Acorn interviewing her. I hope someday I can be as kind as her.

Haneen R., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben

Sherbert is super fun and exciting. She helps make camp possible. She does most activities but her specialty is Dental Inspection. She comes every night even when it’s late and she tries to inspect everyone’s teeth. Her favorite camp activity is Capture the Degel. Her favorite hobby outside of camp is going exploring. She joined Camp Gilgal in 2012. Everyone loves Sherbert because she brings lots of energy and is super fun. This year she is in charge of crafts. She is named Sherbert because her grandma’s name is also Sherbert. Sherbert is very excited this year and had a lot of fun playing Capture the Degel and can’t wait for Wells Fargo. We are all happy to have Sherbert. She helps hold camp together and is super awesome and fun at camp.