“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 1:9
Inside This Issue:
Category: Gilgal Gazette 2013
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 Asher: Mariya A., Naomi W., Nena K., Penina S., Rebekah C., Sonic, Bologna
Tribe of Benjamin: Asher W., Daniel C., Elliot A., Ephraim L., Gavyn R., Josiah O., Long Shanks, Wolf
Tribe of Naphtali: Abigail O., Alyssa C., Liora S., Naena D., Simona B., Nature Valley, Watson
Tribe of Simeon: Aaron C., Alex J., David K., Ethan M., Isaiah H., Swank, Starfox
Tribe of Zebulon: Elie W., Hannah K., Netanya W., Rachel M., Baby Carrots, Anonymous
Tribe of Levi: Beardo, RedSox, Scooter, Sneezy, Strings, Twister
Auxiliary Staff: Fresco, Heart
Fun Days
Gavyn R., Age 10
Tribe of Benjamin
Backwards Day started out when my tribe leader Long Shanks woke us up to get dressed because it was time for Mission Impossible. That’s right, we played MI in the morning! Long Shanks was talking like a general and calling us soldiers and it was really exciting. We were running around searching for clues and avoiding the spotters armed with silly string. Our tribe got caught a few times and found most of our clues. We had to catch our breath a lot of times and in the end Simeon won.
Once MI was over, it was time for breakfast and we were super hungry. My tribe walked to breakfast and stood at lineup backwards – a trend the other tribes picked up through the day.
At pool time Long Shanks swam backwards and even pretended to take a breath under water! I ran backwards during Tribe versus Tribe competitions and also I got to search for a whistle hidden in whipped cream – I got second place representing my
tribe.
Backwards Day even meant that we had FOB (Flat on Bunk) in the morning before lunch, but Long Shanks and Wolf seemed to appreciate it. Instead of starting the day with Tabernacle we ended it with Tabernacle! In Tabernacle we have been studying the book of Joshua. My favorite morning the staff acted like a machine showing Israel’s history of slavery. Backwards Day was super awesome and I hope that we do it again next year!
Penina S., Age 10
Tribe of Asher
As I stare at the target and pull back the string, I can feel the powerful strength rise in my arms. I let go and I can feel the arrow slipping from my fingers. I can feel and hear the arrow hitting the target with a ping. Bulls eye!
Archery, yes! I love it! It is a great sport to learn and participate in. Archery is a great sport to learn because it helps with patience, self control, and safety. The way it helps with patience is because you have to wait a lot. Patience helps with self-control. You have to know what to do and when to do it, therefore you need self control. Archery helps with safety because you need to be safe with the equipment. Archery materials can be used against someone as a weapon, so you have to use them correctly or else it isn’t a good camp activity.
In archery, we get to play archer’s games. We also get to shoot on our own. In one of the games we play, we have to try to hit and pop the balloons taped to the targets. In the end, almost all of my arrows hit the target. So, that is part of the reason that I like archery so much, but I like seeing that I can get better with practice.
Josiah O., Age 10
Tribe of Benjamin
During the Fourth of July we went to mid-rim and did campfire there. It was nice to have campfire in a different spot and in a place where we could see the fireworks of the areas around. We sang campfire songs and Nature Valley did a devotion for all of us. Then we went to edge of the lookout and watched fireworks. There were green, red, yellow, and orange fireworks. Then everyone walked back to their cabins and went to bed. During campfire everyone had a great time watching fireworks and singing songs. This was a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July!
Alyssa C., Age 12
Tribe of Naphtali
Basketball is a fun activity we do here at Camp Gilgal. It is located in the gy
. On some days we would use the outdoor court and play a game of basketball. The game goes up to a certain number of points and we would play boys versus girls or split up everyone into different kinds of teams. If you are a basketball lover like me, I assure you will love this activity. Playing basketball can build new friendships by working together as a team.
Other options when playing basketball is that the rock wall activity is going on at the same time as basketball. The activities share the gym so if you got into rock wall and wanted basketball you could still play. And if you got into basketball and you wanted rock wall you are allowed to climb the wall.
One more thing that is great about basketball is that when you play on the outdoor court, you can also go on the playground if you finish early. Basketball is a fun activity that lets you bond well with others and have a friendly competition.
Elliot A., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin
Boatin’ is very fun. When I went boating I had it as my third activity right after FOB. We met every day near lineup and walked across the street using road procedure and hiked a short while to the lake. When we got to the lake we got out the life jackets and paddles (out of the closet) and took the canoes off the rack. Then we divided into teams of two or three. Excluding the last day, all campers that were boating had to have a staff member on their boat at all times. The staff members that supervised the activity were Wolf, Scooter, and Twister. After getting the boats on the lake, we paddled around and looked at fish and the lake floor. After about 50 minutes we put the life jackets, paddles, and canoes back where we got them from and hiked back up to the road. We made sure we had no ticks, crossed the street using road procedure and went to wash our hands. We had a BLAST every day in boating. It isn’t something that you always get the opportunity to do and I’m really glad that it was part of my first summer at Camp Gilgal!
Nena W., Age 11
Tribe of Asher
For our field trip at Camp Gilgal we went to Fun-Plex Fun Park! It was REALLY fun! We played mini golf and that was ok. It might have been more fun, but the day was really sunny and hot and we were having a hard time being int
o it. But after we finished and ate lunch, we each got two tickets. These tickets allowed us to ride different rides at the Fun Park. I went go-carting for both tickets. The first time I went, I was REALLY scared because I thought I would be bad at driving but I eventually got the hang of it and wanted to go a second time.
On the first time and the first lap I went around, I was in first place until I crashed and broke a metal strip. Luckily, I landed in a pile of tires. I had a smooth ride after that. On the second time nothing really interesting happened, because I had a better idea of how to drive. After every tribe gathered by the parking lot, we walked across the parking lot, we watched the male staff race each other. Swank won. Then the female staff raced each other. Nature Valley won big time. Last but not least, we got back into the bus and got ice cream at an ice cream parlor. I got orange pineapple and it was really good. After that we went back to camp and got ready for Fashion Disaster Night. Fashion Disaster Night is what it sounds like. We dress like fashion disasters. This was a great field trip, a great theme meal, and a great day!
Rachel M., Age 11
Tribe of Zebulon
Today was horse day. An amazing day filled with horseback riding and so many other grea
t things. I rode a horse called Macey. We went through the woods and down to Sunrise. Controlling the horses was a little hard, but you get the hang of it at the end.
My favorite part was the lady let us go and I got to ride by myself. I felt sababa!
Also we had Israeli Day. We did awesome activities like go Israeli dancing, and of course, horse time. We even had Israeli figs and dates. It was tov ma’od!
Naena D., Age 11
Tribe of Naphtali
A few days ago we had an awesome tribe time! We went with our tribe to the team building spot. What we did there is the type of thing where you trust your tribe mates. What we had to do was get a partner, which in my case was Simona, and we each stood on a tight rope and held hands and we had to shuffle down the line and try not fall. It was so much fun! I loved it!
I was terrified at first, and so was Simona, but while we were doing it, it got kind of easier. So if you go to the team building spot…be prepared to have fun! Something else we did was called the Wind in the Willows. What we had to do was get in the middle of a circle and everyone pushes you around. It’s fun but you have to trust everyone. I’m so glad that our tribe likes each other so much, because it made this activity a ton of fun.
Liora S., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali
The day is wet and overcast. Two campers and three staff members set off to start their outdoor adventure. “Today we will be learning about the water shed,” Nature Valley, a tribe leader announces. She goes on to explain about erosion, the water cycle and how soil helps filter water.
The group continues on, wading through thic
k wet sloughs of grass. They pass the pond and turn left onto a little side road. After trudging through more puddles and mud, the group comes to a dilapidated cabin.
Starfox wants to go in, and before he opens the door, Watson queries, “Is there a rocking chair inside?” As the door swings open, the group crowds around, eager to see if there is, in fact, a rocking chair. The group piles in, and in the center of the room there is a rocking chair. A wood stove also dominates the center of the room. The beams of the ceiling are exposed, and Roman numerals are scattered all over the beams.
Everyone wants to know how Watson knew there would be a rocking chair in the cabin, even though none of them had ever been there before. Watson says the she has seen enough shows on television to predict what they would see inside.
As the group further explores the cabin, they find dust coated windows, thick spider webs covering the corners of the window, and dead bugs and the window sills. As the group exits the cabin, they see a very run-down shack, and they dub it, “Ye Old Creepy Shed in the Woods.” They also dubbed the cabin, “Ye Old Creepy Cabin in the Woods.”
The first day of outdoor adventure was very interesting. This is a great activity and it helps me have a great time during my first year at camp.
David K., Age 12
Tribe of Simeon
There are many astonishing undertakings in Camp Gilgal. As a veteran camper, I nearly know all about the activities. One of my favorite is rock wall climbing.
As you can realize, the objective of the sport is to climb a wall which is full of rocks that are arbitrarily organized. I favor this activity because not only does it strengthen your body, but also your brain by using critical thinking about how to strategize for climbing the wall.
This year I completed (with a harness and a helmet) the wall with a record of 30 seconds. This is why I like this activity. It was a great chance to learn and grow and trust God!
Alex J., Age 12
Tribe of Simeon
At Camp Gilgal you think how do we do this or that? When you arrive it’s an amazing time, but one activity that you would never think of, which is so surprising, well, before I give you the answer here’s a hint: you get soaked! Did
you get it? WATER WARS! It’s a shocking, fun, and has a little spritz of adrenaline. Also, you end up having a great time, but great times have to come too and so this summer I would totally go to Camp Gilgal for a chance to have fun. It is so good to know that there is relief from the summer heat in such a fun way.
In the war some things that are provided are some water guns, water balloons, tribe leaders, and yourselves. If you put it all together you get a great time and fun getting soaked!
On Friday before Shabbat we were in our cabin during tribe time and suddenly you’re smiling having so much fun, and wet out of the wazoo. I love that there are always surprises at Camp Gilgal!
Gavyn R., Age 10
Tribe of Bejamin
This was my first time on the trail ride at Camp Gilgal, because you have to be ten years old to go on the trail. When you are younger than that, you still get to ride but just in the ring.
W
hile I was riding on the trail the two horses in front of me freaked out from hearing a mocking bird. I was watching the horses in front of me as they jumped up with their front legs. They were going nuts! It was only a moment. They calmed down. It was really good that the horse workers were there, they kept everything fun and safe. The mocking bird sounded like he was signing “Neigh, neigh.” It is cool that birds can make that noise, too. I liked horseback riding and I hope to do it again next year.
Rachel M., Age 11
Tribe of Zebulun
My first week at Camp Gilgal, I chose to do Drama Games. Anonymous and Sonic were with us. We had way too much fun with it. For example, we played late to work, the party game, taxi, freeze, honey if you love me, etc.
I really enjoyed this because I love expressing myself. The funniest thing I did in Drama Games was pretend to have a heart attack while playing freeze. These activities let me exercise my dramatic side and have so much fun. I hope you guys enjoy it too!
Ephraim L., Age 8
Tribe of Benjamin
One day we went to Fun-Plex Fun Park. It took one or two hours to get there
, I’m not sure how long it was, but I really like the bus rides! When we got there the first thing we did was play miniature golf with our tribes. We got up to the seventh hole before we had to skip ahead to the eighteenth hole—because that is where we returned our equipment. It was really nice to get to skip to the end because it was such a hot day.
After that we had lunch. For lunch we had sandwiches, chips, and juice—this was a great treat. Next we drove go-karts around the track at 20mph. It was so hot and we got there by bus. On our way back we sang songs about movies like Mulan, then thankfully we took an ice cream break. The kind of ice cream I had was pineapple orange. When we got back we had to FOB. My favorite part of the day was driving go-karts. But the ice cream and FOB were both great reliefs, too.
Elie W., Age 9
Tribe of Zebulon
Why is this day different from the other days? Israeli Day is different from all the other days because we do not do our everyday schedule. We do Israeli customs like sing Israeli songs, speak Hebrew, and eat traditional Israeli food. I ate dates, figs, pita, and hummus. We sang while we danced traditional Israeli dances. I had a great time! You should come to Camp Gilgal because every day is different and fun!
Asher W., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin
There was a big bump. I fell over on the air-bag. I was off the track. I felt like throwing up. Don’t worry, I was having a great time. Man! I was at Fun-Plex Fun Park on a fieldtrip for the Fourth of July. It was AWESOME!!
But maybe I should explain and back up a little bit. I was on a go-kart track, in my go-kart and I was having an amazing experience. My tribe leader, Long Shanks, was unfortunately going crazy. He was having so much fun on the go-karts that he forgot that he actually does know how to drive. The light turned green and we were off. I was in the middle, right behind Long Shanks. This how it went for a while. Finally, I took the lead. There was a big bump. I fell over on the air-bag. I was off the track. I felt like throwing up. Long Shanks was off. The force of the blow had knocked me backwards, shoved me off the track, and lastly…had wrecked my smoking broken go-kart. MAN! Go-karts were intense, but there were great staff and the equipment kept us safe on the go-karts and on numerous other attractions which included awesome bungee jumping, wacky basketball and much more. In the long run Fun-Plex Fun Park was an awesome place for a field trip.
Crazy Nights
Mariya A., Age 12
Tribe of Asher
I really like campfire. During campfire we worship God and learn lessons about Him. It’s great because while we sing, we show motions that go with the songs. Then we pray. My favorite camp fire song is “Baby Whale.” It’s fun to sing that song because there are a lot of motions to it. After the songs one of the staff shares a devotion from the Bible with us. One of the campfire talks was by Long Shanks. It was about the armor of God. Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” I liked it because it helps me to know that God is protecting me and tells me how to stand strong in Him.
Naomi W., Age 11
Tribe of Asher
Capture the Degel is one of the most fun games you can ever play at Camp Gilgal. This game is just like “Capture the Flag” but it’s a little different and a lot more fun. The way this game works is you split into two teams, then both teams hide their degel (flag in Hebrew) where the other team can’t see it. Once the degel is hidden, both teams try to find the other team’s degel. To win the game, there’s a twist: when you try to find the degel you also have to try not to get tagged by the other team.
I’ve p
layed this game so many times. This year I ended up almost getting the degel, but my friend who runs really fast, Asher, tagged me before I could grab it. Me and my friend Rachel, we thought of a plan to distract the degel guards and then sneak past them in separate ways and end up getting it. But that didn’t work. The whole thing was intense and really fun. But in all the game was one of my favorites and I can’t wait for next year to play it again. This game is my favorite because it is a team sport and because I get to run around and get rid of a lot of extra energy. This game is amazing!
Liora S., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali
Introducing….Counselor Hunt! A wookie, an ostrich, a fox, wild boar, howler monkey, fox-face bat, fainting goat and many more animals/counselors gathered at sunset road to play Counselo
r Hunt. As each of the staff is introduced, the campers rapidly whisper and remark among themselves.
As the staff disappear into the woods the campers grow antsy with anticipation. The whistle blows, and they are off running through the woods in search of counselors. Campers find Swank in a tree, Long Shanks running everywhere, Sonic behind the two iron pillars, Scooter behind a tree, and many more counselors in different places.
In order to win counselor hunt, the campers must bring the counselors they find back to Sunset. However, this is not an easy task. As with the character of their animals, a fainting goat must faint, an ostrich must run, and a sloth must be slow. The campers have to put great time and effort into the task of bringing the counselors to Sunset.
When all of the counselors have been found, the game is ended and campfire begun. Though very tiring, Counselor Hunt is an exhilarating all-camp activity that is fun to play.
Hannah K., Age 10
Tribe of Zebulon
For Movie Night we watched Wreck It Ralph. We bring our sleeping bags and get s
nacks. Then you get comfortable in your sleeping bag. The lights turn off and everybody gets quiet. The movie starts.
You can sleep while Movie Night is going on because it is pretty late. I love Movie Night. It is very fun. I didn’t know it was Movie Night until the movie started. The surprises make camp lots of fun. When I saw the words on the screen I knew it was Movie Night. It is exciting, fun, and really chill. That’s Movie Night.
Liora S., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali
Talent Night is always fun. Each tribe performs a skit, there are a few other acts, and we do another activity afterward. This year, the tribe of Simeon did a skit about Jericho, Asher did a skit about Cain and Abel, Zebulon did a skit about distractions that keep us from God, Benjamin did a skit about Daniel in the lion’s den, and Naphtali combined their devotions theme with the story of the Good Samaritan. Each tribe performed wonderfully, the audience got a few laughs, and everyone had fun. Anonymous and Netanya performed the Cup Song, and Wolf and Alex performed another song. Last, but not least, Isaiah, Alex, and David performed He-Nay-Ma-Tov with their new dance.
Talent Night was successful and everyone had a blast! It was a great recap of our time at camp!
Netanya W., Age 9
Tribe of Zebulon
For one of our theme dinners we had Animal Night and you can be any animal you want. So I was a cat and my whole tribe was too. It was a lot of fun. My sister was a dog and it was fun. There is more than one theme dinner. Another of them was Fashion Disaster Night and it is when you throw on any of your clothes and there are more such as Backwards Night. But I don’t want to give too much away, you will find out if you go to Camp Gilgal!
Life at Camp Gilgal
Josiah O., Age 10
Tribe of Benjamin
Scooter’s cabin is so ‘clean.’ How do I know? Well, he doesn’t have to have cabin inspection, so his cabin must be super super clean. But I thought that I saw his suitcase bursting! His shoes are askew, his clothes are tossed like salad, his bed is a kerfuffle, and almost everything is messy. So if you ever want to clean your cabin really well, “ask Scooter.”
P.S. Don’t follow Scooter’s instructions! Maybe Scooter’s cabin is such a mess because Scooter’s days are so so busy!
Liora S., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali
Every first-year camper needs to know what to bring to camp. Here is a list of things to bring and why you should bring them:
A lot of socks: Socks get wet easily and it’s always nice to have a new pair. 
More clothes than you think you need: It might rain, and don’t forget about laundry day.
Bug spray: You will be spending a lot of time outside, so the more the spray, the better.
Sunscreen: Sunburns are nearly inevitable, and lather it on during pool time!
Random costume items: You never know when there will be a themed meal, so prepare!
I hope this information has been of use to you, and good luck with your first year of camp! I’m loving mine!
Liora S., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali
In the beginning of camp, your tribe will work together to make a degel (flag). This degel will have the symbol of your tribe on it and all of the signatures of your tribe me
mbers. You will carry this degel to breakfast, lunch, dinner, tabernacle, and other places.
Degel stealing is still happening here at Camp Gilgal. For those of you who are new here, if your tribe leaves its degel at the dining hall, Tabernacle, or anywhere else, it can be stolen by another tribe. If another tribe steals your degel, your tribe has to earn it back. This year, the tribe of Benjamin stole two degelim: one from Asher and one from Naphtali. Asher had to earn their degel back by cleaning up the tribe of Benjamin’s table after meals for one day. Once that was done they got their degel back. The tribe of Naphtali had to earn their degel back by writing and performing a song that sang the praises of Benjamin.
Don’t let other tribes steal your degel! You can easily earn points by bringing it to Tabernacle and other places, so don’t forget your degel!
Rebekah C., Age 12
Tribe of Asher
We eat thrice daily. We walk down to the din
ing hall. Then, we line up in our tribes outside and wait to be invited into our meal. They pick the tribe to enter the dining hall first that has the best line and is the best behaved. We sit at our round table and wait to say the blessings. We chant prayers as we thank God for the food we are about to consume.
First, on my favorite days, for breakfast we have turkey bacon! Next, for lunch we have hot dogs, hamburgers, and ice cold water so we can stay hydrated. Finally, for dinner we have square pizza and we have to have vegetables for dinner. And we have much more awesome camp food. Some camps have bad food and some school have bad food, but our camp has great food!
Daniel C., Age 8
Tribe of Benjamin
For tribe time we played dodgeball against Starfox’s guys. We ducked but still lots of people got out. We lost two first rounds and then we won the other three rounds. They won the other round, and then we won the other two last rounds. So, overall we won the whole thing!
After this, we went out the door and back to our cabin and it took a pretty long time and my legs got tired. Then Elliot forgot his hat at the gym and it took him five minutes to get back and then we went back to the cabin, so the walk was even longer. Thankfully this was the end of our day so we could be in our cabin for the night. So we talked a lot and then went to bed. I had a lot of fun playing dodgeball and I hope I can do it again.
Rebekah C., Age 11
Tribe of Asher
I have been in camp for five years and I would like to give you some veteran advice. You will probably like to bring extra clothes and not so many dress clothes because we are outside a lot. Having a Shabbat outfit or two is good, but don’t bring anything too nice. Also bring clothes for theme nights, and extra socks and underwear. Also we do very fun activities and sometimes you get dirty from them, so you shouldn’t forget to put your dirty clothes in your laundry bag so that the ATLs can wash them on laundry day. And remember your tennis shoes when you pack for camp because you can’t do much without them. For the fun activities you almost always need your sneakers and long pants. Oh, and don’t forget your Bible! That is some advice about camp.
Ethan M., Age 11
Tribe of Simeon
At Camp Gilgal you can’t have technology because it ruins the experience. Even if you could use technology you would only have time during FOB or after lights out. All other times we are eating or doing other activities which are more important and much more fun. So it is probably a good rule.
Even heat waves can be survived without technology. You just need a hat and shade. Also find something to fan yourself with. At night when it’s dark you can wait for your eyes to adjust then you will be able to see again. You cannot play with computers at camp but it’s okay because you can play with balloons or do water wars. And that’s how to survive. If you decide that camp can be fun anyway it will be a great time for you!
Penina S., Age 10
Tribe of Asher
“And now, O Israel,” chants my tribe. We are learning the memory verses together. We are learning Deuteronomy 10: 12-17, 20-22. The prize if all the campers learn the verses is that we get to pie the camp director and assistant director (Twister and Red Sox) in the face. We learn the verses during our free time. Sometimes, we learn them together. A good time to learn the verses separately is during FOB. During FOB we have to silently lay/sit on our bunks for 45-60 minutes. Also, for learning the memory verses, we get points. If we get a certain amount of points we get to go to the end of camp party. Most of us, including me, want to pie the directors in the face. Thankfully, I am done with my memory verses.
Penina S., Age 10
Tribe of Asher
In camp this year, we have a point bar. This is my first year at camp, so I think that this is an important thing for brand new campers to know about. This bar decides if a tribe will be able to go to the end of camp party. This year each tribe has to get 15,000 points. It is not as hard as it seems. There are jack pots (memory verses, Gazette articles), and there are some smaller things (cabin inspection, Hebrew, and craft). We also get points for remembering to bring certain things to activities and meals. We get a few points for bringing our degelim (flags) to breakfast and dinner. We also get points for bringing our Bibles to Tabernacle. The point system is a very good way to encourage us to do certain things that we usually wouldn’t do on our own, like cabin clean up.
Abigail O., Age 12
Tribe of Naphtali
Wh
en you show up for Camp Gilgal, don’t just assume things about how the weather will be. Be prepared for rain, sun, humidity, and lots of mosquitoes. Also be ready to do activities in all sorts of weather, such as archery, soccer, basketball, hiking, and boating. Be sure to bring a water bottle for hot days and an assortment of rain gear for overcast days and never forget your sunscreen.
P.S. An optional item for super scorching days and on the bus going to camp is the “O2 Cool Fan.” It’s like a water spritzer with a fan attached to the top. I can tell you, it is a lifesaver. It makes your life a lot easier, but it can also help your fellow campers when they get desperate in the heat. You can get it for around ten dollars at hardware stores or CVS Pharmacy.
Netanya W., Age 9
Tribe of Zebulon
One day I was going to the bathroom to brush my teeth and my friend Hannah said there is a bug so I looked at my sweater and there was a big bug on me! I threw my tooth brush and my sweater and toothpaste to the side and I looked and there was the bug and it was dead. It was on the other side of the bathroom. I felt surprised because it was dead and on the other side of the bathroom. I threw my toothpaste at it and I brushed my teeth. Then me and Hannah went to our cabin. There are lots of bugs at camp because we are in the woods, but camp is just such a great time that it is still ok.
Mariya A., Age 12
Tribe of Asher
Are you ready for fun? Here in Camp Gilgal, we have tribe times. Tribe time is my favorite part of camp. During tribe time, my tribe and I played team bui
lding games in the woods, painted our nails, and got ready for Shabbat. My favorite tribe time was when my tribe played team building games. One of them was All Aboard. My whole tribe had to stand on a wooden board and sing “Row Row Row Your Boat.” If one of us got off of the board we had to start over. By the way, the wooden board was SO small that my tribe had restart about seven times. Eventually, we got it. After all we were so happy because we couldn’t do it before. This made us feel really good about working together and made us feel closer as a tribe.
Naena D., Age 11
Tribe of Naphtali
Hey! Are you getting ready to come to Camp Gilgal
for the first time? Let me give you some advice.
When you get to camp, don’t be scared of the tribe leaders. They are VERY fun and they always accept you. All camp activities are fun and keep you involved.
If you start to get homesick, just talk to your tribe leader. They help emotionally and they also make you laugh.
At meal times we sing two blessings in Hebrew. On the first day or two listen very closely so that you know them by the third or fourth day.
My favorite song at camp was “Mayim Mayim.” We learned that song in Hebrew class. It has a lot of repeating words so you can also learn it really quickly.
We choose our activities each week. We have to do craft and Hebrew as it is mandatory.
Camp is REALLY fun, so be prepared for an AWESOME experience!
Simona B., Age 11
Tribe of Naphtali
Are you a neat freak? This is the perfect time of day for you! By the name of this article you have probably figured out what I am going to be telling you about so be prepared for the intensity!
Cabin Clean Up:
After breakfast, there is a cabin clean up. As you probably know, this is a time to clean up your cabin. Make sure everything is perfect or else….
Cabin Inspection:
This usually takes place before lunch. After everyone is done cleaning and done other activities, some “out-of-cabin staff” look at your cabin and mark it. The results are then revealed to your tribe at lunch.
Some popular phrases for cabin inspection are: INFRACTIONS! This means mistakes or trouble areas in your cabin. Another phrase is: ASKEW! This means that something is crooked. There is also: TOSSED LIKE
SALAD! This means something was just thrown! Literally TOSSED LIKE SALAD!
Some extra stuff:
Literally, extra stuff! If you want to get extra points, write a nice a note. Make presents! Do a scavenger hunt! Be creative!
Scores are given in percentages. 100%, 95% and 90% are great scores! 85%, 80% and lower are…not great. Okay, but not great. Aim for the best because…CABIN INSPECTION ROCKS! (So does cabin clean up!)
Camp Gilgal Family
Rachel M., Age 11
Tribe of Zebulun
My favorite part is worship because I love seeing campers being able to worship the Lord. As a younger camper I looked up to the people who got to lead worship and I hoped that one day I would be able to lead people in worship, too, so you could say that Tabernacle this year is a dream come true. I love worshiping the Lord with my voice and so leading worship is amazing. My favorite song is “You Never Let G
o” and “Hine Ma Tov.” I really like being reminded that God doesn’t let go of us and that it is a good thing for brother and sisters to be together in unity.
But, I don’t only like Tabernacle. My favorite activity is Drama Games. This activity lets me see campers use all of their creativity and it lets me see how God made each of the campers different and how He created them with different talents and interests.
My favorite story in the Bible is Ruth. I like it because it shows Ruth choosing to follow God even when she had to leave her home. I’m about to leave my home, too, so this is a great reminder and encouragement to me.
Our tribe of Simeon is awesome! The campers in our tribe are caring and brave. We have five campers in our cabin. We are the oldest tribe of men. We have an extremely veteran cabin. The tribe members are Alex, Izzy, D
avid, Ethan, and Aaron. The tribe of Simeon is the most looked up to because we are the oldest, but even though we do have responsibilities it is fun meeting new friends and getting into more of a relationship with Jesus.
The tribe leaders are Swank and Starfox and we enjoy playing dodgeball. We all play different types of sports. We get into different competitions with the other tribes. David is the oldest of the tribe. He loves wrestling and rock music. His favorite sports are soccer and basketball. This is his fourth year in Camp Gilgal. Isaiah is also known as Izzy and he is the most experienced of the tribe. He likes listening to rap and pop music. His favorite sport is soccer and this is his fifth year at Gilgal. Aaron is the third oldest in the tribe. He likes foosball and Pokémon. His favorite sport is baseball. This is also his fourth year as a Camp Gilgal camper. Alex is the newest camper of Camp Gilgal in the oldest tribe. He is the second oldest and he likes to make sure he always has the right gear and clothes for what is happening, whether it is soccer or Shabbat! And then, Ethan is our resident Canadian. He likes Creepy Pasta and Minecraft. This is his fourth year. This is our tribe and we’re great!
Hannah K., Age 10
Tribe of Zebulun
Sonic is one of the tribe leaders. But, she is not my tribe leader. Sonic is very fun and I love her. She is new in East Camp Gilgal. She was a camper for five years at Midwest Camp Gilgal! Sonic is only fast when she runs. When she’s doing anything else she’s very slow. When she was making a bracelet she took 15 minutes picking out the colors and I don’t even want to tell you the rest! I know that bracelets don’t take that long to make because I was making one at the same time. But, that’s Sonic.
She says that her name is Sonic because she was born with spikey blue hair. Sonic is a kind of video game. Her favorite Bible story is Acts 16:16-40. It’s about Paul and Silas when they were in jail and there was an earth quake. The jail broke but they didn’t go anywhere. The guard then believed in God. She likes it because there are explosions, singing, praying, and somebody coming to faith. Sonic is great and maybe she will be my tribe leader in a future year.
What do our five campers + two tribe leaders =? Together they form … Naphtali!!! We are Simona, Naena, Alyssa, Abigail, and Liora! Simona is 11 and loves to sleep! Naena is 11 and likes being awesome. Alyssa is 12 and is very clutzy! Abigail is 12 and very artistic and has many bug bites. Liora is 13 and loves to read and hike.
Our tribe leaders’ names are Watson and Nature Valley. Nature Valley loves…well, nature! She loves insects, animals, and plants. Watson loves sleeping (like Simona) and loves Sherlock Holmes, especially Dr. Watson.
During tribe time we like to paint each other’s nails and play games, such as Apples to Apples. We especially liked the team building exercises when we did the low ropes course. Over the course of camp we have developed new friendships with our cabin mates and we hope to stay in touch over the course of the year.
Aaron C., Age 12
Tribe of Simeon
At age ten, one of Swank’s tribe leaders, Firefly, inadvertently called him “
Swank.” The name stuck and when Swank grew up he used that name for himself. Swank’s favorite color is sky blue-pink. It may seem like an odd color, but to him, it’s not.
Swank’s favorite type of ice cream is mint chocolate chip. All of the tribe leaders get to share campfire talks and when Swank gives a camp talk it would probably be about God’s plans. They do not always make sense at first, but they always work out because God is good and knows what He is doing.
Swank keeps his real name as a precious secret, but if it was ever found out, well, he would cry. Swank is a veteran tribe leader, two years East and two years Midwest. In his four years at camp his secret has rarely slipped.
Besides Swank’s secret identity, Camp Gilgal has captured his heart with the campers, games, and atmosphere. He hopes to serve in a similar capacity for years to come.
We are Zebulon and we’re so fine, our beautiful hair will blow your mind: with Hannah and Ellie, Rachel and Netanya. One you meet us you’ll be saying, “They’re sababa.” These are the lyrics to Zebulon’s Anthem. Our tribe is composed of Baby Carrots who is our Tribe Leader, Anonymous is our Assistant Tribe Leader and our campers are Hannah, Ellie, Rachel, and Netanya. We are known as the party tribe and enjoy dance parties, dubstep, making it rain, and just plain having fun. We also love learning about Jesus all day every day.
Rachel M., Age 11
Tribe of Zebulun
Let me tell you about my awesome tribe leader, Baby Carrots. One thing that’s pretty obvious is that
she is in love with baby carrots. I was surprised about some facts I learned as I got to know her. For example, I found out that her favorite part of camp is pool time because she gets to relax and have fun at the same time, which I think is pretty awesome! But that isn’t her only favorite thing about camp. She loves to worship the Lord in Tabernacle, especially when we sing the song “Prince of Peace.”
Did you know that she also loves activities? I found out that her favorite is archery because she loves the feeling of getting a bulls eye. Since the Bible is very important, I wanted to know one of her favorite books and learned that she loves Matthew because of all of the amazing stories of the life of Jesus from beginning to end.
Everyone loves being at camp, but I wanted to know her outside as well. Baby Carrots just passed her EMT test and loves being able to help people. I think she is great!
We call ourselves “The Wolf Pack.” We are Daniel, Ephraim, Gavyn, Elliot, Asher, and Josiah. We are all part of the pack and the leaders of our pack are Long Shanks and Wolf. Long Shanks is funny and awesome. He tells funny stories and he loved bumping people when we rode go-karts on the field trip. Wolf is hilarious and awesome and he is great at soccer and dodgeball.
On the fourth day of camp, Starfox and the tribe of Simeon ambushed us with water guns during tribe time. We fought back with water balloons and super soakers and had an awesome time. We are crazy, awesome, and energetic. Camp Gilgal 2013 was an amazing two weeks for the men of Benjamin!
Our tribe is fun. The name of our tribe is Asher and we are all different. Penina likes math and music and is very smart. Mariya likes to draw, is very nice, and loves basketball. Rebekah loves soccer very much as well as other active sports, and she likes to draw too. Naomi loves sports, dancing, and singing and she is very funny and chill. Nena likes the color pink, likes to swim, is noisy, and likes music. Bologna loves to sleep during FOB, her favorite meal is the waffle breakfast and she is good at doing hair. Sonic likes to sing a lot, she plays frisbee, and she also trips a lot. All of our unique personalities in our tribe make us interesting and super awesome.
Isaiah H., Age 12
Tribe of Simeon
Have you ever wanted to know what type of tribe leader you should hope for at Camp Gilgal? Well, my tribe leader Swank is amazing and funny. Swank is amazing at basketball and he is never mean. Swank looks like Jesus. He has that long brown hair and the face like Jesus. He got his camp name because a tribe leader named Firefly started calling him Swank! I wish I could have Swank every single year. If you hear Swank say, “I will be your tribe leader for the next two weeks,” you better prepare for the best two weeks of your life!
God’s Grace is Sufficient
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
“The Lord said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'”
The Gilgal Gazette is published by Camp Gilgal campers for Camp Gilgal campers and their families and friends!
List of Tribes:
Tribe of Benjamin:
Beau N., Colton Z., Josiah G., Keane R., Nathanael D., Zeven Z., Long Shanks, Swank
Tribe of Issachar: Aaron M., Gregory V., Jacob A., Malkiel A., Misha K., Scooter
Tribe of Naphtali: Ana H., Elizab
eth D., Kaylie L., Sierra K., Nature Valley, Sonic
Tribe of Simeon: Daphne N., Hannah D., Ketzia B., Lydia C., Rebecca T., Strings, Baby Carrots
Out of cabin staff: Twister, RedSox, Blewish
Adventures and Games!
Zeven Z., Age 13
Tribe of Benjamin
Camp Gilgal is so exciting! On Tuesday of teen camp the whole camp went over to the upper and lower initiatives courses. These things had challenges that were close to the ground and you needed to work on as a whole group, and the other activities you had to wear more specialized equipment and you were more on your own. I especially liked something called “The Leap of Faith,” the wall, and the trust fall. For these activities we were given an explanation of what the feature looked like and we were given examples of things we should do and things that we weren’t allowed to do.
The trust fall is where one person stands on a wooden platform that is two to three feet off of the ground and then the rest of the group has to stand behind them and prepare to catch them when they lean backwards. They have to trust that their team is going to be paying attention and keep them safe and their team has to work together to keep their “falling” member safe. T
his really is all about teamwork. If you don’t pay attention and work together someone could get hurt.
Then, there is the wall. The wall is about eight to ten feet where you must lift each camper and staff member over it, by only using each other. The wall is flat, but there is a ladder so that one or two people can climb up into the platform at the top to help grab people as they are being lifted up the wall. At first it looks impossible, but if you think about the order that you send people up and work together everyone can make it up and it feels awesome!
The last part I’d like to talk about is my favorite, “The Leap of Faith.” This is part of the high initiatives course and for it you have to wear a helmet and a harness. There is someone who has been trained that is belaying you to make sure that you are very safe. This is a telephone pole that you climb up. You can’t just get to the top of the telephone pole, you have to stand on top of it. This might be a scary thing for some people, but I thought that not having anything to hold on to was really exciting, especially the part where then you have to jump. I loved this part and I did it at least four times! During my jumps on the leap of faith it was so awesome to be able to take the jump off of the top and then glide to the ground. It is amazing how your adrenaline is pumping through the whole thing!
I personally would recommend camp because it teaches teamwork, respect, the Bible, and good values. If you like to have fun Camp Gilgal is the place for you, so come join us! I can explain a lot about what we did, but if you really want to know how great it is you will just have to join us at Camp Gilgal. This was my first summer at Camp Gilgal summer camp and because this initiatives activity was so early in camp and was so surprising to the veteran campers I wondered what other cool things might be coming up. It made me so excited for the rest of teen camp and for camp in future years to come.
Rebecca T., Age 15
Tribe of Simeon
Once this summer during a game of Nukum, the game got super intense. That is saying a lot, because this year at teen camp we played A LOT of Nukum. The ball was being heavily volleyed and was rapidly hurdled from team to team. Elizabeth was on my team and she threw the ball directly into the net. She got out on that turn, but then as soon as she was back in the same thing would happen again. She
just couldn’t seem to get it over the net. We were all having a great time and everyone (including Elizabeth) just thought it was so hysterical, that it didn’t even matter.
In the same game, Long Shanks (one of the staff) who was also on my team couldn’t catch the ball. He had had too much practice with volleyball and couldn’t get used to catching and throwing the ball instead of volleying. Once he was trying to catch it but instead kicked it hard and it went really far. Maybe this is because Long Shanks is so tall, but the ball flew and hit Jacob’s chest on the other team. Everyone was pretty much in shock from laughter and for Jacob from the impact. Everyone was totally fine, but something like this pretty much happened in every game.
Nukum is my favorite activity at Camp Gilgal and I know that teen camp this year felt pretty much the same. There were always people on the Nukum court, even when we were on our camp out! I love it because it is fun, exciting, and competitive, moves quickly, and is a game that everyone can play. All of my favorite memories from this summer happened on the court and I can’t wait to see what next summer’s favorite game will be!
Beau N., Age 13
Tribe of Benjamin
My raft was awesome because Scooter, Baby Carrots, me, Nature Valley, Nathanael, Keane, and Gregory were there. Scooter and I have a special bond because we go to the same congregation and have the same birthday. I have found Scooter to be the funniest person at camp, so having him in our raft made sure that we had fun. Also, Scooter seemed to be a magnet for water, but he took it like a pro and didn’t seem to mind. Baby Carrots couldn’t stop laughing and was laughing so hard—she even pointed at him, like we couldn’t see how wet he was!
This was way better than junior camp because we have more freedom and junior campers would never make it on the river! They might fall out or get lost! The whole day Scooter was giving it his all, listening to our guide, and even paddling HARD through the rocks. Scooter even pushed me in and I held on to part of his life jacket. Nature Valley took advantage of this moment and pushed him in so we both ended up in the water.
We weren’t the only ones who ended up going for an accidental swim! Kaylie and Zeven both fell out of their raft and our raft was able to pick them up, so we were a fun boat and a rescue boat!
White water rafting is a great experience, something that I can’t wait to do again, and something that makes me look forward to future teen camps.
Malkiel A., Age 14
Tribe of Issachar
There are always surprises in teen camp! This year, we went to do the high ropes course. The course hasn’t been set up and able to use for a lot of years, so we are a very lucky group of teen campers. I was a little scared to climb the first feature to get onto the course. The first thing that I had to do was to climb a twenty foot tall tree but then I was able to overcome it because of the encouragement from my fellow campers. The challenges that were there included climbing the 
tree and going through the rope bridge. Then, there was a wire and ropes that you had to hold on to. The next challenge was to go over the bridge made of wood, wires, and nothing else. You had to believe that all of the things were going to hold you up and trust your balance to get through. The last and most awesome thing was the zip line!! While I was climbing the tree I felt scared. When I was going through the different bridges it felt cool, scary, and increasingly awesome. When I went down the zip line, it honestly felt like the best moment of my life. I felt a freedom like never before. It felt like flying, something that I’d only dreamed about before. In that moment I felt like I was experiencing a dream come true. The high ropes taught me that God is with me and He is always there for me. When I finished the course I wanted to start over and do it again. If you are ever given the chance to do this activity at teen camp, you definitely should!
Gregory V., Age 14
Tribe of Issachar
The activity selection is when after breakfast one of the staff announce the activities for that day. There are a bunch of activities including archery, Nukum, soccer, artsy fun, sun bathing, bending, fort building, and hiking. There are only two activity sessions, and the staff announce what activities are available for each session. There were just three activities per session, so you have to choose carefully and pick your best day. A lot of the activities are only things offered at Camp Gilgal East teen camp. For example, bending is about pretending to bend fire, earth, water, or air. Sun bathing is when you go outside to lay in the sun, chill, and work on your tan. And fort building is when you find materials to make forts. My favorite activity is archery. I have always wanted to be able to try it and I am so glad that I did this year. Another one of my favorites is Nukum. Nukum is related to volleyball, but instead you just catch and throw the ball back. If you know about the junior and teen camp activities in Gilgal, the teen ones are much better. It is great to be at teen camp and have more selection and not have required activities like Hebrew and craft. At teen camp you have different activities every day and I love that I get to pick what my days look like.
Misha K., Age 14
Tribe of Issachar
At Camp Gilgal the most awesome and important activities are eating and of course, pool time! The pool is not freezing, not too small, and definitely not lame. If you don’t like the pool or swimming in general, you can still hang out with your fellow campers in the shallow end or attempt to dunk the staff. Trust me guys, 2013 is a hot year and on a hot day at Camp Gilgal, the refreshing pool will keep you alive for sure. We have an hour and a half of swimming time every day after lunch so you will be able to swim a lot at Gilgal. We do extra activities like water bending, racing, frisbee, and other things for campers young and old and staff, too. My favorite time in camp is pool time where Camp Gilgal awesomeness is unleashed! One of our Canadian campers is my favorite to swim with. His name is Nathanael and we have been campers together FOREVER. Campers make pool time at Camp Gilgal better than any other pool there is.
Sierra K., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali
This year’s camp out night started out with a hot yet enjoyable road trip that lasted about two hours. My van listened to great music and had a nice little dance party on the way there. When we arrived, everyone had to set up tents. This involved much more teamwork than I had expected. While Red Sox and Blewish got din
ner started, most of the campers went swimming in the salt water pool. Many of us got in and played a game of water frisbee.
After swimming, we got back into dry clothes. We ate delicious hamburgers and hot dogs with grilled veggies and some much needed water. Then, an intense game of Nukem followed. Everyone was getting bitten by mosquitoes. We found sticks and made wonderful s’mores. At this point, we weren’t just being bitten by a few bugs, we were being eaten alive. We decided to put up our white flag of surrender and retired for the night. My tent consisted of Red Sox, Nature Valley, Ana, and myself. We had a good camp devotional about 2 Corinthians chapter 4. It was about living a life that would bring Y’shua’s light out. We had a good conversation about bugs after and then we went to bed. I left the camp with a whopping 34 bites! The saddest part was that I was nowhere close to the person with the most! In the end, this has been my favorite camp out night of all the three that I have been on because I have learned the most and had the most new spiritual insights to take home. I learned that I want to live a life that Jesus would be proud of. This night was also great because of the intense quality time that I got to spend with Nature Valley and Ana. I loved it!
Elizabeth D., Age 14
Tribe of Naphtali
For Scream-O this year my partner was Kaylie. We completely won the whole game, staying at Table 
1 for the whole game except for the last round, which made me really mad. Nevertheless, it was hilariously fun! Last year we weren’t that good, but we totally changed that this year. I so enjoyed it, and not just because we kept winning!
Scream-O is an intensely fun game played at Camp Gilgal teen camp. It is a game for pairs of two that go against each other teams. Then, each person will receive a set of cards from 2-12, and two die. Teams will roll the die and attempt to clear all their cards according to the numbers shown, therefore getting a Scream-O. I love this game because everyone is intensely concentrated on winning a round, and when you do, you can scream your head off, hence the name. This game is so loud and amazing and if we could play it again, I would definitely do it. I think that everyone would! At Camp Gilgal I love this game with my friends and there are even more fun activities to do there.
Kaylie L., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali
This year, white water rafting was super fun. The all day trip included swimming in the water and holding onto the raft for your life. The guides were all super chill and were not scared at all to get the people in their rafts a little damp. In the rapids water would splash all over you, but you had to keep paddling through the currents and over the rocks. My guide had a cheer that we would do after we finished a rapid to let everyone know that we were the best. The cheer would go, “Boom shakalaka boom!” Then we would repeat it and at the end we would all lift up our paddles and scream out, “Boom!”
At the slow and deep parts of the river we would do flips into the water or get thrown in by a staff member. That was one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole trip. Another part of the rafting trip that was super fun was called surfing. Surfing is basically when the raft would go up to the end of a rapid and everyone in our raft would lean to the front and would get a face-full of water.
Going on the river we had to be focused and disciplined. We had to listen to commands like “two forward” and “left side back.” You couldn’t just paddle however or whenever you wanted. You had to make sure to listen to the guide so that you would get to experience all of the best parts of the water. Especially inside of the rapids we would need to push against the water to get us around a rock. Throughout the whole ride the people on the raft grew closer and we proved that teamwork was definitely needed. Justin (our guide) told us that we weren’t the strongest group he’d worked with, but that because we worked in synch with one another we were more valuable as a group than a raft full of guys with giant muscles.
This was the second year that I have done a rafting trip and my guide seemed to give us a much better ride than last year. Our guide knew a lot about the river. He knew all of the water features better and he took us through amazing routes to get us through the rapids to get us insanely soaking. Overall the rafting trip was so fun, my favorite part of camp, and I would love to be back on the river again without a second thought.
Daphne N., Age 14
Tribe of Simeon
The decathlon here at teen camp is most definitely an adventure. The decathlon is an all-camp activity where there are a few different teams and from there it is all fun, games, and competition! You never know what to expect at any of the events, 
especially because some of them seem impossible. This year, my team came in third place out of all three teams. Although we basically lost, it didn’t bother me because of all the fun that we had. We were able to work together and have a great time. At some times it gets pretty intense between you and your worst competition, but when you finally win, a specific event it is a great moment to feel superior.
In total, there are ten events. In my opinion, the event this year that was the most challenging was the soda event. This event included an entire case of nasty tasting soda in which you and your team must drink the sodas as fast as you can and then stack it as high as you can! However, the most fun event we played was called limbs. For this, you and a partner from your team are standing at a distance apart from one another and two different body parts were called, for example: ear and knee. You would run to each other and touch an ear to a knee. It was really funny and competitive which made it by far my favorite. The decathlon here at teen camp is definitely something that’s worth turning against your friends for a while, while competing against them.
Keane R., Age 13
Tribe of Benjamin
“How to Be” is a very exciting activity. It teaches you how to be anything that you can imagine. We played games relating to being other things. We had a lot of fun pretending to be Bible characters, mythical creatures, cartoon characters, etc. In the activity we played a lot of improv games.
One of these games was called “Party.” In this game the person who is “
It” pretends to host a party and people begin to join their party acting out specific characters. The person hosting the party has to guess who their guests are or what they are trying to be. The party continues until the host is able to identify what their guests are doing and then those guests are counted as “out.” When we played I really enjoyed this game. In the first round Scooter was the party host and I was a bagworm. Other guests at the party were Larry the Cucumber, Little Red Riding Hood, Dora the Explorer, and many others. It was very exciting and I know I had a great time using my imagination and I think everyone else did, too.
Our Camp Gilgal Family
Jacob A., Age 13
Tribe Issachar
I want to tell you about my cabin at my first summer at Camp Gilgal teen camp. When I first got to camp everyone had already been there for several hours because I flew in and my flight got changed. Blewish met me at the van and introduced me to my tribe. Scooter showed me around, talked to me about camp and some things I needed to know, and I handed in my electronics. I was so excited that there were top bunks left and I picked one and worked to get settled right away and fell asleep almost immediately. The next morning I started to learn the ropes of camp and the other campers told me the things they knew about the schedule. I quickly felt at ease, especially with my cabin.
During teen camp, your cabin is your home. Your cabin mates are your tribe and your friends. You must keep your bunk and your bags neat and tidy for cabin inspection. To make your bunk the most comfortable that it can be you might want to bring a few of the following items: a small plug-in fan, bed sheets, a pillow, and a sleeping bag. The sleeping bag should be able to folded or rolled neatly—you don’t want it to make your cabin clean up more difficult! Cabin clean up and inspection are great because they teach neatness and responsibility.
In your cabin you have the benefit of your fellow campers from places near and far and your tribe leaders. This year, my tribe leader was Scooter and we were called Issachar. We had five guys to hang out with during tribe time, tribe Bible study, and to help with cabin clean up. We learned a lot about each other, got to experience new personalities, and became fast friends.
Tribe Bible study is a very important aspect of camp life. We read the Bible and had a discussion of the meaning of what we’d been reading, and discussed how it applied to our lives. Having the habit of daily devotions is something to get used to and might be a little bit uncomfortable at first, but it is a really good practice. Our time together in 2 Corinthians helped us to grow and learn about the Bible and really enhanced my spiritual time at camp.
Nathanael D., Age 12
Tribe of Benjamin
Swank is one of the coolest tribe leaders at camp! He really enjoyed white water rafting. The reason why is because from the time he was eight until he was twelve he would spend his summer in a canoe, so he is used to being on the water.
He really likes the Bible verse Jonah 2:1-2 which says, “From inside of the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help
and you listened to my cry.’” These verses spoke to Swank first when he was a camper and one of the staff shared it during a Bible study. It is a very hard hitting verse for Swank. He loves the reminder that God is always available to him when he needs help.
Swank has a definite fear of heights, and this year at camp all the campers and staff had the opportunity to conquer that fear. We got to do the high ropes course, and it had obstacles that seemed like they were dangling from the trees. I was really surprised that someone like Swank who seems like a big, strong, grown man could be scared of heights. It was great that Swank shared that with me.
It was great that we watched The Avengers at camp this year because it is Swank’s favorite movie. He likes it so much that words aren’t enough to explain it. I pretty much agree with him, I love getting to see this movie over and over!
Swank is studying English in college (and some other stuff) and he really likes to read. He especially likes to read books written by Chaim Potok. They speak to him and make him really think deeply.
On the first night of camp we always have pizza, but Swank wishes that just one time we would have BBQ chicken pizza because that is his favorite kind. I really think that Swank is a great tribe leader. He is a fun loving (and hairy) tribe leader and you would be a lucky camper if you get to have him. But you better act fast, because Swank loves to travel. He has already been to England, France, Romania, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, and Canada and he is dreaming of going to Australia next!
Josiah G., Age 13
Tribe of Benjamin
For my first year at camp I was in the tribe of Benjamin. Of the two boys tribes we were the only one with two tribe leaders. We had Long Shanks and Swank. On the first day of camp when we chose our tribe name, we picked Benjamin and we had to go into breakfast last and we told Twister and RedSox that we would always go last for everything. We go last at meals, at line up, and for activities. It is nice to let others go before us. Shanks and Swank are really good at helping us to grow spiritually during camp and I’m really glad that they are my tribe leaders. Our tribe has lots of fun together and I couldn’t imagine being in any other tribe.
Ana H., Age 14
Tribe of Naphtali
Every morning, between cabin clean up and the first activity, each tribe comes together as a whole. We need to come together prepared with our Bibles and open minds. We meet together outside of our cabins in the tree knol
l, on the porch, or on the picnic tables. This allows us to see nature and to make sure to stay focused while we are studying the Bible. We read over the Scripture that we’ve been assigned for the day, answer the questions, and share our experiences with one another. It is so nice to hear my friend’s stories, and find out new ways that we can relate to one another. This year is the first year that there have been tribe Bible studies and I think that it is a great thing. We have been reading 2 Corinthians and discussing God’s great comfort and mercy. My tribe talked about problems that we as Messianic Jews face and that how we act affects how the rest of the world thinks of us and more importantly how they think about Jesus. Our memory verses are 2 Corinthians 5:17-19. These verses talk about our new life following Messiah, and how we have the responsibility of sharing this gift with others by reconciling people to Him. Tribe Bible studies make us all closer to each other, and make it easier to be able to share stories and comfort each other like Messiah comforts us.
Colton Z., Age 13
Tribe of Benjamin
At certain times of the day we have chill time where we are allowed to chill or have time to do what we want. For me, personally, during this time I like to play sports like soccer or Nukum. I love sports and being active, but this is also time to nap or just talk with friends. During chill time I’ve also played card games or jus
t plain relaxed. Chill time is something a lot of people look forward to. Out of all the planned activities at camp this is the only time that is fully yours. Some kinds who usually keep to themselves come out of their shells and show their real personalities. Along with many other campers and staff I really enjoy chill time. Chill time makes camp just that much better. I’ve been to every Wonderful Winter Weekend since I was seven and this is my first year at summer camp. Wonderful Winter Weekend was fun but not nearly as fun as this! I had such a great experience and having chill time here makes it better. I would love to come back here every year from now on and eventually become a tribe leader.
Ketzia B., Age 15
Tribe of Simeon
At teen camp, Tabernacle usually happens in the evening. Tabernacle is a really great time to worship, admire, learn, and grow closer to our Creator. This time of worship and learning usually takes place in the Mishkhan, but occasionally it will take place at campfire. As soon as we start Tabernacle, we open up with a time of prayer and then we go into worship. This helps me get into the right state of mind because I love worship.
We then recite the Shema, which is a Hebrew prayer that says that we have one God. Then we have a message from one of the staff. This year, the messages were from 2 Corinthians, and they were taught by Blewish and Twister. I really liked talking about this book, because the people in Corinth and just Corinth in general relates a lot to our world today. I also love the books that Paul writes in the Bible. I find his writing style and even just his voice in writing really easy to follow and remember. Tabernacle is a really great time and I come out feeling refreshed and renewed. Tabernacle is a one-on-one time with God and I love it. One thing that really stood out to me in Tabernacle was talking about God’s comfort to us and how we are to share His comfort with others. It reminded me of how Y’shua came to Earth and shared His love with everyone.
Lydia C., Age 14
Tribe of Simeon
Each time we go to campfire the sky is always glimmering with different and beautiful colors. The view and the sky just gives me a sense of peace and makes me feel so much closer to God. When we pray and sing songs, I just know that God can hear us, that He is listening, and that He cares for me. Teen camp campfire is also much different than junior camp campfire because we spend time having a group discussion instead of opening with the goofy songs at junior camp. This year we talked about our identities and remembering that what other people at school say about us, what our parents say 
about us, and even what we say about ourselves isn’t as important as what God says about us.
Campfire is so fun! Even though this year mosquitos attacked everyone, we still found a way to be happy and sing songs together. We sing songs like “Create in me a clean heart” and “Jesus loves me campfire style.” These songs helped us to calm down from our busy day and focus on who God is and to focus on the discussion that we were going to have or the testimonies that we were going to hear. I would definitely recommend coming to Camp Gilgal, it is my favorite part of the summer and I know that every year I’ll grow closer to God there.
Hannah D., Age 14
Tribe of Simeon
One thing that I look forward to every year is the road trip to and from camp. The best part of the car rides is the anticipation of the upcoming week of camp. Also, the ride back is kind of like an epic finale of all of the things that I experienced at camp. Pretty much every van thinks of itself as the “party van.” We listen to music that gets the people going. I’ve always liked road trips because we all get to spend time and talk with one another. It is a great way to get excited for camp and to transition home from camp, too. It is always fun and on the ride back we stop and all eat lunch together. For real, it is awesome and you have a great opportunity to grow closer with people. Also, my friends and I made up a dance move together in the car so it was like camp had already started before we got there!
This year’s car rides were very memorable because it is my last year at this camp as a camper. Overall, this year’s car rides allowed for the fun from camp to continue even off camp grounds.
Aaron M., Age 15
Tribe of Issachar
Camp is a fun place. There is white water rafting, paint ball, and lots of fun activities like “how to be a bender,” archer, and even “prancercizing” (whatever that is). We even have campfires! However, camp is more than a place to have fun. It is also a place of spiritual growth. I have gone to camp for seven years, and seeing that this is my last year as a camper (before adventure camp which happens other places), I have decided to write about ho
w it made me grow. I started at camp not really knowing what to expect, but I soon learned that camp is a place where God is. The leaders were inspiring and really knew God. Their testimonies on how they came to faith in Jesus as Messiah were supporting and encouraging to me. In junior camp we had campfires and Tabernacle. That is where we learned about God and how He loves us and cares for us. Camp Gilgal helped me grow closer to God and helped me understand my faith.
This year we did a challenge course called the high ropes and at the time I heard about it, it made me really scared. I am terrified of falling! Even though I was scared, the fun that I thought it would be made the risk worth it. I got up onto the course and immediately did not want to do it. But, with the help of the leaders and instructors I was able to overcome my fears. When I think about it, it shows me that God is there with us, and also that we need to trust and put our faith in Him. He will lead us through the trials and not let us fall.
Camp Gilgal is a place where we can both have fun and grow in our faith. It is a place where Jewish teens can be with other teens and learn about the Messiah, Jesus. As for me, I hope I will be able to come back to camp as a leader, so that I can help other campers to grow in their faith as I did.
God’s Grace is Sufficient
(2 Corinthians 12:9)
“The Lord said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'”
The Gilgal Gazette is published by Camp Gilgal campers for Camp Gilgal campers and their families and friends!
Campers: Abbey M., Amanda R., Benjamin R., Conner G., Eliana S., Elias B., Elliot K., Emmanuel R., Emeth P., Evan S., Isaac J., Jeremiah H., Jacob B., Josh L., Joshua R., Julia K., Kezia M., Leia B., Lindsay M., Logan G., Louisa G., Matt L., Mia C., Nathan P., Olivia P., Reuven R., Sarah K., Skye R., Vika S.
Staff: Acorn, Jav
a, Pregunta, Sauté, Snapple, Snorkel, Sonic, Super Duck
Out-of-cabin: Moose, Streetlight, Waffles
Camp Gilgal Traditions
Joshua R., Age 15
The hike to Sentinel Dome was nothing short of amazing. As I hiked up the trail I observed many sights. Strong wind blowing in the pine trees, creating the sound like rushing water, large boulders that dwarfed the tallest of campers, and beautiful flowers that brightened the lan
dscape. When I halted halfway on the trail, I breathed in the fresh scent of the pines. This gave me the will to keep pushing forward. At Sentinel Dome’s base I paused. The monstrous base seemed to stretch on forever. Although I didn’t want to continue I heard the victorious cries of other campers. This drove me to move on. As I walked up Sentinel Dome’s elevation the wind gained power and speed. I began walking faster up the dome, the wind now whipping at incredible speeds. My breathing grew faster as I continued to move faster. I reached the top and gasped, forgetting my fatigue as I stared at the view in awe. In front of me was a shocking view of mountain ranges that looked to go on for infinity. The main mountain that caught my eye was El Capitan. El Capitan had many curves and was steep. Right beside it was a waterfall with water constantly gushing down. I turned around to see Half Dome. Standing there I had no doubt in my mind of a Creator who created and molded the mountains in His unique design. I asked Snapple what her favorite part of the hike was. Snapple’s response to my question was the simulation of flight on the top of Sentinel Dome. I then asked Super Duck what his favorite part of the hike to Sentinel Dome was. He responded his favorite part was seeing God’s glory in it all. I then asked Sonic the same question. Sonic responded that it was the beautiful view that captivated him.
Leia B., Age 14
Bass Lake this year at teen camp was a one-of-a-kind experience. At Bass Lake we go jet skiing, riding a banana, swimming, and there is even a store to buy stuff in. After the really fun ride in Streetlight’s van we finally arrived. Once we settled in, Sonic started signing people up to go on the banana pulled by a ski boat and jet skiing. I got signed up for a banana and jet ski right away. While on the banana boat we were going pretty fast, but we didn’t even hit a wave and I still flew right off. Eliana says it looked like I did a cartwheel. After that Eliana and I went on a jet ski with Acorn. Acorn’s jet ski went super-fast and being on it was definitely the highlight of my day. Overall I had an amazing time at Bass Lake and I know all the other campers did too.
Sarah K., Age 15
I have been a part of Camp Gilgal for eight years and I can honestly say my favorite part of camp is worship. I love the songs that we sing and the messages have so much meaning to them. It really makes you wonder just how much God loves us.
Every day during Tabernacle/worship we always start off by singing at least three songs. There are many wonderful songs at camp but a few of the campers favorite songs ar
e by far “Cannons,“ “To Our God” and “Psalm 23.” These three songs are just so beautiful and when we are singing these songs you can really hear the emotion everybody puts into their voices when they sing them. When they sing you can really tell it comes from the heart.
Next we usually say the Sh’ma, then lastly the teaching. Now the teaching is the most important part of Tabernacle. This week the messages have talked about 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, which is actually our memory verse for this year, and we also talked about Jacob and how he stole his brother’s blessing and when he wrestled with God. In 2 Corinthians it talks about how God’s power is made perfect in weakness. Streetlight explained to us that we don’t have to be ashamed of our weaknesses and that if it weren’t for those weaknesses there would have been no way for God’s light to shine through us.
Tabernacle is so special. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. And never forget that God loves you and cares for you. Whenever you are weak then you are strong.
Elias B., Age 13
When we started Capture the Degel, we decided to place our degel and jail on top of a hill. Our strategy was to have one wave of offense and a strong widespread defense. We defended from the road, not allowing anyone through but no one came. We decided it would be a good idea to travel down the line and see their degel’s position. The position it was in was near the cabins, behind the ladies’ “luxury” cabin. Me and Matt had decided to go deep in the woods to make an attempt to flank the defenders from the degel. Then we realized that there was barbed wire blocking us off from the dirt road behind the cabins, which was where the degel was. Matt decided to break off and go for jailbreak, but instead was jailed. I went up from behind, called a jailbreak, and Matt was free and went to the degel circle, grabbed the flag, ran for his life and won. Reuven says that it was a lot of fun but he didn’t get in much of the action.
Conner G., Age 14
Benching is a Jewish tradition that gives thanks to God after a meal. We sing to thank Him for providing nourishment for all creatures on earth. I enjoy benching because it is a fun way to show our thanks to God. As part of my benching report, I decided to ask some of our Camp Gilgal staff about their thoughts on benching.
Moose: “I love benching! It’s a tradition started by Streetlight at teen camp last year, and I hope it continues.”
Super Duck: “I think benching is a great way to get together after a meal. It’s awesome to participate in such a fun Jewish tradition. I’ve only done it for the few times here at camp, but it’s a really good way, I think, to give thanks to God after a meal.”
Simba: “I think that benching is good because it’s a fun thing to do after a meal and it is a tradition from our ancestors, so that’s cool… and I like how everyone gets to bang on the tables.”
Pregunta: “I think benching is a really cool tradition because it can unite Jewish believers and non-believers alike. It’s also a great way to bring the camp together and practice some Hebrew.”
It would seem everyone’s thoughts on this subject are similar. Benching is a fun way to thank God for providing food for His earthly creations. We all gather together and participate in this Jewish tradition. Benching really brings joy to the entire camp, and it really is something to look forward to each day.
Ben R., Age 14
Each year at teen camp, all the campers and the staff go to a large lake about twenty minutes from camp. Once on the lake, there are many various activities you can do. Scattered arou
nd the lake are large wooden platforms that are tied down under rocks. People are allowed to take these platforms deeper into the lake, which often leads to an extremely large and fun game of king-of-the-hill. People can also ride jet skis, a banana pulled by a ski boat, wakeboards, water skis, and more. There was also a store where you could get a variety of delicious drinks, including freezes, which are any flavor of soda or fruit mixed with vanilla ice cream. They’re probably the most delicious thing on the menu. The jet skis are fun, just as long as you don’t lose the key in the middle of the lake, which happened to me personally. “Definitely not the best idea,” says Simba, the staff member who was driving the jet ski. We were stuck out there for ten minutes longer until a boat came along with a zip tie and got the engine started for us. The banana was fun, and on the first spill, I accidentally hit a friend in the face. Overall, Bass Lake was an extremely fun experience that any camper can enjoy.
Emeth P., Age 14
I was awed when I stood on Sentinel Dome. I’d been to Yosemite before, but this time I began to notice how amazing God is. How could anybody or anything put as much planning into creating the p
ark let alone the world? I couldn’t comprehend how God would be patient enough to make the world. I was thrilled to spend my first year of teen camp somewhere so amazing. I don’t think I’ll ever understand God’s amazing creations. I asked Super Duck his opinion on some questions:
Q: How do you think God could plan and design something so beautiful and amazing, as well as have the patience to do so?
A: Because God is all powerful and takes pride in His creation, and He likes to make things beautiful.
Q: Are you glad God made this for you?
A: I am really glad He made it because it’s a good reminder of how great and glorious He is, and that He is our God.
Q: Do you want to go back to it?
A: Yes, it was great and I really enjoyed it.
Adventures and Games!
Elliot K., Age 13
There is this freezing cold place that may or may not be pleasant. 
This place is called Polar Bear Pond. This is a tiny pond that is super cold. There is a zip line going across it. Some people won’t make it across. If they don’t make it they will be pulled back, and if they do make it they just walk. Sometimes they let go because they want to. The people who jumped in and sometimes stayed in were called the brotherhood or sisterhood. When I was chilling in the pond with a few other guys, Moose charged in with normal clothes and not a bathing suit. Sadly, Moose lost his belt buckle. We tried finding it, but we did not succeed. After a few times, someone splashed the person on the zip line. Another time I went on with Josh L. and stayed in until someone fell off. Josh also let me pull him into the pond while he was on the zip line. Now I will ask Josh some things about how he “enjoyed” it:
Q: What was the best part about Polar Bear Pond?
A: The zip line, so that you can fall into the pond.
Q: What was the least favorite part?
A: The long line to wait for the zip line.
The Polar Bear Pond is a very strange pond.
Jacob B., Age 15
Initiatives were a fun but challenging course and event that campers used to face their fears and learn to 
work as a team. These events took place over two days. The first day was all about facing your fears. There were three things to do. The first thing was a giant swing that you had to climb up forty feet before you get to the top, and then you free fall down on a swing.
The second and third initiatives had balance and heights involved. The second activity was a trapeze. You would climb up twenty feet and jump for a rope or pull up bar. The third was a ropes course that consisted of multiple ropes, each one getting harder than the last. Then at the end is the best part – a really, really, really, super duper, awesome, amazing, steep, long, cool, exciting zip line.
Those are the cool activities of the initiatives. Each one was a little different than the other. Each one a little bit harder than the last for different people. Evan S. had this to say: “I thought it was really fun and I thought that it showed who the leaders were.” This is just an example of how fun initiatives really are.
Nathan P., Age 13
We went on something called the flume in camp. I interviewed Emmanuel about this particular topic. Emmanuel said it filled his eyes with tears from his excitement. I also interviewed myself about the flume. I said I was sooooo terrified in the beginning and almost passed out, but in the end it filled me with the most joy I ever experienced. I bet you all are wondering what a flume is? Well, the flume is just a humongous water slide that drops you into a pond. Before entering the flume you must get hosed off by a hose, then you jump on the flume and enjoy the ride. Once at the end of the flume, there’s a drop that’s about seven feet and throws you out about twelve feet. After being flung into the pond, you must swim through the algae-infested water. After you have ridden the flume you have to go back on again because you just loved it soooo much and it filled you with so much joy and excitement.
Isaac J., Age 13
On Monday, the men went on the giant swing and trapeze, and the ladies went on the zip line and ropes course.
The giant swing is about forty feet off the ground, and is reached by climbing up the side of a tree with metal rings attached to the side.
You use the commands and responses, “belay” and “on belay” to tell if the harness is attached to the wire, “climbing” and “climb on” to tell if it is safe to climb, and “off belay” and “the belay is off” to tell if the 
harness is detached from the wire.
Once you have finished climbing the tree, you climb onto the wooden platform attached to the side of the tree and detach your harness from the wire.
After you disconnect, the staff member working the swing connects you to three swing wires.
Although you do not go very fast, you are pretty high up, and it was really hot, so the wind felt amazing.
Also, I really connected with Allie, the one who helped you climb the tree, and her friend Bekah, who helped with the rock climbing wall. Everyone was cheering and encouraging the people that went up on the swing, so I felt like it was an experience that really brought everyone together. Sonic said, “It was fun watching people who were scared of heights conquer their fears by climbing up and swinging.” The giant swing was awesome, and so is teen camp!
Emmanuel R., Age 13
The rock wall is one of the many things there is to do at teen camp for this summer. It starts off by getting harnessed into a sling that goes around your waist and thighs and you also have to wear a helmet. You get belayed and say the commands, “belay on” and “climbing.” The wall can be hard or easy depending on what sector of the wall you decide to climb. The right side is easiest and the left is difficult. It takes a lot of upper body strength to climb the hard levels of the wall. Most times you get stuck and have nowhere to put your legs to push up and over. The wall is really fun and promotes courage, will power and determination to get the job done. Once you get to the top of the wall there is Scripture to read aloud to encourage your friends. Also there is a bell which you tap to signify that you have reached the top and hearing the bell ring makes you confident in yourself and you can cheer on others as they climb. The rock wall is something I look forward to next year at camp.
I asked Isaac about how he felt about climbing the wall. “I thought it was easy because I went on the easy side and harder on the harder side.”
Julia K., Age 14
The most epic, most terrifying event of all teen camp, so dangerous that only the brave few will ever try it… steering on the paddle boats. But doing the actual paddling is pretty scary, too. Even the canoes have a small thrill to them. However, it is the paddle boats paddling on the small lake that claim all the most gnarly and epic stories. Mia C. shares her story: “When I came on the d
ock to board the boat, I expected a leisurely boat ride. However, the reality turned out to be a highly controlled situation after Julia hijacked the wheel. No amount of reason or force could make her budge.”
Clearly boating, especially paddle boating, is a highly intense pastime. However, for those less daring ones, relaxing on the lake is also available. There is always entertainment in watching riders slide down the newly built flume and shade also provides a way to relax. However, be wary of anybody in a canoe! They often like to splash.
Any time of the day, boating is enjoyable, relaxing, and intense, though not exactly in that order. Every year the lake is always crowded with excited campers. Louisa G. testifies to this: “It was a lot of fun. We raced another paddleboat and won! It was a good workout for the legs and I suggest it for everyone in the years to come.”
No matter what your mood, boating is a perfect way to pass the time. Whether canoeing or paddle boating or even the flume, the lake is a fun place to be.
Skye R., Age 14
Today we did initiatives
. Initiatives are group obstacles you have to get through working together. We have one big group girls cabin, so we split into two groups. My group went first for the first initiative. The first initiative was the “Spider Web.” It was a bunch of different thin ropes tied into different shapes. The lowest part was about two feet off the ground. The goal is to get everyone in the group to the other side but the catch is that everyone has to go through a different hole. A few people on each team have “disabilities.” For instance, you can only use one leg or you can’t talk. I was lifted through one of the top holes in the “spider web” and it was really fun but hard. The next initiative we did included getting across three platforms only using two wooden boards. We couldn’t touch the ground and the boards or we would have to start over. At first it was difficult to find a strategy but then we had a plan all the way through. I asked Amanda what she liked best and she said it was really fun to figure out how to go through the “spider web.” I am so excited to do initiatives next year.
Olivia P., Age 13
When I first walked on to the rock climbing course I thought to myself, “There is no way I can do this. I am way too afraid of heights.” I was talking to other campers and they were encouraging me to face my fears and get on the rock wall. I thought about it and before I could think any longer I was strapping into a harness and put on a helmet.
After I was in the harness and had my helmet on I sat and watched my friend Lindsay, who is also afraid of heights, reach the top and ring the bell. I asked Lindsay how it was afterwards and she said, “Afterwards I felt accomplished that I faced my fear of heights, and that I tried new things to get me out of my comfort zone.” Hearing that from Lindsay really gave me confidence.
I walked up to the rock wall and stood there patiently as the instructor clipped me onto the rope. After I was clipped in I began climbing. I made it past the first set of rocks and everybody was cheering me on. Their encouragement really helped me to go further and further, and eventually I made it to the top and rang the bell. I felt so accomplished and I would’ve never been able to make it to the top without the encouragement of the other campers.
Vika S., Age 14
On our first day of camp we spent our evening hours playing many intense field games. The first thing we did to introduce ourselves was the “Name Game.” In the “Name Game” everyone must say their name, favorite food, and fun fact while spelling their name with their rear ends. Following this game we played “Boom Chicka Boom Boom.” Sauté was the start and all along a big circle everyone looked to the left to see what dance move was being passed along. After these slower games the real intense ones began.
The first of two crazy games we played was an epic game of “Steal the Turkey Bacon.” But instead of using bacon we used various items such as shoes, Frisbees, and soccer balls. Streetlight and Moose tried to keep score but were so wrapped up in the game and there were so many rounds that we lost count and there was no winner. There were many times where the campers had to wrestle it out for the “bacon.” I asked Amanda what she thought and she said, “It was a really fun night and I especially liked ‘Steal the Turkey Bacon’ since it was so intense.”
The last game of the night was a game of Hadov Rotz, which is like “Sharks and Minnows,” but instead of sharks they were bears. Our very first bear was Skye and the goal of the bear is to get as many campers running across the field as possible. After a camper is tagged they also become a bear and try to tag remaining campers. Slowly the number of campers dwindled down and all that was left was Sonic. He was caught and we played one more round. Hadov Rotz was the last game of the night and everyone enjoyed playing the fun field games. Almost everyone participated and it was just a great first night at camp that ended with listening to Java’s testimony and spending time outside all together.
Louisa G., Age 14
Monday morning after Tabernacle, Streetlight tells us to put on longer shorts/pants, closed-toed shoes, and sunscreen. We ended up getting taken to where there are a few different courses. The men of camp went to a giant swing and a trapeze. The girls got to go to a high rope course.
It started by us putting on harnesses and helmets. We got partnere
d and one partner at a time would attach white ropes (tails to their harnesses). There was a triangle of cable around a few trees and we had to practice taking our tails on and off. One had to be on the cable at all times just in case we fall on the course. Also, the tails had to be hooked on oppositely. We also had to say commands to our partners. While we are changing the tails to somewhere else, we say “switching,” and the partner would say “watching.” We then have to move the tail around for making sure it’s safe and say “slide test.” Partner says “thank you.” After this, someone demonstrated the course. There are four parts to it. One is just walking along a rope and holding on to the side ones. The second is walking along a rope again but leaning onto one rope for balance. The third is walking along a long rope with no balance. Fourth is climbing across a rope “X.” Between each of these are transitions. You have to take the tails off and on for switching to the different part of the course. After all of these, there’s a zip line you go on to get off. One partner at a time would go on the course while the other is watching. To get on a platform to start the course, there’s a rope you have to climb on. Every camper at least tried the course and faced their fears.
I interviewed Julia K. to see what she thought about the course and she said, “It was fun, it was high, it was easy and it was fun.”
Our Camp Gilgal Family
Matt L., Age 15
This year I had the pleasure of staying in the cabin of Azalea! I have never been in a cabin quite like this one. First off, the men in the cabin all like to argue and debate, so getting a bunch of men together for devotions can be kinda crazy! Other than the arguing the cabin is really swell! In an interview with Emeth P., he said that he would describe our cabin as “confusing” if using only one word. Our cabin leaders were Sonic and Super Duck. Both were awesome. I feel that God really used our cabin this year. I really felt that each and every other guy in the cabin was my brother. We were all very supportive of each other and loving! The tribe leaders were also very supportive and willing to talk about anything! One of our most memorable moments is when we were doing devotions. We spent about two hours debating on some theological things. I’m sad to be leaving camp this year, but I’m very excited to be returning next year at adventure camp! I love camp and I always will!
Lindsay M., Age 14
This is my second year of teen camp, and there are many new campers. Some came from junior camp and moved to teen camp because of age. Others came for different reasons. I’m going to interview Olivia, Mia, Nathan and Elliot about their experiences so far at teen camp. Elliot said that at junior camp there is kind of a similar schedule each day. At teen camp, he said, “You never know what to expect. It gets so confusing!” Next I asked Olivia what she thought of teen camp compared to junior camp. “She said, “We pack a lot more fun into one week than the two weeks at junior camp.” Nathan had said that at junior camp, there is a lot more control, and at teen camp, you have a lot more freedom. Mia said she likes teen camp a lot more but she wishes it was longer. She likes it better than junior camp because everyone is around the same age and that everyone can relate to one another. The new campers that I interviewed all enjoy both junior and teen camp. But in the end, I think that the new campers all feel more connected at teen camp.
Jeremiah H., Age 14
This is Snorkel’s first year being a tribe leader ever! Snorkel has been involved with Camp Gilgal for 
four years. When Snorkel was 30 years old, Snorkel learned that Jesus was his Messiah. Snorkel’s favorite colors is blue, and his favorite food is a (homemade) carne asada burrito with Tapatio sauce. Snorkels’ favorite music genres are Camp Gilgal worship music and classical, specifically classic guitar. Snorkel’s profession is nursing. He has been involved in health care for more than 30 years. He went to college at San Diego State. Snorkel’s favorite movie is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. His free time is taking care of his family. He also tends to his cows, lambs and chickens. He enjoys fishing and boating. His favorite sports to watch are soccer and surfing. Snorkel’s favorite book of the Bible is Proverbs, “Solomon’s wisdom is so amazing,” as well as Ecclesiastes. Snorkels’ favorite Bible verse is, “When words are many, sin is not absent” (Proverbs 10:19). Snorkel recently prayed with an elderly woman to receive the Lord at his job so that she left this world believing in the Messiah.
Eliana S., Age 14
This year at teen camp the ladies had the MacDaddy Crib: four beautiful showers, four toilets and four huge mirrors. It was amazing!
On the first day of camp when we thought we would be put into our cabins, we got put into groups by Streetlight. One had seven girls, one had two, and one had four, so we were kind of confused. That’s when we were all lined up and told the “news.” “I was surprised and overwhelmed and confused, but also happy because I could be in a cabin with everyone,“ says Leia B. Staff member Snapple says, “I was ecstatic to have all of you in one cabin!”
Our epic cabin has consisted of hilarious real laughs, screaming, eating goldfish, greatly enjoying FOB (thank you, Streetlight!), many FOR YOUUUs and so many other things.
The ladies tribe this year was amazing in every way. All of the girls are so close and camp is just a very loving and supportive place.
Abbey M., Age 14
Acorn is loved by all staff members and campers. She is a perfect role model for all lady campers. She loves to take pictures, especially of squirrels. Acorn truly loves the Lord with all her heart, which is shown when she worships and prays. She puts 100% into serving the campers and the Lord. Here are some of Acorn’s favorite things to do:
Acorn loves taking candid photos of camp activities. She also likes to take pictures of God’s creations and campers. In her free time, Acorn likes to play sports, especially volleyball, bake, and spend time with friends and family. She enjoys going to camp, Bass Lake, Yosemite, and is looking forward to spending some time during the summer in Alaska. Her first tribe leaders were Capo and Skittles, and she was seven when she first started to attend Camp Gilgal summer camp. Sparkler and Hershey were in her very first cabin. She has been serving as a staff member at junior camp for four years and for two years at teen camp. Acorn’s two favorite books in the Bible are Proverbs and Romans, and her two favorite verses are 1 John chapter 4 and 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. Her favorite worship songs are “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us,” “Divine Romance,” and “Psalm 23.”
Acorn is and always will be a beautiful person inside and out. I will always treasure her words and advice. She is always there for me when I most need her, and she is always willing to pray for me. Thank you, Acorn!
Logan G., Age 13
Java is one of the staff in my cabin. So for my first question I asked him was what his favorite coffee was. He said his favorite coffee was his first name, Java Chip Frappuccino. Then I asked him where he was from and he is from Chico, California. His favorite food is a filet mignon from Fifth Street Steak House in Chico. I asked Java what he thought of teen camp since it was his first teen camp, and he said that he likes seeing the campers grow closer to God and to see
God work in their lives. Java grew up in a believing family that took him to a church that taught him about Y’shua. His favorite verse is Romans 8:28 because it talks about how everyone has a purpose and how God will always follow through. I asked Java what his favorite hobby is and he does karate and has gone to Japan to study and still keeps up to this day. Java plays guitar, bass and drums, and used to be in a band. He still plays worship for his college group, but has chosen engineering over a career in music. I enjoyed having him as a tribe leader and hope to have him next year.
Mia C., Age 13
Camp Gilgal. Imagine everything you know and love about it. Got it? Now picture it without Streetlight. Exactly. Streetlight is an irreplaceable and vital part of the Camp Gilgal family. A Giants fan until the end, Streetlight is an “amazing, fun
ny, and energetic person,” as said by a few campers. She was blessed with a beautiful voice, an impressive talent especially since she never took voice lessons. She is a beacon of spiritual and personal guidance. Her seven years’ worth of experience at Camp Gilgal allows her to be a great influence on the campers. Luckily for us, Streetlight plans on continuing her role at Camp Gilgal “until God pulls [her] out.” We can only pray that God chooses for her to stay.
Now, if you want to know stuff about Streetlight, here are some cool facts about her. She can sing and play guitar, she loves the Giants, camp songs, and worship songs. Pools are a go-to also. Her favorite biblical character (besides Jesus) is Jacob. Streetlight’s favorite food is a Vietnamese noodle dish called pho. But if you really want to know her life details, then you should just go to camp. The best part about Streetlight is her faithfulness to God and her love for the campers and everyone else. Camp would not be the same without Streetlight and her compassion, energy, and intensity. She is a wonderful and amazing part of the Camp Gilgal family.
Reuven R., Age 13
Today I interviewed Pregunta. I asked him a variety of questions. He is also one of my tribe leaders. I learned that his favorite color is turquoise because it reminds him of the ocean and new beginnings. It’s also 
Pregunta’s first year. His favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip, because it’s refreshing and reminds him of family. His favorite Bible verses are Luke 15:11-32 because (and these are his words) “the parable of the prodigal son, because we all have strayed from our heavenly Father, and I believe this is the most encouraging parable in the Bible for redemption and family love.”
His hobbies are rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, traveling, community service, hanging with friends and family, and practicing his New Zealand accent. His favorite music is jazz and funk. His favorite food is Mexican food.
Pregunta is happy to be at Camp Gilgal and a person that you could just sit down and talk to. That is all I know about Pregunta and I hope to learn more about him in the near future. I’m sure that any camper that gets Pregunta will be a happy one. (Also, don’t make the same mistake I did by calling him Pretunga. It’s very embarrassing.)
Kezia M., Age 15
This year of teen camp I had the privilege to interview the amazing Sauté. I had Sauté as my tribe leader in the 
huge ladies cabin. This is her second year on staff and her third year going to Camp Gilgal. She is also the camp intern this summer. Her favorite part of camp is worship and hanging around with campers. Her favorite worship songs are “To Our God” and “God, I Look to You.” Her favorite night game is Mission Impossible and Capture the Degel. Her favorite Bible passage is James 1:2-3. She likes being goofy, having fun and making people laugh with her funny faces. Sauté danced for eight years and was a really good jumper which is why she chose her name. Sauté means jump or jumping in French. She loves doing different ballet moves off the diving board and water flume. She likes to be active and being outside. Sauté also is the most amazing jet ski driver. She made us all fall off. I loved having Sauté as my tribe leader because she was so much fun and was always encouraging. I loved getting to know her better this summer.
Amanda R., Age 14
Waffles is a huge part of Camp Gilgal. She was a camper for ten years and has been on staff for five. I have ne
ver had Waffles as my leader but I have gotten to know her better over the years. She is really sweet and caring. Waffles’ favorite memory verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. She says she loves this verse because it talks about things she values. After talking with Waffles about camp memories she says her favorite has to be singing worship songs with her tribe while horseback riding in 2011. Waffles enjoys teen camp and her favorite activity is Bass Lake. Some of Waffles’ favorite things are Thai food, the color Sea Foam Green, the stores she enjoys are Michaels, Trader Joes and Old Navy and she loves taking pictures. Many campers appreciate Waffles’ servanthood and no one can imagine camp without her.
Josh L., Age 12
My cabin consists of ten members – Java, Pregunta, Emmanuel R., Elias B., Elliot K., Isaac J., Reuven R., Nathan P., Logan G., and myself. We all stay in a cabin called Fern. Everyone in the cabin is very energetic and loud. Sometimes Elliot is very hyper and will run around the room yelling and screaming, “Stay up all night!” and “Never go to sleep!” One of the members, Emmanuel, is 13 years old and has been with Camp Gilgal for five years. His hobbies are sleeping, eating, going to Walmart, playing baseball, listening to music, and his favorite place to eat is Chick-fil-A. We also have cabin devotionals every night, and usually Pregunta will tell us to go to sleep but we’ll stay up later than we should. Java will wake up early and walk around the cabin playing annoying music on his iPhone really loud. But even though we’re loud and energetic we all still have lots of fun and love camp.
Evan S., Age 15
Snapple has been a part of camp for 14 years. Her favorite part
of camp is the beautiful trip to Bass Lake, and her favorite part of that is driving/riding the jet skis. Her favorite memory as a camper is her first year white water rafting in ’08 because the level four Dragontooth “was soooo fun.” Snapple’s favorite tribe leader was Rickshaw because she was invested in her life outside and camp and took time to know her. Snapple’s favorite camp is all of the ones with campers. She loves them! Her all-time favorite camp shirt was ’05 because the design and color was breathtaking. The verse that helped Snapple survive life is Hebrews 6:19: “We have this hope as an anchor for our souls firm and secure.” She said it reminds her of our hope we have in Y’shua. Her best year ever at camp was 2002. Her tribe at junior camp won tribe of the year and they went to Chinese food. Snapple wanted to be on the staff at Camp Gilgal in ’07 because she wanted to show the love and support to campers just like her staff showed her. Snapple is one of the greatest tribe leaders of all time because she is caring and has sacrificed so many summers to serve us. We all love Snapple.
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
Fun Days
Sasha S., Age 9
Tribe of Dan
During camp I bought an insect catching set. The first bug I caught w
as 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.”
Erica B., Age 9
Tribe of Naphtali
One of the top things to do during free time is go swim
ming. 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.
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 t
he 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
Crazy Nights
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.”
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 th
e 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 “23rd 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Haneen R., Age 12
Tribe of Reuben
A few nights ago we played Counselor Hunt. The point of the game was to fin
d 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.
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.
Only at Camp Gilgal
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 Bu
nks.” 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.
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.
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, t
he 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.
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.
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 l
earn 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.
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.
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 a
nd 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.
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:
- What is your favorite part of campfire?
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
Tribes of Gilgal
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.
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.)
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.
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 r
eally 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 like
d 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 11th 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 an
swered, “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 4th and I don’t like loud noises, and a sparkler is a loudless firework.”
Th
en 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 ins
pect 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.