The Lord Looks at the Heart

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7b)

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

Tribes:

All About the Tribes

Josiah O., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin

The tribe of Benjamin rocks. Our tribe includes five campers and two leaders. Our tribe leader, Elrond and assistant tribe leader, Taco are awesome. Elrond is filled with fun and silliness and Taco is super strong, cool and kind, but I’m sure he doesn’t taste like a taco. Our campers consist of Gavin, who is silly, Trent, who likes to sleep, Asher, who is always playing sports, Elliot, who likes playing games, and then there’s me and I’m sure I like everything about camp. We all eat a lot and like to crack jokes during FOB (Flat On Bunk). We are all awesome and probably are coming back next year.

Erik A., Age 10
Tribe of Judah

Our tribe “Judah” is the best and awesome. The reason why we’re the best is because we’re the most improved tribe. Our tribe has four campers and two staff. The tribe leader is the “Awesome Strider.” Really he is awesome! The ATL is the magnificent Hiccup. The four campers’ names are Erik, Shai, Daniel, and Ephraim. All the reasons why the tribe of Judah is cool is that we’re smart, clean, and organized. We are all very good at sports and talents. And we’re friendly. This is why we’re the best tribe!!!!!

Alana F., Age 10
Tribe of Reuben

Hi, we are the tribe of Reuben!

We have so much fun. We sing, dance, laugh, and make jokes! We love Camp Gilgal. We have to make a degel (flag) and our degel looks good. We have a flower with a Star of David in the middle of the flower and we all made our own flowers and wrote our names and we bring the flag to breakfast, dinner, and Tabernacle. Tabernacle is when we sing about God and how wonderful He is and then Twister or Red Sox tells us a story in the Bible. The people in the tribe of Reuben are Eliana, Netanya, Alana, and Halie. The staff are Ruski and Citrus. They are great leaders.

Halie F, Age 7
Tribe of Reuben

Reuben is a flower.
We are smart.
We are great and love art.
We have a degel!
My tribe leaders Ruski and Citrus are cool.
We like cats and horses.
We win at stuff.

                        Love, Haile

Sydney F., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

Levi is a tribe that lives to encourage each other. We really love the memory verses and our degel, even though we sometimes forget it in the dining hall. Sydney loves the food at camp, and she learned gaga ball this year. Penina’s favorite part of camp is swimming in the pool on hot days. Kaelee plays softball at home, and she really likes the wish-bang-zip game. Naomi really loves sports, especially running and doing flips. Rachel loves to sing and especially loves Tabernacle. Hannah dances ballet at home, and her favorite part of camp is tribe time. Levi’s tribe leaders are Watson and Cookie, who love F.O.B. and talk to each other in ASL (American Sign Language) when trying to confuse the campers about the schedule. Even though the ladies of Levi are very different, we all get along great.

Only At Camp

Netanya W., Age 10
Tribe of Reuben

For one of the theme dinners we had Fashion Disaster Night. It was so much fun!! Fashion Disaster Night is when you put on any clothing like a shirt on your arm, or different shoes on your feet, and so much more!! There are also more theme dinners like Animal Night. I don’t want to go ahead and say anything to ruin the surprise; you can find out if you go to Camp Gilgal!

Rachel H., Age 10
Tribe of Levi

When you hear the words, “Hebrew class,” what do you think of? If you answered, “learning Hebrew,” you’re not alone. But the Hebrew class at Camp Gilgal is a little different. For instance to learn the colors, we used Skittles and we had to say, “I have x amount of x-colored Skittles!” in HEBREW! Even though it was a little hard, the “game” was really fun!! We learned the “Days of the Week” song in Hebrew, and we asked for cheese (gevina) or peanut butter (asur) crackers to improve our Hebrew sentences. Out of all of the wondrous activities at Camp Gilgal, I would say that Hebrew class is one of my favorites.

Kaelee F., Age 12
Tribe of Levi

I definitely recommend Camp Gilgal for an awesome camp experience. I’ll start telling you about key things about camp. Let’s start with packing. All right, you must pack sunscreen, bug spray, sleeping bag, showering and pool materials. Also, make sure you pack hot-day clothes and cold-day clothes because Camp Gilgal is in the mountains so the weather isn’t predictable. I mean, it was like 50 degrees on the Fourth of July! Don’t forget your Bible! Now, you’re at camp. You are nervous. Try making new friends. When you wake up in the morning you’ll see the time is about seven o’clock. I know, it’s early, but you will see that once you’re up, you are up. Then, make sure you line up with your tribe (people you share a cabin with) in front of all the cabins to head to breakfast. All meals are amazingly delicious. You can always figure out something to eat if you are really picky too! There are cabin clean-ups every day after breakfast. People will inspect them and give you a score. Tabernacle is next. Bring your Bibles to these. They are services that are kid friendly! I don’t really like services, but I am actually engaging in these ones! After, you’ll take an art and Hebrew class. They’re a blast! Lunch is next! Delicious food as usual! You may pick activities you would like to participate in, from Mad Science to sports! But before, you can swim in a refreshing pool and play games in the game room! Dinner is after! Yummy food in my tummy! During diner there may be a theme dinner where you follow a theme! That makes dinner that much more fun! After dinner you may play a game with the whole camp or have campfire talk. This is supposed to give you extra knowledge about God! It’s bedtime! Get ready, hop in and rest. This isn’t the only time you rest during the day! There’s F.O.B. That means Flat On Bunk. You can basically do anything that’s quiet and independent! It usually lasts about an hour! Anyway, Camp Gilgal is super-duper fun! Missing out is the exact opposite of fun! I hope you enjoy this as much as me, especially because it’s a Jewish camp! What are you waiting for? Join today!

Penina S., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

Tribe time is about spending time with your tribe. Your tribe is who you share a cabin with. For tribe time, you get five different choices, since there are five different tribe times. Your five choices are archery, rock wall, team-building initiatives/ropes course, boating, and one tribe time where you get to choose whatever you want to do. Most girls like to use their free tribe time for any Shabbat preparations. You do eachtribe time activity at least once. Tribe time activities are to be done together with your tribe. Everyone has to participate. The decisions are made by everyone in your tribe and if there is disagreement, you can always compromise. Tribe time is totally awesome, and it is really fun to spend time with your tribe. It’s also fun to do different activities with other campers that are around your age! Have fun!

Rachel H., Age 10
Tribe of Levi

 If you’re one of those people that want a nap every day, then your favorite activity at Camp Gilgal will be F.O.B. This stands for Flat On Bunk. During this period all campers must stay in their bunk-room and be silent. You can either curl up under your covers and sleep, use a flashlight and read a book, or (if you’re lucky) your tribe leaders will let you play a game. Most of my cabin mates think that F.O.B. is unnecessary, but I think that F.O.B is just what everyone needs.

Sydney F., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

Every day we have Tabernacle, and there is a mystery box. We have mystery boxes because we have a timeline to show different events from the Bible and to show objects to represent what we are talking about from the Bible. When Twister and Red Sox bring the mystery box up to the front, they pick a camper to open it up and sometimes you can get what is inside. Then they put it on the timeline and keep building on for what you learn in Tabernacle. I’m really excited to find out what is in mystery box tomorrow.

Penina S., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

The point bar is used to help you get to Gilgal party. You get points for lots of things you do. The best things to get points in are memory verses and Gilgal Gazette articles. Usually your goal is around 15,000 points. To go to the party you have to get at least what the point bar is. I think this is a fair way of judging which tribes do work and which tribes are slacking. Our tribe is well on our way.

Penina S., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

The Gilgal Gazette is used to share some of the campers’ experiences with the rest of our community and others. For the Gilgal Gazette, you write about your favorite activities of camp. I like the Gilgal Gazette because it is fun to write about your experiences. Writing for the Gilgal Gazette also helps you get to the Gilgal party at the end of camp. You better write an article for the awesome Gilgal Gazette. Right now, you are reading an article about some writing for the Gilgal Gazette. Ha ha!

Asher W., Age 12
Tribe of Benjamin

Elrond was born at a very young age some time between creation and 2000. It was so long ago he can’t remember. His mom, who was there at the time, says he was born in Rivendell, California. Hid dad works in finance, in a spectacularly clean office. His room is fairly clean except for one or two askew articles of clothing. It just happens that Elrond’s favorite Bible verse is Psalm 23:06, my favorite too – “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Elrond’s favorite hobby is reading. His favorite book, other than the Bible, is Lord of the Rings. If you are lucky enough to get Elrond as a tribe leader, you will definitely be ensured an amazing two weeks of camp.

Alana F., Age 10
Tribe of Reuben

Today I talked to Floyd and I learned a lot of cool things about him. He didn’t start coming to camp as staff. First he was a camper just like us! (And he loved every second of it!) He started at teen camp when he was 14, which is when he also accepted Jesus into his heart because, “I finally saw how real He was and how active He was in my life.”

Floyd became a tribe leader two years ago. He decided to become staff because “I wanted campers to have as good of a time as I did and as rewarding of a time spiritually, and I wanted to be a part of that.” He decided on the name Floyd because it’s the name of his favorite band, Pink Floyd.

Games

Elliot A., Age 12
Tribe of Benjamin

Tribe wars is an especially fun part of Camp Gilgal. It all began one breakfast when Twister said two words. TRIBE WARS! We went back to our cabins for cabin clean up, tribe war preparations, and Tabernacle. After Tabernacle, we went into the field for several relay-like games. The first game we played when something along these lines: when Scooter blew the whistle we ran to the cone opposite of us. We then held hands and passed a hula-hoop over us, and then we ran back to the starting cone.

We then played a very fun game. We started at a cone, and one of our other tribe mates would run to the other cone, put on five t-shirts, do five jumping jacks, take them off, and run back.

After that we played a quick game. We ran to the other cone and lined up in a single file line. The person passed the ball over his head to the other person behind them and went to the back of the line. Then the person with the ball passed it over his head until we get back to the starting cone.

We then did another game, in which we ran to a tarp, stood on the tarp, and tried to flip the tarp without stepping off the tarp. Soon after that, we went into the mishkan and took off all our shoes and socks. We put all or shoes and socks in a pile, and when it started we ran to the shoe pile, put our socks and shoes on, ran back, and high-fived the next person

We then played a game called Gaga, in which you use your hands to hit the ball at the other people’s legs. We also went bowling in the mishkan in which we rolled a soccer ball at cones. All in all tribe wars was AWESOME!!

Josiah O., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin

Gaga pit is an awesome game. A staff member throws a ball in the gaga pit and everybody shouts GA-GA-GA as the ball bounces and thus the game begins. The point of this game is to hit the ball with your hands and try to hit somebody’s legs from their waist down to get them out. The last person standing wins. The materials needed are six picnic tables, a ball, and at least 10 people. Flip the picnic tables sideways into the shape of a hexagon to make the pit and start playing. HAVE FUN!

Josiah O., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin

The game room is awesome. There is foosball, air hockey, table tennis, and snack SHACK! I personally think the snack shack is the best so I will tell you about it first. At the snack shack you are able to get candy, ice cream, and soda and even root beer floats! And then we came to foosball. If you are a champion don’t play against Elrond (he’s an assistant tribe leader). Then there’s air hockey where you want to win and table tennis does not appeal to me. Otherwise the game room is AWESOME!

The end.

Shai K., Age 10
Tribe of Judah

On Monday night we played Capture the Degel!!! In Capture the Degel, you each have a side and you hide both flags (degelim). If you cross onto another person’s side they can tag you and they take you to jail but if they don’t escort you, you can run away. During Capture the Degel 2014, we found a snake and had to stop the game until it left. My team lost both times, but it was still really fun. That night I could not fall asleep because we were talking about it all night. It was the best game of Capture the Degel I have ever played!!

Daniel C., Age 9
Tribe of Judah

Mission Impossible is fun because the staff try to find you with flashlights and if they spot you, you have to go back to the cabin, and then you start over and you find clues and you have to do all this crazy stuff. PLUS you’re acting like a spy in black clothes and I like how you have to act like an army soldier and you can blend into the dark and that’s why I love Mission Impossible. I can’t wait for Mission Impossible because it is so fun and it’s my favorite thing about Camp Gilgal.

Eliana W., Age 10
Tribe of Reuben

Camp Gilgal is so much fun! We play lots of games. My favorite game is Capture the Degel. Capture the Degel is a lot like Capture the Flag. If you don’t know how to play I will tell you. First you have two teams. Next you hide your degel (flag). After that the game begins. The object of the game is to get the other team’s flag without getting tagged. There’s no other camp better than Camp Gilgal!!!

Naomi W., Age 12
Tribe of Levi

Soccer is one of my favorite activities. In soccer, my friends and I play soccer games, World Cup, running activities, passing drills and much more. We even play Nukem sometimes. Soccer is such a fun sport activity and is an awesome way to go play outside and exercise. I love soccer and I’ve played it for several years. I like to play offense and go for the goal but there are a lot of fun positions like defense, goalie, midfield and more. So if you love soccer like I do then you should come to Camp Gilgal.

Activities

Trent F., Age 1
Tribe of Benjamin

When I was told to go to the minivan I was confused, because I didn’t know where we were going and I was running late. We were going horseback riding! Arriving at the ranch, I got excited yet frightened, but it was fun. The horse was so nice! I rode Aspen. We went on a trail ride and Taco and Strider were the staff that came with us. At the end of the ride we saw a spectacular view. This is one of my favorite activities and I know you will enjoy it when you come to camp.

Gavin R., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin

Using horses is an old way, but more fun way to get around. Yom sussim is Hebrew for Horse Riding Day. It happened on Shabbat. We can ride them fast or slow. Horses are my second favorite animal. Yom sussim is my favorite day of Camp Gilgal because I love horses. The horse I rode was named Arie, and she was female. We went riding them around Camp Pinnacle. Older kids ride on a trail in the forest, but younger kids are in a corral. Horse Day was a lot of fun and a great experience.

Erik A., Age 10
Tribe of Judah

On July 2, after lunch we were about to enter a moment of my life that changed my life. We were entering the “pool of edge.” As I entered the pool it was freezing. Even so I couldn’t resist it. Then Baby Carrots came out of nowhere and asked me if I wanted to learn to swim. I said yes. At first I thought I couldn’t do it. It was sort of awkward. But actually my thoughts were wrong and my body was right. In 20 minutes or less I learned many things. I felt perfect. I felt so proud of myself. Today I want to do it more and more! But most of all, I want to thank Baby Carrots because she helped me. THANK YOU, Baby Carrots!!

Ephraim L., Age
|Tribe of Judah

Movie Night is when we bring our sleeping bags into the mishkan and then we watch the movie. During the movie they will pause the movie and we will get snacks. The movie we watched this year is “How to Train your Dragon.” Now I want to watch number two. My favorite snacks are gold fish, Doritos, toffee, and Fanta. It was a great movie. We always have Tabernacle before movie night. We talked about the kings of Israel and I liked it.

Eliana W., Age 10
Tribe of Reuben

One of my favorite times of the day is swim time. We swim almost every day after lunch. My favorite thing to do is try to get Hiccup’s sunglasses which is so much fun. I usually swim for about an hour and a half. I also like to swim laps which are also fun. You should go to Camp Gilgal to swim and have lots of fun.

Halie F., Age 7
Tribe of Reuben

Today was great! It was Shabbat and Elliot’s birthday and the Fourth of July. We had so much fun. We had chips, popcorn, soda, and animal crackers. We watched a movie and we were in our PJs and pillows and sleeping bags. We had cake, and Elliot is 12. We watched How to Train your Dragon. It was great!
Love, Halie

Hannah K., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

This year one of my activities was Mad Science. My favorite experiment was putting Mentos in Diet Coke. When the Mentos were dropped in the Diet Coke it exploded!! Geysers look similar but work differently. Geysers are made up of hot steam. The steam mixes with the water and explodes up! If you ever go to camp, sign up for Mad Science!

Rachel H., Age 10
Tribe of Levi

Imagine this: you’re at Camp Gilgal 2014. Twister passes around the sign-up sheets for activities. You see the word Claymation and go, “Oh, yeah.” What you just read was what happened to me. The next day, I was really excited for my first time in Claymation. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the room and only five campers were there! And they were sculpting figures with Play-Doh! But day by day, I made more and more characters and—finally—on Friday, we each made a video using our characters. My movie was about a girl taking a ride on a giant duck. Then the duck gets turned into a fish by the pond fairy. The duck-fish goes underwater, and the girl has to swim to the shore to get out. It was really fun, and I’m definitely doing Claymation next year!

Penina S., Age 11
Tribe of Levi

For pool time, you get an option of swimming or playing games, such as table tennis or air hockey in the game room. Pool time is about an hour. Pool time is valuable to me because on the days we are allowed to go into the pool, the weather is hot. On days like that the pool water is very refreshing. The pool goes seven feet deep at the deepest point in the pool. Pool time is awesome!