Called to Serve

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

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

Tribes:

Only At Camp

Zeven Z., Age 14
Tribe of Levi

A 16 hour car ride is how long it takes from Midwest to East Coast. You would think that it would be long and miserable, right? Wrong! To me, it’s actually one of the most enjoyable things at camp. In the car ride you really get to connect on a more intimate level. You get to stop on the way for snacks and breaks and whatever you need. People you ride in the car with become your best friends, not just at camp but for life as well.

Isaiah H., Age 12
Tribe of Naphtali

Tribe time is the best. Some days we will play Nukem or card games, and Bible studies. My favorite is Nukem because you just throw a ball and catch over the net. You can play barefoot because it’s on grass. Everyone plays it so it can get intense. When you play with your tribe you feel very good because you are bonding as a tribe.

My tribe is Naphtali and when someone forgets our name we strike a deer pose. Our tribe devotions have been from Mark and it is so great to have more time to discuss together.

Greg V., Age 15
Tribe of Dan

One time during Nukem I was playing a game with staff vs. campers. The campers were losing and only four campers were left including me. And as soon as one of the tribe leaders threw the ball I caught it, but then lost grip of the ball but then caught it again! And then it happened again and again! Until I slipped and painfully did the splits. Everybody laughed and I laughed also. So if any of you want to have any Nukem games with me, I’d love to play and make hilarious memories with you.

Misha K., Age 15
Tribe of Dan

A very fun part of Camp Gilgal is an awesome game called “Project Runway” in which we would pick models to dress up in toilet paper! Each tribe was given two rolls of toilet paper and we needed to use all of it without using any other materials to dress the models. The point was to dress the models in formal wear with accessories and we were given about twenty minutes to come up with ideas and make the costumes.

The best part was when the models strut their stuff. The music would go on and they would show off for the judges. The models were judged for the durability of their costumes, the creativity and their walk. In the end, there was a lot of laughter, fun and of course, fashion! This was a great addition to teen camp!

Daniel V., Age 14
Tribe of Levi

As the days of camp go by and the activities are being chosen, Bible study is always going to be one of the options. It’s actually quite fun, the different Bible study activities, even though there are usually just a few other campers. You get to talk to the staff about your life of believing in God and how you might want to change the relationship. Every day, the activities for Bible study always change and it’s not the same.

You can talk about: how to understand/read your Bible, building a prayer life, sharing your faith, sharing your testimony, dealing with doubt, serving God. It’s really easy to get comfortable with the staff. Even when you’re not in the activity, you can talk to anyone when you’re free or during another activities. One time, I went to “serving God” and we were talking about how we want to change our ways with God, our previous lives with Him, and how we can make Him more central in our future, and show and talk to others about Him. As we were talking, we came up with an idea how we can improve our relationship with Him and spread the gospel. My ways were to pray, read the Bible and do projects to help others. I hope I keep growing in faith after camp.

Leah M., Age 14
Tribe of Judah

This is my first year at Camp Gilgal and I had a great time. I wasn’t expecting to have such a good time because the day before I was really nervous I wasn’t going to meet new friends. But when I arrived I made so many new friends and had so much fun.

If I could talk to myself before I came to camp, I would say, “Do not be nervous. You are going to make so many new friends and learn so much about Jesus.” I really want to come back to camp next year!

My friend Ana invited me to camp and I am so glad she did.

Rebekah C., Age 13
Tribe of Zebulun

At Camp Gilgal, it’s a great time to learn more about Jesus and have some fun. When I went to teen camp, I met a lot of new friends. In our tribe, we had Bible studies from Mark.

We started our tribe Bible study by having a discussion on what we read to better understand the passage. We also shared prayer requests and would pray for each other. Also, whenever I read, I get more out of it than I did the first time I read it. Camp makes a big difference when I come back home.

Camp helped me want to read the Bible more often and follow good influences. When my little brother came home from junior camp I could see positive changes in him and I hope the changes continue for all of us.

Malkiel A., Age 15
Tribe of Dan

Campfire is part of Camp Gilgal tradition. It’s when everyone gets together at the top of the hill where you can see the setting sun, not too far from the cabins. One of the staff builds the fire and we all sit down on benches around the fire.

At campfire we listen to Blewish lead a discussion and open our hearts to Jesus. This year, the discussions were about our communities, the love that parents offer to us, the love that God has for us, and the love we give them both. Finally we talked about having faith. At the end, we sometimes look at the sunset and remember that God created the nature.

These discussions affected me by showing me how much our parents love us and what they do to be friends with us.

Abigail O., Age 13
Tribe of Asher

At teen camp, you do get a lot of chill time and relaxation, but don’t let that make you think that the staff will let you get away with a messy cabin. Each day at camp, when you are off participating in an activity, the main staff come in to each cabin checking for “infractions,” such as: crooked shoes (which are ASKEW), sleeping bags which are rumply (rumply, rumply, rumply!), clothing tossed carelessly onto a bed (tossed like salad!), etc. I personally enjoy hearing how well each cabin did at lunch and there are usually a lot of laughs! Cabin inspection is a good way to clean up and have fun simultaneously!

Your goal is to end up with no infractions and being awarded 100 points. Each infraction that you ignore costs you five points. For example, if you have two infractions, you get 90 points that day. If five infractions, then you get 75 points. At teen camp, your tribe needs to have a point average of 85 points to get to the celebration afterwards, so work hard to have a clean cabin!

P.S. A bad smelling cabin counts as an infraction, so take advantage of the Febreeze!

Liora S., Age 14
Tribe of Asher

Have you ever wished for the power to turn back time, fly or shoot flaming Ramen out of your hands? Well then, this is a perfect opportunity to let your inner dark side or your affinity for justice shine. Grab your costumes, create a back story, and grapple with an opponent on the opposing side. It’s a fun activity called “How to Be a Superhero,” led by Strider and Longshanks.

Battles between good and evil were held on a tarp by the foursquare court. Among the powers chosen by participants include: flying, turning back time, mind control, negating positive powers, blasting baby metal at opponents, sending swarms of mosquitos at enemies, shooting flaming Ramen, and many more.

Using creative play based on fictional characters created by campers is a great way to relax, have fun and exercise your creativity. My superpower was the ability to shoot flaming Ramen at my opponents and burn their skin off. Participating in this activity was a fun way to spend our last full day of camp and I really enjoyed it.

Ana H., Age 15
Tribe of Judah

This year at Camp Gilgal, we have had a lot of fun – perhaps too much fun! For the first time, we as a camp have participated in a game called “Project Runway.” In this activity, teams compete against each other to create an outfit made out of only toilet paper. Every team has a model and a spokesperson who explains the origins and ideas that the outfit relays. The greatest challenge for the campers is to try not to rip the toilet paper, so whenever it does, we work together to think of creative ways to fix the problem without using extra materials.

After presenting each ensemble, the three judges, Blewish, Twister and Red Sox, scored the outfit based on creativity, durability and the model’s walk. Teams have the opportunity to score 30 points for each category, for a total of 90 points per round.

This year, we only played one round: formal wear. Each tribe had unique themes for their outfits. And we all ended the day with a smile on our face. Hopefully Project Runway will become a funny tradition here at Camp Gilgal!

Nena K., Age 12
Tribe of Asher

This year, I went to junior camp in the Midwest and teen camp in the East. Both were very fun. One of the things that I really like about teen camp is chill time. Chill time is where you can do anything that you want, such as: Nukem, sleep, braid hair or take a shower. Things that you want to do but don’t have a lot of time for. Another thing that I really like is campfire. During campfire, the whole camp sits in a circle and talk about different things like community and our parents. We bounce ideas off of each other while we incorporate our feelings and ideas. While there is a fire burning in the middle, we have helpful spiritual discussion with the campers and staff.

At teen camp, there is one night a week when we camp (sleep) outside in tents. This year we went off camp, drove to a campground in the Adirondacks, for our sleep out. There was a pool there too. I didn’t go swimming because I didn’t want my bathing suit to be wet for the next day. I knew that the next morning, we were going white water rafting.

During the afternoon, I sat by the pool with Nature Valley and we were tanning. After that, I put my feet in the water and got splashed! It was so much fun. I look forward to going again next year.

Next year, teen camp will be open in the Midwest. Since I live in Michigan, I’ll be there next year. Regardless of what I go to, I know that I will learn a lot, have lots and lots of fun, and strengthen my relationship with Messiah Yeshua.

Fun Activities and Games

Keane R., Age 14
Tribe of Levi

At teen camp, there are two types of people: those who go paintballing and those who do not. I was one who did not. The people that don’t go paintballing go on a hike, on the Indian Ladder Trail. When we got there, we had to go down a huge flight of stairs. It was fun because we would jump down flights at a time. In the beginning of the hike we were awestruck by how beautiful the scenery was! The small cities and fields in the valley made us feel really big. We were singing the whole hike when we stumbled upon a really big, dark cave. We went really far in the cave but we couldn’t go any farther because it got too dark and I hit my head on a stalactite. After eating a few wild berries and more walking we found a waterfall. It was really fun to run under it and I got soaking wet. Sadly, the walk came to an end… But then we went back the way we came! The Indian Ladder Trail made me think about how God designed everything with every little detail.

Hannah P., Age 13
Tribe of Asher

This year at camp we played “Capture the Degel.” It’s a game where two teams go on two different sides, and hide separate degelim (or flags). Players try to capture their opponents’ degel. Once they find it, they bring it to their own side. If you cross the line and go in the opponents’ territory, they can tag you and take you to jail. To get your teammate out of jail, you have to tag them. There were many instances where people got caught trying to get their teammate out of jail. You’ve got to have speed and strategy. It’s super fun!

My team was especially good. We had a lot of good runners, Rebecca, Daniel, Jacob and Naomi. We also had great defenders, including Nature Valley, Sierra, Strider and Abigail. These were amazing teammates who I would love to play with again.

Capture the Degel is a fun-filled game, with much laughter and fun. I would strongly encourage it anyone. It’s a very fun, hilarious game with many laughs and it’s a good way to exercise. I had so much fun and definitely want to play it again.

Joseph S., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali

Photography is an activity that I only do at camp and I really like it. Photography is great because it allows the beauty created by God in nature to be captured. Photography was so much fun because I got to do so many things. I took pictures of things. I took pictures of an eye and plants. The plants were really tall and magnificent. These were the biggest plants I’ve ever seen.

These plants had magnificent leaves and the stem was strong and sturdy. The plants were sturdy. The rain makes the trees and plants grow very tall and strong. There was a lot of beautiful scenery along the way. The water in the pond was delicately moving or the plants majestically moving in the wind. It was a very beautiful sight to see that all surrounding you at once.

For these reasons, I found photography so much fun. No matter what you say, you can’t say that activity wasn’t fun. I have a saying, “Nature has a beauty that can’t be controlled and it’s true.” So that’s why I found photography so much fun.

Eden A., Age 13
Tribe of Zebulun

I love chill time because you can hang out with people from any cabin and keep building friendships. Unlike F.O.B, chill time is an activity where campers are allowed to relax, play games and hang out with friends. As I said earlier, we will sometimes play games, such as Nukem, soccer and mafia. During this time campers can hang out with other campers from different tribes. Because the small bathroom has few showers, lots of campers use that time to take showers. It’s also a great time for a quick nap. I usually look forward to this part of the day.

Campers and staff are able to bond because of these experiences. Chill time is a great way to relax and bring people closer together. We are able to get to know one another on a more personal level. We talk about friends, movies, family, clothes, etc. Chill time is like a nice break from the other wild activities.

Juliana C., Age 13
Tribe of Zebulun

The camping trip was so fun. I would love to go camping again. It was warm in the daytime but got very cold in the night. When we first got there, we set up our tents and put four to six people in each tent. We all set up our sleeping bags. Then, we went swimming and the pool felt great. The bugs were very annoying and made me mad. The weather was gorgeous and great for volleyball. After we ate dinner, we had a campfire and then headed to our tents. We put on so many layers because it was so cold. We bundled up and told bedtime stories (as in funny stories). We went to bed.

In the morning we were all freezing and wanted to stay in bed. When we finally got up, we ate an excellent breakfast. The camping was an amazing experience.

Jacob A., Age 15
Tribe of Dan

The Decathalon is either one of the funnest activities to do, or one of the worst. In this event we do ten individual games, competing in teams to win. The games consist of eating things and drinking things, all as fast as you can. These events are made up of various physical and mental challenges, which can be bizarre and mind-boggling.

This year, the new events we had to do was that we had to eat saltine crackers and then whistle a tune, a very challenging event. We also had to stand on a tarp and had to flip the tarp, while all standing on it, which our team was not able to do.

The reason it’s one of the worst is due to the fact of having to run, compete, eat donuts as fast as you can, chug soda as fast as you can all after going full from dinner. The people not competing in it will laugh, though, and you’ll be laughing too.

The Decathalon is announced, usually as a surprise, right after dinner. After a full meal, we begin the competition. This becomes part of the fun, to see just how much a person can eat and drink. One tribe leader drank eight sodas in a matter of minutes. I love this special event and it is one of the biggest highlights of camp, and a very fond memory of camp.

Competing with other teams is a lot of the fun. I was on the team, the Orange Jews. I really liked the donut challenge (we won!). One of the other teams this year was “Chief and the Mollywops.”

Noah L., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali

This year, one of my favorite activities was basketball. I had a great time! I played basketball on Tuesday and Saturday. The staff on Tuesday were Swank and Diamond. On Friday, it was Scooter and Diamond.

On Tuesday, basketball was not easy because there were like thirty people and the floor was really difficult to run on because it was a weird type of hard wood. Diamond’s team won two straight games. Swank’s team won one game.

Saturday was completely different. We played outside, Scooter and Diamond were there and there were only about ten people. There was only one game, but it was very intense and well-played. The loading scorers were Colton with four points and me with twelve.

In my opinion ball-handling is the hardest part, but the best part of basketball. It enables me to look amazing while breaking the ankles of my opponent! (What I mean is, I dribble around their ankles so that they get distracted and trip.)

Basketball at Camp Gilgal is always something to look forward to. I love playing on a team and working together.

Alex J., Age 13
Tribe of Naphtali

From the peaceful soothing sound of the body of water and the glistening light hitting the water, boating is a great, fun and safe experience that is on the activities list for teen camp.

In my boating experience (and I went twice), both times were so fun and I learned so much about boating and the time you have on the water makes you feel like you are with your friends, and your thoughts and boating is a great activity.

Boating can be very intense. The first day I did canoeing, and we had races against the other boats. It was amazing. After the races, we paddled around the pond, and as we would get close to another canoe, we would get into a water fight. In the words of one of my fellow campers, “the thrill is real.”

It wasn’t all crazy, because it was also very relaxing and beautiful. Along the way to boating, we had to do “road procedure.” This is the thing we do to cross the street at camp, since the pond is on the other side of the road from our cabins. Twister also taught us about the parts of the paddle and how is actually works in the water. I learned a few things.

I picked boating randomly, but had a lot of fun and I am glad that I spent peaceful time on the water.

Daniel C., Age 14
Tribe of Dan

From the intense firefights to the long-range stand-offs, paintball was a great way to build friendships, strengthen communication skills and just flat out have an unbeatable time. Located across the road leading up to camp, the wooded course was very ideal for everything from team death match, to Blackhawk Down. Besides the range in game types the course had adequate cover. Paintball is also a great way to relieve unwanted stress. All in all, I would consider this time well spent!

Even though paintball seems extremely intense it is suitable for most people who are just looking to have a great time.

Although I was very unnerved during my first round, I very quickly overcame it and was able to enjoy my time to the fullest. When I look back on that day I am so happy I took part in this fun and adventurous activity. Through the pre-game attack strategy, we had great teambuilding discussion and during the game, there was vital communication while moving to cover, so that I wouldn’t be caught in the cross-fire.

Alyssa C., Age 13
Tribe of Asher

Fort building is a fun activity where you build a fort out of mattresses and a tarp. We first started out by taking mattresses out of our cabins and took them out by the field. By the field we have a circle of picnic tables and flipped them over for the walls of the fort. Then, we laid out all of the mattresses on the ground as the floor. The last step was to put a bit white tarp over the whole fort.

As soon as the fort was finished, all of the campers piled into the fort and relaxed (including Longshanks who took up most of the fort!). Everyone hung out inside the fort as we talked about the fun memories we had at camp over the past years. One of the memories that we talked about was from 2012 when Eden, Sierra, Abby, Sivan, Yael and I were in the tribe of Judah. That was one of the best years for everyone in that tribe because we were the best tribe ever! This was because all of us got along so well and we were really crazy. Also, we had the best tribe times and had awesome staff – Chickpea and Bologna! It was great to remember and see how we’ve grown together.

Fort building was a very fun and relaxing second activity.

Simona B., Age 12
Tribe of Zebulun

One day, during tribe time, we had an activity where we tie-dyed plain white T-shirts. There were many different designs to do and many different colored dyes. It was so much fun!

The design I chose was stripes. All you do is fold the shirt back and forth like you would make a fan. Then you tie it off in sections and use different colored dye in the sections. Mine did not turn out so well because I did not use enough dye, but the spiral shirts that other people did turned out really well.

Everyone’s shirt was different; there were no two of the same. Everyone used different colors, designs, etc. Some of the designs include spiral, stripes and bullseyes. They all turned out super cool and super colorful! The reason they were all different is because every camper is different. We all like different colors, designs, techniques, etc. One reminder: wear gloves! Some people forgot this step and they had rainbow colored hands for three days.

Naomi W., Age 12
Tribe of Zebulun

Rockwall at Camp Gilgal is so much fun. It’s in the gymnasium so there’s lots of awesome activities to do like basketball, soccer, volleyball, Nukem and more,  but that’s if you have a basketball, soccer ball, or volleyball. The rockwall is split into three parts, the easy, the medium and the hard. The easy wall is easy because it has a lot of rocks to grab. The middle level wall is actually higher than the first and has fewer rocks. The hard wall has the least number of handholds out of all of them. I’ve climbed the different rockwalls and they are so much fun and my favorite is the hardest one. Rockwall shows how strong and smart you are. So, if you’re like me and you love climbing things then come to rockwall at Camp Gilgal.

Mariya A.; Age 13
Tribe of Zebulun

I’ve never been whitewater rafting ever before, but this year was my best experience of it. At first, I was really nervous and shaking. According to all the instructions given from my raft’s guide, it seemed like I was definitely going to fall in the water from the boat. Our guide led us through the whole trip on water.

Maybe I am wrong, but I think that our guide was the best. There was this one moment where this other group’s boat got stuck on a rock and with Alex’s (that’s our guide) brave attitude he got out of the boat and went through the woods and got the other group out of their trouble. Besides, my group was the lead group for the day, and all the other groups followed us.

The fact that I can’t swim was really frightening to me. I really didn’t want to fall out of the boat because then I would be in really big trouble, which seems even scarier. The best thing was that my group’s guide was able to keep every person in my group safe. When we were halfway over the trip, Alex made sure everyone in my group had comfortable seating and let us relax. Therefore, he did the rest of the paddling all by himself. I am not sure if it is true, but Alex told us that it was his first time doing this kind of thing, which was actually making everyone so look forward to our water trip. I had the best experience of whitewater rafting ever. Not only did I have a bunch of fun, but I had a growth in my courage and felt more brave.

Lydia C., Age 15
Tribe of Judah

Paintballing was super fun this year. I had a blast! Last year, I was scared out of my mind the whole time. I just sat behind a wall and prayed that I wouldn’t be shot. But this year, I got so into it. I felt like a sniper while I was sliding behind platforms and hiding behind trees and shooting anything I saw.

I also got really dirty and gross but I did no’t care at all because it was the funnest thing ever. I’m sad that I won’t be able to do it next year because this is my last year of teen camp.

My friend Kaylie accidentally shot me though. We were on the same team and I ran up in front of her without telling her while she was still shooting and she shot me in the leg from like two feet away. It hurt at first, but not for long.

We were playing this one game called “Blackhawk Down” and we had to shoot one person on the other team, which was Swank. Swank’s marines were protecting him. After we shot all the marines, they told Swank that he had to run for it and once he got up to run, we all started shooting at him and he fell in the river and got all wet and muddy. It was hilarious.

This year after paintballing, I learned to be fearless because there was really nothing to be afraid of. I hope that I will take that lesson with me and use it in the future.

Kaylie L., Age 15
Tribe of Judah

This year one of the activities was soccer. We played several games and each game was extremely close. I played goalie for one of the games, which I don’t usually play and made some pretty amazing saves. Making these saves made me feel really happy that I was capable of doing things in soccer that was not just playing in the field.

Each camper got really into the games and we all ended up having a great time. In the whole group that played soccer there were some skilled soccer and some not as skilled players. The staff also got really into the games. Playing, refereeing and playing as fans we had Swank, Watson, Goliath and Baby Carrots. Goliath was definitely the MVP for the staff. He was the strongest and most enthusiastic out of all of the staff. All of the campers had an awesome time and we all got super into the games. Playing in the fields brought our camp together in that we all worked on teamwork together while having fun.

The teamwork that was developed was really awesome because we learned that we only had t o know each other for a day and we could work together well. Playing soccer at Camp Gilgal was so much fun.

Staff at Camp

Colton Z., Age 14
Tribe of Levi

After lunch each day, three staff members would go to the front of the dining hall and basically tell their stories. At the end we would ask three questions and how we could pray for them. It made me more comfortable knowing their background and it was easier to talk to them. They go through their lives, childhood, time at Camp Gilgal, and funny stories. They talk about how their walk with God was, is and hopefully will be. I enjoyed listening to them and I can’t wait to hear more. It made it easier for us as campers to realize where our walks with God are going. It takes courage to get up in front of many campers and staff and tell your story and your standing with beliefs. They all have courage and I respect all of them.

Hannah M., Age 14
Tribe of Judah

Not everyone who comes to Camp Gilgal is Jewish. Strider is a Gentile tribe leader at Camp Gilgal East. I decided to interview him about what it is like to be in such a strong Jewish community. I asked him what the hardest part in being in a Jewish community was and he answered that it was the culture shock, not knowing much Hebrew and also not knowing some of the Jewish traditions like keeping Shabbat. Also I asked him what was the most important thing he learned from the campers. He replied that it was the open-mindedness. Being able to ask questions about the Scripture that he has never thought about asking before. The last question I asked him was how has coming to Camp Gilgal affected his faith. He told me that being able to come into an environment where he had nothing but God to think about made his faith become stronger. He was able to meditate and think about the Scripture without being distracted by the stress from this world. Having activities and being able to read your Bible removes all those distractions. Camp Gilgal was a great way to learn to grow and trust God.