God Will Gather Us and Bring Us Home

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

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

Tribe of Judah: Ezra L., Isaac G., Levi S., Matthew S., Noah N., Hiccup, Horizon

Tribe of Benjamin: AJ S., Daniel C., Ephraim L., Gavyn R., Google, Pamplemousse

Tribe of Naphtali: Halie F., Keren A., Olivia T., Sofiya M., Sitruce, Guacamole

Tribe of Ephraim: Alana F., Dinah G., Eliana W., Netanya W., Rachel H., Anonymous, Squid

Tribe of Joseph: Hannah K., Kaelee F., Penina S., Sydney F., Storm, Sneezy

Out-of-Cabin Staff: Beardo, Birkenstock (Craft Teacher), Buster (Camp Baby), Ruski (Intern), Scrabble (Babysitter), Scooter, Strings, RedSox

Halie F., Age 8
Tribe of Naphtali

My name is Halie. My tribe name is Naphtali and I’ve been at camp for two years. Craft is really fun because you get to make these really cool tzedakah boxes. My box has dogs on it and it has sparkles, and inside of it when you open it you see my name, and when you look at my ‘A’ you see a circle with a star on it. Birkenstock is the craft teacher. I really like her because she’s always really nice to me. Birkenstock reads her Bible every week and she’s trying to read it more often. Her favorite colors are Matisse blue, orange, and yellow. Her favorite style is stripes. Her favorite thing at camp is the people, the horses and the craft, of course! She also really likes the outdoors. Her favorite word is “transformational,” her birthday is April 7 and Buster’s (her son) is August 17. Her favorite food is a big fruit salad. She doesn’t do the same craft every year. I can’t wait to come back to camp and see Birkenstock again.

Sofiya M., Age 8
Tribe of Naphtali

Guacamole was my assistant tribe leader this year and my first year at summer camp. I wanted to interview Guacamole because she is really funny and she was pretty and nice and I want to tell you a lot about her. Her favorite color is pink. So is mine. Really it is. Her favorite pet is a guinea pig because she had one and they are cute and fluffy. Guac’s favorite number is four because it’s her soccer number. Her favorite verse is Hebrews 11:1 because it tells about faith and that’s her middle name. She said to pray for patience in school and stress in school. She likes to sleep because she’s tired sometimes. She accepted Jesus into her heart in her first time at junior camp as a camper. She loves guacamole because she is Guacamole herself and it’s tasty. Guacamole loves camp because she gets to see Squid and she loves learning about the Bible. I loved camp and I can’t wait to come back next year. And I loved being in Guacamole’s cabin. The End.

Olivia T., Age 8
Tribe of Naphtali

Hi, my name is Olivia. This is my first time at East Coast summer camp. Last year I was at the Midwest summer camp. I love Mad Science. It is my favorite activity because it is fun and there are experiments. Hiccup is a tribe leader, his tribe’s name is Judah and he is in charge of Mad Science and hiking. He’s silly, so silly. I interviewed Hiccup because I like Mad Science and hiking. He likes some science, like physics and chemistry but hates biology. The Bible is his favorite book and he tries to read it every day. His goal is about three chapters a day. His favorite colors are green, red, blue, and orange. He loves to eat mac and cheese (in a crockpot)!! He likes football books by Tim Green. He’s going to college in Florida and he’s going to live an hour away from Disney World!!! His favorite animal is a dog. I can’t wait to come back and to see Hiccup again! BYE! 🙂

Noah N., Age 8
Tribe of Judah

Nukem is volleyball where you have to catch the ball. Then you throw it and if the person misses it or touches it without catching it then they are out. My tribe was playing nukum and I don’t normally like doing things with the whole group, but I had a lot of fun playing Nukem because Baby Buster was there. Haha, no he wasn’t playing…he is a baby! It’s so funny that Baby Buster was eating cheerios and laughing at us playing nukum. P.S. Baby Buster is actually Baby Busted. Well, that is what my cabin calls him because we like the word “busted,” and Baby Busted hits his head on stuff.

Baby Busted’s mom is Birkenstock. Birkenstock is in charge of craft. Scrabble takes care of Baby Busted when his mom is in craft. I tried to guess Baby Busted’s name, but he doesn’t talk so he couldn’t tell me. I asked Horizon what his real name was and he wouldn’t tell me but said, “That is an excellent question!” The staff are a weird and cool part of Camp Gilgal and part of what makes Camp Gilgal awesome. Baby Busted is cool too. I’m glad he was here.

Isaac G., Age 9
Tribe of Judah

I decided to interview the ATL of my tribe, the tribe of Judah. This was my first year as a camper and Horizon’s first year as staff. I asked him sixteen questions that I wanted to know about him. Here are some of the questions I asked him. The first was: why do you always wear a beanie? His answer was, “Beanies are amazing. They’re comfy, warm, and it’s almost like a warm hug on your head. It looks cool, and once you wear one you can never go back.” The second question was why he chose to be an ATL. He said, “I love Camp Gilgal. I was a camper for two years in teen camp, and I always wanted to be on staff with Camp Gilgal, and so for this year’s junior camp, I was able to be an ATL.” He said, “I love the people here. They’re loving and caring, and even if I don’t see them very much because I live far away, they feel like family.”

This was my first year as a camper, and I learned how to shoot a long bow. I learned how to use a wood burner, and I learned a lot in Tabernacle. I loved playing soccer and field sports. Me and Horizon both love cats, and I’m thinking about wearing a beanie. I can’t wait to come back next year!

Keren A., Age 9
Tribe of Naphtali

I’m Keren and this is my first year at Camp Gilgal junior camp. My first tribe leaders were Sitruce and Guacamole. I asked Sitruce a couple of questions because I wanted to know more about her. I discovered that her favorite animal is a cow because it has a funny face. I also learned that her favorite colors are black and blue. She told me that the first time she accepted Jesus was at Ingathering when she was seven. Her favorite book of the Bible is Psalms because it’s extremely poetic. Her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because her family is there and there’s a lot of food. She likes going to the forest and going on hikes. Finally, her favorite food is any kind of Italian food. I learned a lot about Sitruce from these questions. I really enjoyed being her camper and I can’t wait to know her more.

Sydney F., Age 12
Tribe of Joseph

A few days ago I interviewed the amazing Squid! Spiritually, she prays for family, friends, campers, and just about everything constantly. Also, Squid reads the Bible mostly every day when she gets the chance. Squid’s favorite books in the Bible are the Psalms, Jeremiah, Esther, Ephesians, and Philippians. In fact, she’s always been a believer in Jesus because she grew up attending church.

A question that I asked Squid was, “Do you want a boyfriend?” Her response was, “When I’m older and when God’s timing is right for me.” Another interesting fact about her is that her favorite number is seven because it’s written in the Bible many times. Did you know that her favorite color is pink and she loves all the food at Camp Gilgal? Also Squid was born on December 23.

On a camp-related note, I asked her why she wanted to be an assistant tribe leader, also known as an ATL. In response, she always wanted to since she was little, because she knew it would be super fun. Then I asked her why it would be super fun and she said, “You get to know everything the campers don’t know.” You also get to stay up later, and you have more freedom. The final question I asked Squid was, “Did you like having me here at camp?” and she said, “Yes! Of course!”

That was my interview of Squid – an ATL at Camp Gilgal.

Netanya W., Age 11
Tribe of Ephraim

The first thing we do in Camp Gilgal when we wake up is get changed and go brush our teeth and then line up in our tribes and walk to breakfast and when we get there we eat! Their food is awesome! It’s so yummy! And after that we go to our cabin and clean up! And when we are done cleaning we go to Tabernacle and have worship, and we sing! And then learn a Bible story lesson! After that we go to our first and second activities, then we line up for lunch and walk down to lunch and eat! Then we see our score for cabin clean up and that’s how we get points so we can go to the big party at the end of camp! So then we go back to our cabin and do our third and fourth activities, then we go to dinner and eat! When we get back we either do a big camp activity which is really, really fun, or some other big surprise! I love camp because every second we are doing something awesome and fun! And every second we are getting closer to God! It’s amazing and we are always excited for what happens next, and there are always surprises! That is our camp day! I hope you’ll come and check it out!

Rachel H., Age 11
Tribe of Ephraim

Since Camp Gilgal is on a mountain, sometimes we have some strange weather. For the first night of camp, the whole campsite was enveloped in a thick mist. Some people had to go down to the infirmary to get medications, and the mist was so thick that they had to be driven back in a van.

Camp Gilgal has some odd weather, but also some beautiful sights. There are lovely sunrises and sunsets, and rainbows so close that you can almost touch them. We once saw a rainbow from the Mishkan, and the colors were so vibrant that it was unlike any other rainbow I have ever seen.

Yes, the weather at Camp Gilgal can be storm-tossed, but you can also see some of God’s most wondrous creations from high up on the mountain top.

Kaelee F., Age 13
Tribe of Joseph

Each day all campers and staff who attend Camp Gilgal transport to the Mishkan for Tabernacle. This is the time when we gather to worship the Lord and listen to a message presented by RedSox. However, before the message begins, we all worship God through song. My favorite praise songs include Oceans, As the Mountains, and Prince of Peace. Even though I’ve messed up the lyrics in the past, I need to remember who I’m singing to. Should I be singing to the congregation? No. To the Lord? Yes. God doesn’t care how your voice sounds out loud. He cares about the voice inside your heart. That’s most important.

Kaelee F., Age 13
Tribe of Joseph

Yummy! The food at Camp Gilgal is always delicious and creative no matter the year or date. Many campers look forward to meals cooked by Chef Bill. Other summer camps have food that tastes downright ‘bleh.’ It’s also noted that other camps have meals that are worse than typical cafeteria food! Not Camp Gilgal, though! Hot food is served every day with a salad bar, which includes several toppings and dressings. There’s another option of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with fruit during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Meals differ from sandwiches to tacos to chicken to waffles. My personal favorite is Chef’s mashed potatoes because they’re buttery and hand mashed.

Don’t forget dessert! At both lunch and dinner scrumptious treats are offered. This may include cookies, churros, brownies, popsicles, ice cream, etc. When you take a bite, you take a trip to a delicious dream. I hope that you’ll love the food at Camp Gilgal just as much as I do!

Penina S., Age 12
Tribe of Joseph

Tabernacle is a place where everyone gets together in the morning to worship and praise God. We sing songs, read stories, recite the memory verse and more. It takes place after breakfast but before your activities.

One day we got blow pops to represent the remnant of people left who believed in God. The gum was what we were supposed to leave. Some people ate their gum, others left it on their sticks and some people didn’t open theirs because they knew it would be too tempting.

In Tabernacle I learned that it is important to always trust God, no matter the circumstances.

Penina S., Age 13
Tribe of Joseph

At Camp Gilgal we have a tradition. The first tribe to finish a meal has the right to bang on the tables. So, it was nearing the end of dinner. Both of our tribes (Joseph and Judah) were almost done with our meals. It was hot dogs and hamburgers. Judah is about to bang the table because they are done. Just then, Noah walks in the room with a burger. He’s part of the tribe of Judah. Everyone cracked up. It was really funny. In the end we (Judah) won. At Camp Gilgal, we have lots of funny moments like this; it’s great!

Netanya W., Age 11
Tribe of Ephraim

In Camp Gilgal there is a lot of teamwork! Teamwork is used in a lot of things, like going to the party at the end of camp! And also we use teamwork in camp activities such as Capture the Degel (that’s a game), and we have teams and we have to work together to get the degel (flag), and also other fun games like that! I love Camp Gilgal! It’s really fun! You might be sad leaving home for two weeks, but Camp Gilgal is just like a home. Everyone here is so nice and when it’s time to go home you’ll be sad leaving because it’s like you’re leaving your Camp Gilgal family. I love it here!

Gavyn R., Age 12
Tribe of Benjamin

I like cats because they are cute and fun and sleep a lot. I have four cats at home. They sleep in my room with me. All are nice, and one is shy. Toru is my favorite cat at home. She is a kitten and extremely playful. The other cats are always tired.

Even at camp, cats know I like them. On my way to camp and the dining hall, two cats seem to follow me everywhere. One was striped and orange the other was grey and striped. They follow me till the hill starts up to camp. When my mom picks me up they might jump in my car.

Hannah K., Age 12
Tribe of Joseph

Every night we come together as the tribe of Joseph to read about Joseph. Joseph had 10 older brothers. They did not like him because Joseph’s dad favored him. He even gave him a robe. His brothers didn’t like that so they sold him to Egyptians. The Lord gave him success wherever he went. He became the person in charge of Potiphar’s house (Potiphar was a rich Egyptian). One day Potiphar’s wife was telling Joseph to do something bad but he did not listen to her because if he did he would not be obeying God. She lied to Potiphar and Joseph got in trouble but he did not do anything wrong! He went to jail, but even in jail God gave him success. He even interpreted two dreams! It’s really cool learning about how God worked through Joseph.

Kaelee F., Age 13
Tribe of Judah

You may be asking yourself, “What is F.O.B.?” Well, it stands for a phrase Camp Gilgal uses which is Flat On Bunk. F.O.B. can last approximately an hour and puts the stop in nonstop. Campers and tribe leaders can feel fatigue and tired as the day goes on. Now, don’t get me wrong! Camp is super fun with the activities, but it’s healthy to take a small break.

“What can you do during Flat on Bunk?” You’re permitted to sleep, write letters, read appropriate reading material, etc. Depending on your tribe leaders, you may be allowed to even get out of bed if no one is sleeping. Then F.O.B. can turn into quiet time. However, most importantly, F.O.B. is SILENT. F.O.B. helps everyone and it is great!

Alana F., Age 11
Tribe of Ephraim

Hi! I’m Alana F. and my favorite activity is Capture the Degel! (Degel is Hebrew for flag.) We played in a big field when it was getting dark. It is crazy and fun all at the same time! The best time to play is a little after eight at night. The best way to win is while the other team is hiding their degel, and you’re not doing anything, spy on them. Once you know where everything is, and the game has started, you need two people; one to distract the other team and one to get the degel. I really liked Capture the Degel, and I hope it sounds fun to you. I can’t wait to play next year!

Matthew S., Age 9
Tribe of Judah

On Monday of the second week of camp we packed for a campout. After we packed we headed to our campsite. Since we didn’t have a fireplace we went to Benjamin’s site. We made a fire and ate hot dogs and hamburgers. One hot dog rolled off the grill. Then Gavyn started chasing us with sticks. Then we noticed that there were fireworks on the other side of the valley. When we went back to our campsite we tried setting our tent up, but it kept falling down so we called Scooter and he came. He also tried but it fell again, so we slept on the blacktop. I had camped a bunch before with my family – this wasn’t the best camping (because our tent didn’t work), but it was the most fun! I hope you enjoyed my story.

Ephraim L., Age 11
Tribe of Benjamin

Rules. The rules of Counselor Hunt are listed below:

• You must be with a buddy at all times.
• You must stay on the trails.
• If you get lost stay where you are.
• You must find a way to move the counselors.

What happened this year was that on the way to getting Beardo, Rachel got stung by a wasp twice. Then Daniel got stung too, so I told the other girls to run but it was too late, and the wasp got Sydney. So Ezra and I ran to campfire. Then we went in a different direction and tackled Pamplemousse (the T-Rex) and held Horizon hostage. Even though people got a little hurt, it was really fun. It is my favorite game next to Mission Impossible and I can’t wait to play again next year!

Ezra L., Age 8
Tribe of Judah

I was excited and also nervous that I was going to fall off of my horse. But I went on my horse and I didn’t fall off. I felt alive because I never went on a horse before. Also I felt scared and frightened in a good way! I went around ten times in an oval ring. My horse was doing funny things with the horse in front of it. Also my horse’s name is called Fred. Also my horse’s color was dark brown. The only thing that I wish they taught us on the horses was how to run on the horses.

Keren A., Age 9
Tribe of Naphtali

Camp Gilgal is really cool. It’s also very funny. One day, we were coming back from the pool, and we had a theme meal. The theme was Fashion Disasta’. Our tribe was getting ready and having fun, and finally, we were a disaster. I was wearing shorts on pants, so was Sophia. Halie had a tail! Olivia had a mismatched clothes combo and so did the tribe leaders. We were all wrapped in pink tape also. Guacamole was wearing a chicken hat and Sitruce was wearing a long black trench coat. Guac had to sing in front of everyone for a package that night! Then our cabin realized that everyone was missing! They had left without our entire tribe! We must have been too busy to hear the whistle blow and didn’t see everyone else line up. It was sort of embarrassing, but we were unfashionably late (perfect timing!). It was very funny when we walked in. Everyone was clapping for us. It was hilarious! I love theme meals!

Sneezy, Storm, Hannah, Sydney, Penina, Kaelee
Tribe of Joseph

It was a beautiful day when our tribe found out that it was Campout Night! We were so excited to see our campsite. We prayed that our site would not be uncomfortable to sleep on – thankfully it wasn’t. We walked to our campsite which took about 15 minutes. When we arrived, we found that where we were was dangerous (we were right next to a pond) and we were surrounded by suspicious plants (Penina was convinced it was poison ivy). We were all frustrated and upset so we took a break for dinner. After dinner, we moved all our stuff to a new campsite which took two trips! It was ok though because we were together and we sang worship songs the whole time! When we got to our tent we were exhausted, but happy. We prayed and talked for a little bit, but then we fell fast asleep and slept so well! We learned so much about God’s love, protection and patience on Campout Night. We also learned that Sneezy is a very violent sleeper when she sleeps in a tent!

Levi S., Age 8
Tribe of Judah

At Camp Gilgal we have four activities every day. You get to pick two activities and then everyone has Hebrew and craft. Activities are a lot of fun and you get to learn to work together. Soccer is my favorite activity. It is my favorite because I love to run and I’m really good at shooting goals. Soccer is my favorite sport at home, too – last year my team won the championship!

I also really like Hebrew. This year is my first year and I learned the aleph bet. My Hebrew teacher Beardo taught us a song and it made it easy to remember. We also learned to introduce ourselves in Hebrew, and the days of the week and our colors.

Craft is also awesome! Birkenstock teaches craft and she brought her baby, Buster. In craft we made a tzedakah box with a metal lid, and I will use it to hold my special favorite stuff at my house.

Activities are really fun and I can’t wait to see what activities are available next year.

Dinah G., Age 11
Tribe of Ephraim

Having control over the arrows can be very challenging, so many people lose arrows. Finding the arrows can be very hard, so we don’t always find them. Hitting the target can also take a lot of skill and aim. Nobody in my archery class actually hit a bullseye, but many people did get quite close to hitting the target. It was exciting and a great challenge.

Some of the bows were harder to use than others, so some of the campers were very picky when selecting their bows. There were times when people lost so many arrows that they had to use the bad arrows instead of the good arrows and they were harder to aim.

Archery was a fun experience for me and everyone else. I really liked it and hope to get better at it next year.

AJ S., Age 9
Tribe of Benjamin

Basketball is an activity that we play at camp and it is fun. I got to play with Scooter in our activity when we went to the basketball court. We played three on three and we had so much fun until it had to end. One day when I was waiting for basketball, it was too hot to walk to the basketball court so we played nukem in the field instead. We played against the rockwall group. I can’t wait to play basketball next year. Also, Scooter encourages me to be a better basketball player and basketball makes me feel good.

Kaelee F., Age 13
Tribe of Judah

Dear Camp Gilgal,

Use this as a reminder to not go too fast on the merry-go-round! Let’s just say that one morning at spectacular Camp Gilgal, playground games were played. At the park, there’s a fun, spinny piece of equipment called the merry-go-round. In fact, Hiccup and Anonymous were using their strength to spin us ‘round and ‘round. The merry-go-round caused the gravity to become abnormal until I was at the edge trying not to slip off! The force, however, was too powerful so I had to jump off! The merry-go-round threw me to the ground, though. It was hilarious and funny so all of us, except for Anonymous, laughed!

-Camper Kaelee

Hannah K., Age 12
Tribe of Joseph

After Tabernacle, we decided to do a jumping jacks contest because we all wanted to move around. So we all went to the back of the room and we started to do jumping jacks. At first, it was really easy but then it got much harder. After about 10 minutes, Ephraim and I were the only ones left jumping. A lot of people were cheering me on which made me really happy. After RedSox blew the whistle for us to stop jumping, my legs were burning! But then I ate a banana and it really helped my legs. I got first choice of what I wanted to write about in the Gilgal Gazette, so I chose to write this article! I really love Camp Gilgal and all the silly things we do!

Eliana W., Age 11
Tribe of Ephraim

On my way to lunch at junior camp 2015 I was thinking about what we would do for cabin inspection. We have cabin inspection because we if we didn’t our cabins would look like we were swimming in clothes. After we finished lunch we waited in breathless anticipation as the cabin inspectors (Ruski and Scooter) walked to the front of the dining hall. They started with the boys’ tribes, then the girls and finally us, the tribe of Ephraim. They opened their mouths and the words we have been waiting for came out, “You did pretty well. However, there were NO INFRACTIONS!” and we all yelled and cheered and we had a great rest of the day. Last time we got an 85, but this time we got an 100 because we worked together and made sure everything was perfect. I can’t wait to earn another perfect score at Camp Gilgal.

Daniel C., Age 10
Tribe of Benjamin

Camp Gilgal ended field sports, then RedSox said it’s tribe time and then me Gavyn, Ephraim, and AJ said let’s go to the playground. I picked the playground because of the merry-go-round and I like spinning like crazy and feeling gravity pull me. Then we went down to the playground and I went on the merry-go-round and then Pamplemousse spun me really hard. The tribe of Ephraim was there too and some of them came and went on the merry-go-round, but before that I went on the merry-go-round 10 times. Then the tribe of Ephraim hopped on and then Elie and her friend said to me, “Your face is white but a little blue,” and it was those colors because it was going so fast. That’s because Pamplemousse and Gavyn and Squid and more people were spinning me and Elie and her friend, and when I got off the merry-go-round my head kept spinning. Then I got in the cabin and I was perfectly fine. I love that feeling. It is like a roller coaster and a great adventure.