God’s Plan Has Always Been to Save Us

“Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story”
Psalm 107:2a

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

Tribe of Reuben: Lily M., Rachel S., Rahela D., Ruth D., Tikvah C., Baloo, Twilight, Tapatio

Tribe of Asher: Emily H., Hannah H., Kaidynce Y., Selah C., Shayna T., Shoshanna S., Olive, Kitten

Tribe of Simeon: Abigail D., Hannah S., Lydia G., Krystalline L., Rocky, Simba

Tribe of Benjamin: Max M., Nathan L., Seth M., Goliath

Tribe of Judah: Benjamin A., Gabriel H., Joshua D., Matthew M., Riff Raff, Feedback

Out-of-Cabin Staff: Blewish, Sneakers, Bologna, Firefly, Susa, Blewberry

Special Guests: Bamba

Talyn L., Age 11
Tribe of Simeon

First of all, Camp Gilgal is a spectacular camp. I am here to tell you what I adore most about camp. Tabernacle!! Your first question is, what is Tabernacle? It is a time where we worship God. I think worshiping brings you and God closer by singing and praising Him. We also sing songs that are in Hebrew, but don’t worry they have the transliteration under the Hebrew so everyone can follow along. In Tabernacle we also do liturgy. It is traditional prayers in Hebrew. Every day we do the Aleinu, the Amidah, the Shema and the V’ahavta. We also do special liturgy on Shabbat such as Ein Keloheinu. Last, but not least in Tabernacle we do a lesson. This year we focused on Genesis. We talked about Adam and Eve and how they ate the fruit that God told them not to eat and they got punished. We also talked about Abraham and how God gave him blessings, but they didn’t all happen during his lifetime. A lot of them happened after he died. I love worshiping, and liturgy, and the lessons. Every year I’ve been to camp it has been a blast.

Hannah S., Age 13
Tribe of Simeon

You might be thinking, what is tribe time? It is when we all do things together as a cabin and get to spend time with each other. We also go to the store, petting zoo, beach, and gaga pit. During one tribe time we got to build a boat out of cardboard that could float for the boat race. We raced the other tribes afterwards. Another thing that I love is my tribe because we are fun people that have a good time together. My tribes name is Simeon. It consists of Talyn, Lydia, Abi, Simba, Rocky, and me. One time during tribe time we were playing gaga vs. the tribe of Benajmin. I was against Goliath as the last two players in. Sadly, I got out because I wasn’t looking and he hit the ball at my shin. My favorite place to go during tribe time is the beach to do paddle boarding. We get to jump off the boats and play around pushing each other off. The game room is also a great place to go during tribe time. We get to play games like carpetball, ping pong, air hockey and pool. Out of all the games, I like carpetball the most. I love tribe time and spending time with my tribe because we get to hang out with each other. You will love tribe time too!

Ruth D., Age 9
Tribe of Reuben

This was my first year at Camp Gilgal. It was very exciting. It was hard at first but then it started getting easier, and I had a lot of fun. I got to go to the petting zoo and hold the bunnies as well as pet some sheep. I also went swimming where we looked for shells in the water and played in the sand. My second time swimming I went paddle boarding with my friends. We also played a lot of field games like Wells Fargo and Capture the Degel. I also really liked the activities. I was part of Forest Fairies where we got to make challah for Shabbat. We also built fairy houses out of garden pots and made glittery decorations. I also got to meet a lot of new people and make a bunch of new friends. I can’t wait to come back next year!

Lydia G., Age 11
Tribe of Simeon

First of all, FOB means flat on bunk. FOB is my favorite time of the day because it is the perfect time to relax. You can basically do anything as long as you are silent and on your bunk bed. While my tribe leader usually sleeps, I like to read or practice my memory verses. FOB is after all the activities when I am most tired so I advise people to leave me alone during FOB. One day during FOB my tribe played truth or dare. Abi was dared to lick the roof of the bunk bed, and Tallyn was dared to go outside the cabin and yell, “I love Blewish!” Hannah and Abi were dared to have a mustache and unibrow. We also painted our nails for Shabbat during FOB. One time one of my cabinmates did everyone’s nails with teal polish and a matte top coat that looked so cool. The best part is just hanging out in my cabin. Sometimes we chat or play games. We have to be careful not to be too loud because our tribe leaders don’t like if we wake them up. Overall I really love FOB and spending time with my cabin.

Rahela D., Age 9
Tribe of Reuben

Every year at Camp Gilgal we have some new tribe leaders. This year the tribe leaders in my tribe were Twilight, Tapatio, and Baloo. I really like them and they enjoyed being in our cabin. Some of the new tribe leaders are Simba, Twilight, Tapatio, Kitten, Olive, and Feedback. I like all of them, and they convinced me to be a tribe leader one day. What I like about Simba is that she is very sweet. Twilight is my cousin so I like everything about her. What I like about Tapatio is that she has her own way of doing things, and she has such a big and beautiful spirit. What I like about Kitten is that she is just like a kitten. She is so cuddly and sweet. I like Olive because she is so sweet and helpful. Lastly, I like Feedback because he is so funny and has many funny impressions. I am so glad the new tribe leaders came and I am so glad I got to come to camp this year too. I hope they all come back next year.

Tikvah C., Age 10
Tribe of Reuben

I liked the drama activity because we got to make a small play also known as a skit. It was about that week’s Torah Parsha which was Parah, meaning Cow. Our play was about the twelve men spying on Canaan. Since there were only eight kids, we had eight spies. However, they were modern day spies and their leader was Queen Momo instead of Moses. They were briefed on their mission, and then traveled to Canaan. One of the spies fainted at the sight of a big giant. The other spies had to use the socks to wake him up. After exploring Canaan they went back to Queen Momo. Six of them gave bad reports. The other two, Joshua (Josh) and Caleb (Kale), gave good reports. Queen Momo congratulated Josh and Kale on trusting the Lord and focusing on the good. The other six then died of a plague because they didn’t trust the Lord. I would recommend drama as an activity because it was really fun. The cast was Emily, Joshua, Lydia, Hannah, Max, Kaidy, Selah, Shoshi, and myself. It was really fun and we got to write the script by ourselves as well as pick out the costumes.

Nathan L., Age 13
Tribe of Benjamin

“Pull the shutter closed,” Rocky says. She is one of the camp staff that leads Photo Journalism along with Bologna. In Photo Journalism we actually got to build our own cameras that use real film. We had to keep the film in the dark room, which made it very difficult. First we made the cameras. To make them we had to take empty cans of corn meal and spray paint them as black as a moonless night. Then you tape a bunch of black paper so that no light can get into the can because otherwise the light will damage the film and the picture will not turn out right. Make sure that you use black tape that blocks out every single drop of light. Then you need a red light so that you can take the film out in the dark but still be able to see the film and camera. Then you have to make the shutter and pinhole. You have to make sure they are tight so that no light can get through the camera. You then put the film inside the camera and close the lid, making sure that the shutter is closed. Then we went outside to take pictures. After taking pictures we went back into the dark room and developed the film. We poured chemicals into the buckets, and dipped the film into the chemicals. Each time after you dip, make sure to rinse the photo off with water. I even got to take my own pictures around camp. I chose to take one of a life size chess set. I call it “Illusions” since in the picture the white pieces are black and the black pieces are white. I had a great time in this activity, and I would recommend it.

Shoshana S., Age 12
Tribe of Asher

The sun was shining down on the bright green leaves surrounding the stairs of doom. Emily, Selah, Olive, and I were headed to the beach, but on the way we decided to stop at the petting zoo. At the petting zoo, two Cran-Hill Ranch staff were using baby bottles filled with milk to feed six adorable, fluffy lambs. They invited us inside the pen and handed each of us a baby bottle. They told us to tip the bottle straight up so that there weren’t any air bubbles. They also warned us to be careful because the lambs can sometimes get forceful when trying to get the milk. My favorite lamb was a mini brown and white one named Freckles. He was so tiny and adorable. He was the smallest and it was really fun feeding him. All of the lambs felt so soft. The fluffiest one was named Jazz, and when I fed him he kept circling around me. I must have circled about twenty times before I gave up and let the staff finish feeding him. I can’t wait to go back to the petting zoo!

Gabriel H., Age 8
Tribe of Judah

This was my first time playing Skit in a Bag, and it was so much fun! Each tribe gets a bag and there are props and materials for a skit like clothes, toys, and other fun items. Then you and your tribe create a skit using all the things in the bag. Your skit has to be about five minutes and your tribe performs it in front of the entire camp. My tribe’s was titled, “How to Catch a Merman.” Our story was that Joshua was fishing and I was a merman. He was trying to catch me but couldn’t, so Riffraff and Feedback gave him advice. Then he catches me, but then the police, Benjamin and Matthew, arrested him because he didn’t have a license to catch fish. It was so funny! Riff Raff and Feedback were especially funny. Our tribe won the category of creativity. That was my first Skit in a Bag experience and I loved it.

Benjamin A., Age 11
Tribe of Judah

Today we built a teepee during the activity Indian Warriors. We carried a tree all the way from the woods to camp. We also gathered a bunch of logs and tree limbs. We tied them together with string. It looked like an upside down cone. We put a huge canvas cover around the teepee as a wall. We then colored it with paint and streamers on the top. For the rest of the activity, we cooked Native American food. After that Tapatio, who is Native American, taught us dances and we practiced them. On the last day we had a party in our teepee. After all of that work we had to take down the decorations because of the rain. We danced and ate the fry bread we had made. It was a great activity, and I really liked the bow I made out of sticks during it.

Shayna T., Age 12
Tribe of Asher

One of my favorite parts of camp is when I get to go to the petting zoo. I usually go during tribe time and I find it most peaceful to go by myself. When my tribe leader and I got there I couldn’t help but notice how lovely the pen smelled. My favorite animals to visit are the sheet, bunnies, and the goats. The bunnies are cute and soft, but you have to be careful of their nails. The goats are creepy, but I loved to feed them. Besides my favorites, I like to pet all of the animals. The chickens were funny and cute, they really reminded me of my neighbors that breed chickens. It was so fun to watch the sheep run into the chicken coup. They are too big so it was funny to watch them try to get in. He got stuck a few times, but kept trying. I love the petting zoo, and am so excited to go back!

Emily H., Age 11
Tribe of Asher

In the activity Theater at Camp Gilgal we acted out the story of the twelve spies that investigated Canaan. We chose that story because it was the Torah portion for the week. It was a lot of fun and we all got to have disguises. Because there were only eight of us, we decided to have six bad spies and two good ones. Moses was called Queen Momo, and each spy had a silly nickname too. Queen Momo briefed them on their mission, and the spies were on their way. It was a beautiful day, so they traveled along the long road easily. Then they ran into giants and one spy fainted! Another spy cried out “Quick, get the sock!” They waved the sock in front of the fainted spy’s nose, and he woke up immediately. They then threw the sock away. The spies continued along the path. They stopped again when they saw milk and honey. There were also grapes. The spies immediately ran for the grapes, and they were so delicious! The spies sat for what seemed like hours eating grapes. Eventually one said, “We should bring some of this food back to Queen Momo before we eat it all.” The other spies agreed, so they began their journey home. When they arrived they gave their reports one by one. “Too many giants!” one said. “We can’t do it,” said another. “If we trust in God we will take the land,” said one of the good spies. Queen Momo debated what she had heard. The skit ended with the good spies being congratulated and the rest were struck down by the Lord for not trusting in Him. Riff Raff helped us to write the play and to stay on topic as we did it. It was a lot of fun even though two of us got sick. Riff Raff was great for Theater!

Rachel S., Age 10
Tribe of Reuben

I like Indian Warriors because we made a teepee and we decorated it with paint, handprints, streamers, cut out leaves, and a canvas cover. We also learned Native American dancing. The girls did a butterfly dance, and we used our towels as wings. The boys danced in circles and shook their heads and arms. We danced to Native American music, and one of the songs was called “Cheese and Bread.” Two of the days for the activity we went to archery where we shot arrows at targets. The second time we went to archery in the middle of the time they asked us if we wanted to throw tomahawks, which is when you throw axes at wooden targets. I threw a few, but then decided to go back to archery. On the last day of Indian Warriors we made fry bread. It is a Native American bread made out of flour, water, salt and baking soda. I ate the fry bread with Tapatio hot sauce and it was so good. I had a great time at Indian Warriors. Thanks Goliath and Tapatio for making it fun!

Shoshana S., Age 12
Tribe of Asher

It was Star Wars Night at camp. At dinner we all wore our Star Wars shirts and had on masks of different characters from the movie. After dinner we went swimming, and then we went into the woods. When we all arrived in the woods, Blewish had all the tribe leaders and assistant tribe leaders talk to him for a minute. One of the campers had brought this Chewbacca mask which whenever you opened its mouth made a Chewy sound. Whenever the person wearing it opened their mouth it would keep making noises. Then the game started. It was just like Capture the Counselor, except the Star Wars edition. My tribe was able to capture C3PO and he was worth 150 points. We tried to capture Hans Solo and Chewbacca, but Chewy wouldn’t follow us without Hans and another tribe had already claimed Hans. Once all of the other characters were caught the whole camp carried Blewish who was playing as Jabba the Hutt. He was really hard to capture! It was a really fun game and we had fun.

Max McCluskey, Age 12
Tribe of Benjamin

CSI Gilgal is an activity at camp where we learned how to take fingerprints and got to create our own crime scene for each team to solve. One reason why I like CSI Gilgal is because you get to make up your own name if you are a suspect or a witness. I decided I wanted my name to be Nick because I was a witness in one of the crimes. In the crime that we wrote, Blewberry was kidnapped. The suspects were Alex Tek the caregiver, Bologna the sister, and Feedback the janitor. I was the only witness in the case because I saw Blewberry crawling right before it happened. Alex Tek was a suspect because she liked the baby too much, Bologna was a suspect because she was jealous so she wanted the baby, and Feedback was a suspect because he had to clean up after Blewberry even though he was injured. It was fun because the other team took a while to find the most obvious clue to help them figure out that the kidnapper was Alex Tek. The clue was sand on the picnic bench that they accidentally walked past. Eventually they found it and figured it out. I really liked CSI Gilgal. It was one of my favorite activities!

Seth M., Age 12
Tribe of Benjamin

Olim is a game about when the British ruled Israel. In Olim the point of the game is to get the Olim from one side of the woods to the other. There are three teams: the British, the Olim, and the Kibbutznik. The British are guarding Israel and the Olim are trying to get into the kibbutz without being tagged. The Olim can cross the border to the kibbutz when a Kibbutznik helps them across the border. If you get tagged by the British then you have to go to jail. When the Olim crosses the border they then become a Kibbutznik. The game is timed, and once the time is up the camp staff count how many Olim were brought over the border. If there are more brought over than those that remain, then the Kibbutzniks and Olim win. The first time I played not everyone remembered the rules, myself included. I was an Olim but I accidentally crossed the border without the help of a Kibbutznik. However, we played a second time when everyone understood the rules completely. Everyone had lots of fun, and I can’t wait to play it again next year!

Matthew M., Age 13
Tribe of Judah

As we were going down the stairs of doom one afternoon my tribe leader said to me, “We are playing Capture the Degel.” I was so excited but nervous because sometimes people get hurt while playing, but I didn’t let that get me down. We picked teams and I ended up on the blue team, which I was excited about. As soon as the game started we all ran for the flag. About 30 minutes into the game we had to stop because we found a wasp nest. It was on the ground, so we decided to move from the woods to the field. That was when the game got more intense. It was down to the last three minutes when I decided to step up the game. I took off my shoes and socks and sprinted to the flag as fast as I could. I grabbed the flag and the whole team began chasing me. I sprinted back to the line and crossed it, winning the game for the blue team! I had a really good time playing Capture the Degel.

Selah C., Age 11
Tribe of Asher

My favorite game at Camp Gilgal is called Wells Fargo. The camp staff are one team and the campers are the other. One of the teams is the bandits. First the bandits hide a bunch of bags filled with gold in the woods while the faithful Wells Fargo agents wait. After the bandits are done the agents charge into the woods trying to collect the gold and get it back. If the bandits tag an agent then the agent has to go to the other side and touch it before they can keep playing. If the agent is holding a bag of gold when they are tagged then they have to drop it and the bandits can hide it again. The game is played in a time limit of twenty minutes. When the game ends, the team with the most gold bags wins. When we played it this year we played three games. The first two games the camp staff were the bandits and they won both times. However, the third time the campers were the bandits and we won! In the first two games the campers only got four and five bags out of fifteen. When the cap staff were the agents they didn’t get any! I hope we play Wells Fargo again soon.

Kaidy Y., Age 11
Tribe of Asher

I was super excited, the sun had finally peaked through the clouds, and it was time to go to the lake. It was a little windy, but I was determined to get on a paddleboard. The lifeguard helped me get the big board off of the rack, and I was off! I wasn’t able to steer so I got stuck in the lake. Max followed me and taught me how to steer on the paddleboard. On the way back I tried to push my friends off, but ended up falling into the seaweed. It felt gross as it wrapped around my legs. Other than that, I had an amazing time and I can’t wait to go again!

Abigail D., Age 12
Tribe of Simeon

Click click, I was just clasped into my harness, and ready to climb. I yelled “Belay on” to my belay team, which was Goliath, Seth and Hannah. They replied “On belay,” which means they are ready to pull the rope up while I am climbing. Then I said my final command, “Climbing.” They replied back “Climb on,” and finally I am ready to climb up the hard wall also known as the spicy wall. I raised my foot and put it on a rock, and then I raised my hands and started to climb. That was probably the hardest part because the rocks were small and full of the sweat of the previous people who failed to reach the top of the wall. It continued to be like that until the first bump came and then trouble had begun. My legs were burning and my arms were too short to reach most of the rocks. I felt like giving up, but my brother was next to me. He told me to go closer to his side so I could get over that section of the wall. I reached and climbed until I was so close to getting above and I could hear my team screaming and yelling, “Abi, you got this,” and “You’re so close!” I took a giant push and I made it. I felt so accomplished, and then I looked up in dread realizing I was only halfway up. I kept climbing with burning legs and hurting arms, but my adrenaline was high and on fire. I climbed the second bump with the same struggle as the first. I finally reached the top and I jumped for the bell to reach it. It rang and I was so happy and people and the bottom were cheering and yelling congrats. That was a huge accomplishment and it showed me that Jesus does the same thing in our lives when you put your trust in Him.

Hannah H., Age 11
Tribe of Asher

My heart was pounding hard. My harness got clipped to the rock wall. “On belay?” I called out to my belay team. “Belay on,” they called back. “Climbing?” I said. “Climb On,” they responded. It was my second time climbing up the wall and the first time I didn’t make it up because of one little part that tricked me and I got stuck. So I started to climb and climb, it was really easy until I hit the bad part. My belay team was yelling “Push, push, push!” I tried once, but fell back. I felt like I was going to fall if I let go, but I had to learn to trust that my belay team wouldn’t drop me. They kept on saying, “Push your legs, you can do it!” So I pushed as hard and I could and grabbed onto the rock and climbed all the way up to the tippy top and rang the bell. I had to stay there for a minute to wait for Blewish to take a picture of me at the top. That was the best rockwall climbing moment of my life.