The Gospel Transforms Us

“Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; old things have passed away . . . all things have become new.”  2 Corinthians 5:17

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

Campers:

Abigail D., Abigail H., Anna A., Avi T., Deborah S., Efren S., Gloria C., Hannah B., Jennifer M., Lilly C., Mariam G., Matthew M., Max M., Nathan L., Nena K.

In-Cabin Staff: Baloo, Goliath, Rocky

Out-of-Cabin Staff: Blewish, Bologna, Bullfrog

Lily C., Age 15

Here at teen camp, we play the Jewish version of Capture the Flag, called Capture the Degel. “Degel” means “flag” in Hebrew. To start off, all the staff and campers were split into two teams. On my team, I played offense. I tend to get a bit competitive when I play games so I was running through the river to try to get to the other team’s degel. There was also a lot of tall grass and plants that I tracked through which resulted in getting a ton of scratches. Bologna was on the opposing team with the medical kit, which was used as an excuse to travel through the opposing team’s side. After I finished getting cleaned up I continued to walk around the baseball field onto the other team’s side without anyone noticing. When they eventually saw me I ran for dear life and hopped a fence to escape, and I spent the rest of the game searching for the degel. The other team ended up winning both games. Even though I really wanted to win, it was still one of my favorite things we did at camp this year!

Efren S., Age 13

Have you ever wanted to go paintballing? Well, if you haven’t then you should come to Camp Gilgal. It was pretty fun paintballing and terrifying because you could have gotten shot by your own teammates. Also, for the first round all of the rooms were dark. It also hurts the moment you get shot. It feels great when you shoot someone else. I only shot a few people because of how scared I was to walk from room to room.

Abigail H., Age 14

Campfire is one of my favorite activities at teen camp. The fire just sucks you in, it is so mesmerizing. Bullfrog led music, he played guitar and sang. After the singing, the staff took turns giving their testimonies on each night. I like learning about people because it makes our relationships with the staff more personal. The second to last night of teen camp we sang traditional camp songs like The Banana Song, Baby Whale, and When the Saints Go Marching In. That was my favorite part. After that we just hung out eating candy and talking. I really like hanging out with Bologna, Rocky and Baloo. They are the best!

Mariam G., Age 13

On Friday, July 15th, we played Counselor Hunt. We played it in downtown Grand Rapids. We drove in a fifteen passenger van, and it took us over an hour to drive there. I sat in the back along with some other campers while Blewish drove. While he was driving he did not put the air conditioning on and Bologna didn’t put any music on, so it was an awkward silence the whole way there. We were told to be on teams of three, and to choose our own teammates. I was on a team with Lily and Nena. We were then given an hour and a half to find the counselor. The first place we went was to a coffee shop, but even though we didn’t find anyone there we saw Rocky outside and told her to hide in there. We walked around for a while and eventually found Bullfrog in a deli. Next we found Bologna and Baloo sitting under a tree at a park nearby. Now the only one left was Goliath, Lily thought. But she had really seen Goliath dressed up earlier, but hadn’t realized it was him. She said it was either Goliath or a really ugly lady she saw near the beginning of the game, but we had walked away. Later near the end we went to another coffee shop and when we looked into the window we saw a Goliath wearing a skirt, wig, hat, glasses and having shaved his beard. After that we went back to camp and Goliath was driving, while Rocky played music and we also had air conditioning.

Nena K., Age 14

This year at Camp Gilgal we played Mission Impossible, but there was a twist from the usual rules. Instead of sneaking around looking for clues, while trying to not get caught by spotters, we snuck around all of camp looking for glow sticks. We were given a clue as to the different locations of the glow sticks. The goal was to collect the most glow sticks with your team. After we were all sent out and went our separate ways, my team went to the dining hall first. We chose to go there because we assumed there would be more spotters at the other locations. After the dining hall we made our way to the rock wall, but we were spotted by Bologna and had to return all the way back to camp. Soon after that we saw a spotter get picked up in a van then we realized that no one was spotting anymore. We then ran to the lake and saw that everyone gave up and went back to camp. After all of the teams were back and glow sticks were counted, we realized that our team had won by one glow stick! I was excited I hope we can play this version of Mission and Possible again.

Debbie S., Age 14

Camp Gilgal isn’t all fun and games! Everything is good except for the… nights!!! Campers might say, “The first and second nights are the worst.” Well, that is not true – or at least it was not for me or my cabin. My tribe consisted of Nena, Lily, Jennifer, and Rocky as our tribe leader. We literally had to sleep from 11:00pm to 2:00am every night! At first it was because Nena would talk in our cabin, but then the critters struck. The first night we were up talking really late and heard some weird noises, which had us all scared. Rocky decided to get a broom for protection and went to check it out, and it was a mouse. The mouse didn’t leave until the third or fourth night. Rocky and I were so scared we didn’t sleep until we saw what the mouse was doing. Then the next day a big group of ants were by my bed. So now I had a mouse and ants to fuss about. I killed like ten ants, Nena was also killing ants, but she was much crazier than I was. I only slept well for three nights out of the whole week of teen camp. So for the kids that say, “The first and second nights are the worst,” it is not always true. Also everyone should know even though I hate the raccoons, mice, and bugs, I still can’t wait for next year.

Gloria C., Age 13

On day three of teen camp, we went horseback riding. At first I was nervous since I’ve never really had a good experience with horses. The horse I got was named Caspian, and he was pretty big. He moved his legs a lot when we were waiting to go, which brought me to the brink of tears. Bologna was behind me, and one of the workers was behind her which helped me feel a bit better. The beginning of the ride was a lot of stop and go, because the trainer said the horse I was riding needed more space than the others. We rode on the horse trails in the woods. Miriam and Jennifer were ahead of me. The ride was really fun and relaxing, and it was like a nature walk without the effort. I’m not nervous about riding horses anymore.