Aylo L. age 9
Tribe of Gad
Today, I am going to interview one of the campers, Levia. Levia is actually from France! It’s her first year at junior camp, too. I asked her a few questions. I asked her what her favorite activity at camp was and she told me that it was drama games. The next question I asked her was a little freaky. I said that if a clown snuck in her house at night, what would be her first reaction be in the morning? She said she would FREAK OUT! It seems like Levia is just like me! I also asked her if she was Santa Claus for a day if she would like it and she said yes because then she would get to make a bunch of people happy! I asked her if she was liking camp so far and she said, “Yes of course, it’s such a great place to be!” So far, I’m thinking that Levia is very interesting and fun. She must be having a blast at camp! The last question I asked her was more serious. I asked her what parts of camp made her feel closer to God and she said the worship during tabernacle because the team is so good and she loves to praise God. That wraps up my interview with Levia!
The day of horseback riding was so much fun. The first horse I rode on was Frank. He was very dark brown and he liked to trot when I was on his back. On the day of horseback riding the sky was blue, it was warm and I was so excited to ride the horses. The whole experience was so fun and I am so glad God gave us such a beautiful day. We got to ride in an enclosed arena and when we went into the stable we got to see a goat! My friend Lilya was riding a horse who kept stopping for a snack of hay! I hope you like the horses as much as I do. It was probably my favorite day of camp so far! It was especially fun since I haven’t done horseback riding in a long time!
Hi, my name is Hannah. My favorite activity is Gaga ball. This is my third year at Camp Gilgal. This has been my favorite so far. I love Gaga ball so much and it’s fun to win, but sometimes I can lose fast. The most epic game I played was when I was going against Feedback and I thought that I was going to lose because he sometimes can beat everyone. But this time was different. Everyone else was out, except me and Feedback. The crowd was cheering and it was so intense. I was so nervous, but I eventually hit the ball and got Feedback out and won. It was so fun, I will never forget this victory.
Camp this year was fun, although the leader had to go. But we still all got through and we all had fun traveling to places and singing along with each other. I especially liked the dunes and pretending to actually be in the desert, but I hated going up the really steep hills. I also liked hearing the leader’s testimonies and I think all the campers acknowledged what they said. Gaga ball is fun for everyone until I scraped my knuckles, but it was worth it. I liked meeting new people and chatting with them to know their heritage and the history of how they got here. It was all very fun while it lasted, but sadly everything must come to an end.
Hey, peoples reading my article, it’s me, Abi!
You made this camp so magical. I got to ride a horse and it was so much fun, I felt like a Disney princess. Thank you so much for making this a magical experience. Riding a horse was the highlight of my year. Again, thank you, I’m so grateful such generous people like you exist in this world, thank you. At first I didn’t want to, but when I did, it was so fun! It felt different than I imagined. Thank you so much for this fantastic experience, I love horses so much now! I’m so grateful that I got to come to a camp like this.
At camp 2017, we took time on a Thursday to visit the Michigan sand dunes. After a two hour drive, we arrived in a parking lot full of ATVs and other four wheel drive vehicles. There was a brief debate on whether or not to rent one, but the prices per hour settled it quickly. We ate lunch and started hiking up the first dune. Once we reached the top, our calves were already strained. We split into two groups, the larger group, who started towards Silver Lake, and the smaller group, which consisted of Koala, Rafiki, Lone Star, Tater Tots, Lydia, Max and myself.
This year at camp we had electricity in the cabins, so Blewish made us go camping. A guy named Moe invited us to stay at his house. On the way to the house, Tots took song requests and we were rocking out the whole way there. When we were at the house, it was raining, so the girls ended up sleeping in the house and the guys went to sleep in the RV. We swam in their pond for most of the day and caught frogs. At campfire, Lone Star told his testimony of his faith in Yeshua and then we ate popsicles.
This year at Gilgal, we’ve done so many fun things, as well as learned spiritual lessons. On the fourth day of camp, we took a trip to the sand dunes by Lake Michigan. The night before we went to the dunes, we stayed at a Camp Gilgal friend’s house and they had a lake there. We got to swim. We also got to zip-line above the lake and play human foosball. At the dunes, we got to swim in Silver Lake. The dunes were hard to climb up, but very fun to be on. Every night during campfires, we all listened to the leaders tell their testimonies. Their stories were inspiring. I am very thankful that I had this experience. Every day, I felt closer to God. Everyone here has helped us grow in our faith. I think that all of us agree that this has been a great year at Camp Gilgal.
Horseback riding was really fun. You only get to go once, but I got to go twice and the riding is usually forty-five minutes long and all you do is steer your own horse and in the beginning, you get your helmet and then watch an eight-minute video that teaches you how to steer and stop your horse and how to get on. My horse’s name was Missy, she was one of the calmest horses for the trail. She was a brown horse and in the front of her face it looked like she has bangs. Horses are really nice. The barn has thirty-six horses in all and my horse was really cute and small and she was smart. Horseback riding is really fun and one more thing, you have to be ten years old to go on a trail ride.
Maple is a tribe leader at Camp Gilgal. She is the tribe leader of Naphtali. The tribe consists of Shoshi (me), Hannah S., Hannah H. and Lydia. I asked them what they thought about Maple and they all said she is super sweet, kind and most sensitive tribe leader they’ve had so far. She claims to be born from the sap of a tree and had the name Maple all of her life. She started going to camp when she was eight. She’s been to both Camp Gilgal East and West. Her first tribe leaders at camp were Summer and Rockstar. During her free time, she enjoys walking and napping. If she were to lead an activity, she would want it to be a color activity.
Last night, I played M.I. for the fourth time. Every time I play Mission Impossible, I have loads of fun. Last night while we played, we had lots of laughs in spite of the challenging clues. For my tribe’s (Simeon) first clue, we had to go to the amphitheater and get past Skipper. We got the clue in roughly ten minutes. While we were running, I looked up and saw that we had stopped suddenly and had to crouch so we would not be spotted. In the end, every tribe had four out of five clues. When all was said and done, Simeon had won by less than a minute and Blewish said it was one of the closest games he had seen. One really cool thing was that every clue was related to the book of Exodus. M.I. is one of my favorite things about camp.
The beach is a windy place where we get to either swim, make giant volcanoes, kayak, or play volleyball. To be able to swim, you must take a swim test. To pass, you must swim out and tread water for a minute. The water is very cold, which makes this very unpleasant. There is one cove that is full of leeches, so steer clear! The beach is a a great place to make a giant volcano. If you do, make sure you put a cup on the bottom. If you don’t, all the baking soda will disappear and it won’t explode. The Cran-Hill Ranch staff have paddle boards and kayaks that people can rent, but if you are with Gilgal, you get it for free! The paddle boards are a favorite of Camp Gilgal, but it is easy to fall off. When there are no lifeguards, Camp Gilgal likes to play nukem. It is like volleyball, but since no one (except for Achilles) is good at it, we just play nukem. If you go to this camp, try to be with Feedback or Achilles, because they are awesome!
The rock wall is very fun. There are three types of walls: easy, medium and hard. The easy wall has an angle in the beginning and straight for the rest of the way and there are tons of rocks on the wall. The medium wall is straight and has less rocks than the easier wall. And the hard wall is SO HARD, but I did it. It is climbing straight for the first 10-15 feet, then there is a lump so you climb almost upside down for a few feet, then climb over the hump, then climb straight and then hit the bell. When you hit the bell at the top of the wall, you have completed the wall. You are also safe because you are being belayed. Have I mentioned that I have completed all three walls? It took me fourteen minutes and forty-five seconds to make it up the wall. I love the rock wall!
Here at Camp Gilgal there’s a petting zoo with all kinds of animals. First, there are the goats. They have three goats in the pen. Their names are Ox, Maverick, and Rosco. Ox is a male goat and he has really big horns. He is very nice and is black and white. He is bigger than the other goats. Maverick is a very light yellowish color. He’s really sweet and loves attention by being groomed and he really loves being pet. Then there is Rosco. He’s a brownish color and also is very sweet. He’ll follow you around the pen, but he likes to chew on clothes. The last animal I’m going to talk about is the donkey, Bandit. He loves attention. His fur is messy because his last owner treated him bad, but he’s a real sweetheart.
This is an interview about Sneakers and Blewberry. I asked Sneakers what her favorite color is. She told me that her favorite color is rainbow. Next, I asked what is her favorite kind of shoe. She responded that her favorite shoes are her pair of gold sneakers. Then, I asked Sneakers what would be her dream vacation, and she said that it’s a Disney cruise. I said, “Me too!” Sneakers told me that her favorite color is yellow, and her favorite flavor of ice cream is s’mores. I asked her what her favorite book is. Sneakers told me that she recommends “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” to every camper! Next I asked what her favorite thing is about God. She said that He is faithful and He never leaves us. She also told me that she is very thankful that God gave her Blewberry because she loves her very much.
Hebrew is one of the many fun activities at Camp Gilgal. Firefly is our Hebrew teacher. In Hebrew class we learn vocabulary and we have a quiz at the end of every class. We learn Hebrew animals, numbers, fruits and colors. When we quiz we have these colorful buzzers that make funny noises. There are blue, orange, purple, and green buzzers. The blue ones beep like a cat, the orange ones make a springing sound, and the green ones make the sound of pans banging together. We had one big Hebrew quiz where we separated into three teams. Whoever won the game got a prize from the prize box. Hebrew is challenging, but also really fun!
If you love fishing, you should bring a fishing pole and a some bait. With my experience, you should rent a boat and fish because there is a bunch of fish and seaweed and muck at the bank. If you’re a worm fisherman, the barn store has worms for for very cheap. Or if you are a bass fisherman, bring your bass gear and fish with whatever you’ve got. Don’t worry if you’re not that great at fishing, I will help you to become better and have more fun.
Dragon Land was rock wall climbing and crafts such as pipe cleaner dragons. Dragon Land is an activity at Camp Gilgal. I chose Dragon Land because I heard there was rock wall climbing. Dragon Land has crafts and you can make your own dragons, but they are tiny. Koala and Kitten are the leaders. Rock wall climbing is fun to do because it is fun to climb and I made it to the top of the wall. I will tell other kids to try the rock wall.
Hi, my name is Rachel and my favorite activity is cooking. Our group had so much fun cooking. First, we made s’mores with a solar oven and it didn’t work because there was not enough sun, but it was so hot. The chocolate was the only thing that was good because it melted. Then, on Friday, we went to make challah for Shabbat. It was so easy, all you have to do is braid the dough. We made about twenty, so everyone got one. The challahs were so good. That was it for cooking, and I switched to another group.
We finished breakfast and I brought my bagel that has butter on it to my cabin. The path goes down three stairs, over a small gate, then for a long time forward, then right, then along forward and then go left up a very steep hill. Our cabin is called Medicine Bow. It takes a long time to get there. I carried our degel, which was pink with a car on a road and the sun on it. When I get to my cabin, I start to clean up. I put my shoes in order, my waterproof shoes and my Moana flip-flops. I think they are weird because your foot covers Moana. Then, I take my hairbrush and journal that Olive gave me for my birthday, my small journal that says PRIVATE and my name on it. I take my earring spray off of my bed and put it away. The earring spray goes into a small, purple bag with my sunscreen. I put my journal on a shelf and the other journal that Olive got me on another shelf with my books. My hairbrush goes away with my conditioner.
Gaga is probably Camp Gilgal’s main sport. We play it every day. This is how you play: First, someone throws the ball into the middle while everyone is holding on to the wall. Once the ball touches the ground three times it is live to hit. You can hit the ball with your hand or your fist. If you get hit in the knee or below with the ball you are out. The last one standing wins! Everybody loves gaga! The best players at Camp Gilgal are: Hannah S., Joshua, and myself. We also play other camps at gaga, but they are very good and hard to beat. Gaga is the official camp sport. I win a lot because I am really good at hitting the ball at people and dodging it. We play it all the time, literally every day. We play in shoes or sandals. Even the tribe leaders love to play, but they usually don’t win. Gaga is so fun! The fastest and most agile person who has the best strategy wins, not just who hits the hardest because if you hit the ball out of the pit you lose. If you catch the ball when someone hits it out, then you are in, and the person who hit it is out. Gaga is sooo much fun!!
This year at Camp Gilgal, we went to the Grand Rapids Museum. It was a lot of fun. There were many exhibits and most of them were hands on. One exhibit was a section based on the logos. There were three shops you could go into with people in them who talked to you about the store and all about the 1890’s. One store was a printer store. There was a nice man who talked to us about the printer. It was really cool. It worked faster than a computer! I think the best part, and everyone’s favorite part, was the mindbender mansion. There was a fun game there that was called spelling frenzy. You jumped on letters on the ground to spell out the answer to a question.
I asked Blewberry a few questions. I asked her what is her favorite color, she said “Ah ah ah!!” Next I asked her what her favorite food is she said “Eh eh ahhhh!” I didn’t ask her another question, but she told me “ohh, ah, ah ke!”
This was a typical afternoon at Camp Gilgal. We went to the beach and raced cardboard boats. My tribe got second place! The first place winner got a ton of points. We built our boat in the shape of a bubble. We thought it wouldn’t work, but surprisingly we got second place. It took us twenty minutes to fill it with air. After the race we went kayaking. We went all the way to the other side of the lake. We peddled fast away from there. Afterwards we had tribe time. We went to the game room and played carpet ball. Then we played ping pong. After that, we spent our money at the general store! Finally, we had a campfire where we cooked hot dogs and roasted marshmallows. It was a really fun day at camp!
Archery is a very intense activity. You have to be careful at the shooting range, and follow all the rules. You get to shoot at a fake dinosaur! There is a specific archery stance that you have to be in. It is almost like a superhero position. You face the side of the arm that you write with. Hold the bow with the arm you do not write with and use your thumb to hold the arrow. With your dominant hand, put your middle and ring finger below the arrow, and index finger on top. Then hold, pull back, and shoot! My first time shooting, I had trouble doing it correctly. After practicing a little, I pulled back as far as I could go, aimed, and shot very close to the bulls-eye! My friend shot one of the fake animals in the eye once. So no matter what kind of person you are, you should take archery. It’s my favorite.
Hi! I am going to tell you all about Verde. His favorite Pokémon is Weepingbell. He loves Pokémon. Verde’s favorite book of the Bible is Revelation because it is intriguing. His favorite verse of the Bible is Galatians 5:22. Verde’s favorite color is blue. Weird, right? Verde is Spanish for green, but he likes blue. He is currently six feet tall. He was 8 years old when he started coming to camp. Verde heard about camp from his older sisters. He likes being tribe leader better than being a camper. He likes it because he enjoys being a good example for the kids. He also thinks that it is a good experience. His siblings are Ruski, Watson, and Tanya. That is all I am going to tell you about Verde.
Hello! My name is Greenlee. Today I am going to tell you about the tribe leader Sitruce. Her favorite color is blue. Her dad is a missionary with Jews for Jesus and that’s how she learned about Camp Gilgal. Sitruce’s favorite book of the Bible is Numbers. She likes it because she really likes the stories of Moses. She thinks that he is a great leader. Her favorite verse of the Bible is Joshua 1:9, which is the camp theme verse! She was ten years old when she started being a camper. I asked Sitruce if she liked being a camper or a staff better, and she said that she couldn’t choose because they were very different. Being a camper, you get to enjoy the fun of camp and not have to worry about anything. Being a staff member, you get to hang out with campers and watch them grow throughout the years and share Jesus with them. That is all I will tell you about the marvelous, fantastic, amazing, outstanding, and awesome Sitruce.
It was a hot summer day and we went in a yellow school bus. The drive was long and hot. Finally, we were at the museum! The first thing I was in there was a meteorite. There was also a hurricane simulator. We also saw Google sand map and got to play with it (Google sand map is a projector with an image of the world over sand). It was very interactive. My favorite part was when the hurricane simulator went berserk and blew all over us. My second favorite part was when we played with the Google sand map and my third was when we looked inside the human body. We also saw a cool planetarium show about the stars and it reminded me how cool God’s creation is!
Timon was an inspiration to me because during worship, he is always one with God. He is there to be with God and not worry about anyone else. Also, he makes me want to a have a better relationship with God. I love that when people look at him praising the Lord and laugh, he would keep on going and not get embarrassed, he would just continue having a good time in worship. I asked Timon his favorite part of worship and he said “getting to do worship and glorify God with other believers.” Timon also said that he liked too many worship songs to choose a favorite. In worship, we first sing two or three songs and then we sing the Shema. After that, we talk about a certain part of the Bible for an hour each day. Tabernacle is a great way to start my morning.
If I was a duck in camp, I would bother people for bread crumbs and if they did not give it to me, I would follow them and quack. I would also live at the pond and sit on the lily pads and peck at frogs. If I was a duck hiking at camp, I would make someone carry me or I would find somewhere wet. But maybe I would go and beg for bread crumbs. If I was a duck in campfire, I would probably trip and fall down the mountain and have a very sad death, but who knows, maybe I will be roasted for dinner for the campers to eat while listening to the campfire talk and singing songs, or maybe they will let me live and set me free. If I was a duck in tabernacle, I would grab my lily-pad Bible and quack to read it. Don’t get me started on singing because to humans, I’m just quacking so it would be awkward and just weird, but if I got the tune of the song I would sing “bread crumbs please!” And this what camp would be like if I was a duck. I guess camp is meant for people and not for ducks after all, so I’m glad I’m a person who can go to Camp Gilgal!
Tribe time is really fun! We all went to the park and we went to look-out and played the telephone game together. Each time somebody would change the word and it was funny! We saw the beautiful sunset and we saw the camp horses! At the park, there was a merry go round, swings, and a slide. The swings were my favorite part! At tribe time you hang out with your tribe and I did other fun games like newcomb, and we memorized our verses as well. In my tribe there was Ava, Aylo, Halie, Mia, Illyana, Melody, Squid, and me. They make me feel really happy and great and I love spending time with them! I hope you have a good time at tribe time!
I love movie night because it is so much fun. This year’s movie was the Lego Batman Movie and it was awesome. Also, the food and snacks we get to eat on movie night are so so yummy. There were cookies, chips, kitkats, lollipops, drinks and so much more. My favorite snack that we ate were doritos. Before movie night, we were having the Shabbat service and I was starting to get a little tired. But, my energy and excitement came right back when they announced it was movie night! I was so surprised because it was late at night. We were dismissed to go to our cabins to get our pillows, sleeping bags and blankets. We also got to wear our pajamas! It was so comfortable. We all piled into the mishkan, snuggled into our sleeping bags, and started to watch the movie. Me and my friends were about to fall asleep, but we made it through the whole movie. There were so many parts of the movie that were so funny. My favorite part is when Batman said he had a nine pack. He was the best character. It was so much fun to watch a movie at camp. I love movie night!
Mission Impossible or M.I for short is a scavenger hunt game that we play during the night and it is my favorite part of camp. At about 10:00 pm you hear the theme song for M.I. There are spotters, which are the counselors with flashlights that walk around their route and if they spot you your whole tribe has to go back and touch your porch. The spotters also sing songs like nursery rhymes so that you can tell when they are coming. Every year they have a different theme, and this year it was Finding Dory. Sitruce was Dory and Hiccup was Destiny’s brother Fate. The point of the game is to gather all the clues and get to the mishkan before everyone else. My tribe was the first to find all the clues. When we first got to the mishkan, we thought that we had won, however the tribe of Gad came in and gave us our last clue that we had dropped. My favorite part of the game is sneaking around in the dark. M.I was my favorite part of Camp Gilgal and I can’t wait to play it again next year.
Today I am going to tell you all about Nacho. Nacho’s favorite book of the Bible is Psalms. I asked her to choose her favorite color, but she couldn’t decide, so she just chose blue. The weirdest thing that Nacho has ever done is stare at people while they were sleeping. She has been staff for one year and she was a camper for one year. Her siblings names are: Hiccup, Scrabble, Gita, and Ravi. Isn’t Nacho a very interesting person? I asked her for her favorite Bible verse and she said Proverbs 3:1-2. Nacho’s favorite chapter of the Bible is Psalms 145. Her favorite phrase is “It’s your day to shine!” Nacho likes being a staff more than a camper because she gets to be a part of changing campers lives. It is easy for her to be staff because she knows how to put everything into God’s hands. That is all I am going to tell you about the wonderful and amazing Nacho.
For this years craft, we made a belt. My belt has stars and my name, Halie, on it. Jalapeno is the leader of craft, and she is great! Here are the steps to make the belt: sizing the belt was the first step. The second step is picking a buckle. The third step is stamping designs. The forth step is punching the holes. The fifth is staining and the color I chose is medium brown, which you have to put two coats of. Then, I used super shine on the belt and loop. Once you assemble the whole belt, Jalapeno will take a picture of you with your creation! I love that the crafts we make last a really long time and are a really good memory of camp. Craft taught me to never give up and to be creative!
Boating is fun, fun, fun! I got to run a tiny bit to the pond. When I got there, I saw four boats by the side of the dock. As I was on the dock I saw three fish! Before we went in the boat, Sneezy and Verde showed us how to put on life jackets, hold onto the oar, and assigned us seats by experience. I got to sit in the front for my first time boating at camp. Finally, we got into the green water and started rowing around. While rowing around, we saw lots of fish and we even saw a tiny baby turtle! The turtle was so cute and the fish looked normal- wet, scaly and slimy. It is amazing that God makes different creatures that we can see in the pond! All in all, boating was very fun! Although it was a hot day, in the end, it was a very nice day!
Hello! My name is Greenlee. I am interviewing my fellow bunk mate, Halie. She has been a camper for four years. She has two siblings and their names are Trent and Cory. Her favorite book of the Bible is Esther. Her favorite story in the Bible is the story of Moses. She found out about Camp Gilgal because her aunt, Nature Valley, works at Camp Gilgal. She’s a camper because she read one of the gazette articles and liked how camp sounded, so she decided to try it out. Her favorite tribe leader’s name is Mochi. Her favorite chapter of the Bible is Esther 8 and her favorite verse is Psalm 105:2. Halie’s favorite thing to do at camp is playing Mission Impossible. That is all I will tell you about my great friend and fellow camper, Halie.
After we are done doing our devotions as a tribe and reading the Bible, it’s time for the campers to go to sleep. Then the staff go to the staff cabin for an hour or so, but what do they do? It’s a mystery that has yet to be solved. But, I have a few guesses. They probably eat lots and lots of candy. Maybe they are figuring out fun things to do with the kids or having secret meetings. Maybe they tell jokes or just read the Bible. The world may never know what mysterious things go on in the staff cabin at night.
Every day at Camp Gilgal we have activities after breakfast. I admire the camp staff, they keep us on track and let us choose one Bible topic. The Bible topics are interesting and they don’t just teach us about the Bible, they teach us about controversial topics in society today. One Bible topic was about gender in the Bible. This topic was very interesting to me because from Bible verses I had heard before camp I had a misconception that men were represented as superior to women in the Bible.
A big part of teen camp is the (infamous) campout. All of camp packed up, squeezed into vans, and after a two hour drive of sleeping, k’vetching, and singing/screaming at the top of our lungs, we finally got to the camp ground. We waited in the vans and watched Anonymous passionately scream to her music for about 5 minutes. After we got out of the vans and used the restroom, we set up our tents, got our tent assignments and waited for the pool to open. The mosquitoes and heat were really bad, so when the pool opened, almost everyone got in. After the swim, there was a bit of time where we all chilled; some of us played basketball, some played around with a volley ball, and other hung out around the picnic tables or played at the little playground. We then walked back to our tent area and relaxed until we were told that it was time to eat! While we talked, we periodically slapped ourselves, flailed our arms, and exclaimed whenever the mosquitoes bit us. By the end of dinner, nearly everyone had changed into pants, and doused themselves in bug spray. A couple of us played with a volleyball until the bugs got too bad. Then we ate s’mores, got ready for bed and tried to get sleep. Even though the weather and bugs were far from desired, it was still a really good time for fellowship and fun, and dinner was delicious. No matter how bad the bugs, the drive, or the heat could have been, they weren’t as bad because the staff and the campers are just that great. Camp Gilgal knows how to camp!
No one really knows how it happened, but we do know two things:
I have always felt that worship should be a time where a person feels a close and personal connection to God. This can truly be said about worship at Camp Gilgal. When the whole camp joins together to sing songs of praise and gratitude, you can feel God’s presence around everyone. What makes worship at Camp Gilgal even more special is that campers can be a part of the worship team. Whether you’re a singer, a guitar player or a piano player, campers have the opportunity to directly be a part of worshiping God through music.
At camp, there is a wide assortment of activities. Some include field sports, beard theory and fort building. I will be talking about fort building- where we get all the available mattresses and pile them up. Then we make a fort, sit in it and talk for the rest of the time until our next activity. Afterwards we have to put all the mattresses back.
Devotions is a time at night when you and your tribe study the Bible after a long, yet fun day at camp. At teen camp we do not do devotions every night (sometimes we have Bible discussions with the whole camp), but when we do it is great because we get to learn more about God and talk about him with just our tribe. Not only that, we get to read and understand the Bible in more depth. This week at camp, my tribe has been talking about forgiveness. It is important to learn how to forgive and forget. During devotions, you are able to bond with your tribe and get to know each other more. As well, you build up your relationship with God and your friends.
Every evening at Teen Camp we go to tabernacle. Tabernacle is a time where we praise and learn more about the Lord. We start with worship led by Anonymous, singing great songs about Yeshua and his love for us. My favorite song is Oceans. One awesome part about worship is if you want to contribute to vocal or music, then you can! We then recite the Shema. This is a prayer that shows us that we need to listen to God. Next is the message. This year, we studied the book of Mark led by Red Sox. My favorite lesson was about the sower. In this parable, we learned how our faith looks in various times in our lives, depending on our situation. Red Sox does a great job at explaining difficult ideas in the text. Tabernacle is a unique part of Camp Gilgal and I greatly enjoy it.
This is my first year at Camp Gilgal and one of the many fun things that we did was the decathlon. This is an activity that all of camp takes part in. we split into two teams that compete in ten different activities. Fun fact: the deca in decathlon means ten in Greek, and the athalon means competition. The first thing we did was pick team names. My team name was “The Petitioners,” and the other team was “Chuck Norris Pomegranate Lotion.” We then made a team cheer that was funny and silly. We also made castles out of food. Some of the food that we used were citrus slices, dry ziti pasta, cheese puffs, milk duds and bamboo skewers. For this activity, we had to communicate and work with each other. We also had to come up with a story about the castle. Our team’s story had a princess, a ball pit and a prince. Another activity was the soda chug. We had to work with our teams to drink an entire pack of soda. After we finished, we had to build a tower out of the cans; it had to be sturdy and tall. The soda tasted good, but it was a little too much for me! Throughout the whole game, we constructed a duct tape hat that we presented at the end. There were a lot of other activities we did, and they were all so much fun and a great experience for my first year at camp.
“The world does not deserve Hiccup, he is too nice. But the world needs him.” -Elliot S. Adler
Campfire is a peaceful part of the day to escape a teen and tribe leader’s stressful life and to relax by the warm fire. Red Sox, the camp director, leads a discussion by the campfire whenever the weather is good. When Red Sox leads the discussions, she tries to be as descriptive as possible and ask all the campers questions. When she asks us questions, they are not just random, but they are related to the gospel. We talk about many different things, for example, how your words can affect others, how having believing friends matters, but you should still keep growing your own faith. In conclusion, campfire is relaxing, and helps us learn and grow in our faith.
Each year at Camp Gilgal, all the campers memorize verses from the Bible. The teen campers have a shorter passage than the junior campers, however, they have two weeks of camp and we only have one. This year, our passage was Philippians 2:5-11. It basically states that Yeshua, our Lord, came to Earth to save us, by dying on a cross. It also said that every knee will bow down before the Lord in the end times. I still remember the old memory verses from junior camp. They will always be in my heart, and I use them when I need comfort.
One night each year at camp, the camp leaders surprise us with a camping trip! For the girls side of camp, we hiked up to the sunset, which is where we do our campfires on top of the mountain. My tribe slept in the woods, and the younger girls tribe slept at the campfire. For dinner we had hot dogs, hamburgers, and carrots, and for dessert we had s’mores. We played a bunch of games together until it was time for us to go to sleep. Since our whole tribe couldn’t fit into one tent, we had to split our tribe into two tents. For our devotions, our tribe leader, Sneezy, read us Psalm 118:1-9. It was about how we should put all of our trust in God. After that we went to sleep, and I slept so well! I had such a good experience camping out with my friends.
Hello, I’m your friendly neighborhood Daniel man and camp is good because of Gator. He makes camp fun because he is chill, nice and he is a man with a plan. Gator knows how to make everything fun, especially when we play soccer. I ask him questions about the Florida Gators. The conversations we have at meals are good and we talk about helicopters and movies. This is Gator’s first year at camp and he is from Florida. Gator likes the beach just like me and he’s going to be a chiropractor. He’s in college and has a business degree and he does rowing. Gator’s favorite verse is Isaiah 30:31.
White water rafting is a fun time where all of camp goes down the rapids of the Hudson River. I have been before (last year), but this year was really special because:
One of my favorite activities at Camp Gilgal is field sports. During the first two days of camp we played soccer and kickball and it was really fun. In the soccer match, Asher and Ephraim really shone. They were both really good and were able to get past almost everybody. Kickball was a blast, I loved running after the kickball and dodging it. The volleyball net broke, but the net was fixed with a hammer and duct tape. After the net was fixed we all played newcomb. It’s an amazing game and always a camp favorite. The day was exciting and fun thanks to my friends and tribe leaders.
As soon as I arrived at camp, we were given our tribe assignments. These are the people that we will be living with for the whole week. I was very excited to meet the new people at camp and see familiar faces. After everyone got settled, we got to choose tribe names. We had the option to choose from the 12 tribes of Israel. My cabin chose the tribe of Judah. As the week went on, I really got to know the girls in my cabin and form new friendships. A couple days out of the week we had tribe time. During tribe time, we got to do activities to bond with our tribes and get to know each other better. During one tribe time, we hiked into the woods and had snacks. We made a lot of jokes and laughed till we cried. The best part was having to run back to our cabin because it was pouring rain and we were all muddy. Tribe time reminded me of how much fun Camp Gilgal really is.
At teen camp, we do something called Mensch day, it is a Jewish concept of helping the less fortunate. This is a day where all of camp goes out in the community and does a good deed. This year we went to a local farm about 10 minutes away from camp. This farm grows various crops for a food bank. They have multiple employees and very committed volunteers. The workers’ passion for helping those who don’t have as much food as themselves was inspiring. It was such an incredible opportunity to be able to help. At the farm we were split into many groups. The groups pulled weeds, vegetables or fruit. My group washed lettuce and picked kale. We were all a muddy and sweaty mess. I love that we were able to help out the area where camp is located and the employees were grateful for our help. It was so hot that day, but it was rewarding. We even got Italian ice from Red Sox at the end of the day!
The pool is one of my favorite places at camp. Simply swimming in the pool is fun and also playing with the basketball and soccer ball in the net. I also liked the pool at the campsite where we went the night before our big white-water rafting trip. The pool there was salt water instead of chlorine, which got into my eyes a lot. Alana and I were usually buddies. The buddy system is a useful plan for not losing anybody. The weather at camp was good; not too cold but not too hot. This meant that we could go swimming almost every day, although the water was very cold. If you didn’t want to swim, you could stay in the game room. I usually learned my memory verses while playing a game in the pool to make it more fun. The pool is an awesome way to cool down and have fun with your friends.
At teen camp, we took a day trip to go white water rafting and it was so much fun! We went in the morning so it started really easy because it was cool outside. The experience was so great because we really get to bond with the other campers in the raft. This year I was in a raft with Ruski, Gator, Simona, Hannah, Gavin and Ephraim. During one of the rapids, Ephraim fell out and lost his shoe and it was really funny.
Devotions are led by tribe leaders usually just before lights out. During devotions, our tribe focuses on related passages with a common theme of issues we face as believers. This year, Beardo led my tribe through the Christ hymn (Philippians 2:5-11). This passage has really helped me comprehend the vastness of Christ. The passage describes Yeshua’s connection with the Father, and how he gave up bliss for lowly human life. We read through the passage every night and focused on a different verse each time. I really enjoy discussions with fellow believers. This year’s devotions along with those of past years have really encouraged me in my faith, and helped me dive deeper into understanding Yeshua’s great love!
Guys day is when all the boys and girls are separated in groups. The boys and girls play a game called shuffle butt. In shuffle butt, everybody keeps moving from one chair to another and you try to get in an empty chair before anybody else. After playing the game the group goes into a Bible Q & A about life. The questions were a lot about being a guy and growing up in your faith. It was good to hear from Beardo and the other male staff too.
It was a long drive to our campsite, but we listened to music and had fun in the car. When we got there we put up the tents and it took a while, but it was worth it because then we went to the pool. The pool was the best part of the camp out. For dinner, we had hamburgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob. There were a lot of mosquitoes and they would attack in armadas, so we hit the hay early. The next day we went white water rafting. It was awesome. I loved bouncing up and down and spinning around. There was one drop that sent me flying off the raft. It was okay though, because I got pulled back in.
Hi! My name is Halie and I interviewed Beardo. Beardo’s favorite colors are red and blue. His favorite Bible verse is Hebrews 13:5 because it reminds him that no matter what he does God will always be with him. Beardo’s favorite Pokémon is Charmander. He likes all Indian food. Beardo and I both like oranges. Beardo’s favorite books of the Bible are Ephesians and Isaiah. Beardo decided to be a tribe leader because of his wife RedSox. Beardo was 22 when he met RedSox. Beardo likes being staff because he likes to get to know the kids. Beardo said he wants to work with Barnabus from the Bible if he had the choice. Beardo has one brother and his name is Onyx. The last question I asked Beardo was if he had pets and he said no. That’s all the information about Beardo and I think that he is a great leader and Hebrew teacher.
When we finally got a parking spot, we walked to a campsite where we did worship and a Bible study. We had lunch for about 10 minutes before starting the hike. A few other campers and I had to run back to throw away the garbage from the lunch. Since we had to hurry up we were already tired when we started the hike. We hiked for five hours. We took the Vernal Falls hike. I enjoyed the hike, it was one that I haven’t been on before. The entire hike was around 4 ½ miles. It was a great challenge and a lot of fun. Jonathan, one of the other campers, said he would bring his family on the same hike after camp. We took our camp picture on a rock in front of the river.
Gaga ball is a game played in an octagonal pit where the goal is to be the last one standing. Any hit from the waist down with the ball results in an elimination. A person is allowed to hit the ball once with their hand until it hits the wall or another player. The only other way to get out is to hit the ball out of the pit, which is about four feet tall. The real fun, however, when multiple balls are in the gaga pit. Suddenly, instead of having to keep track of one ball, you have two or three to be aware of and dodge. It becomes much harder to be in the middle but the walls are just as perilous. An unwary camper has dodged a gaga ball only to have it bounce back and hit them from behind. One has to be prepared to dodge a ball twice when seeking solace at the wall. My favorite strategy is to be halfway between the wall in the middle and simultaneously jumping and straddling the ball when dodging. More dodging is required than the wall but the threat of the wall is avoided and I think it makes it more fun. To get a broader outlook on the game I asked Stephen, a first-time player and our first winner what he thought of the game. It was a really fun game, he said, and he especially liked attacking other campers. Steven was a real surprise this year. Straight out of junior camp and not looking to be much of a threat, he rose to the challenge and managed to take first place in the first game this year.
Brickhouse went to high school at Abraham Lincoln in San Francisco. His favorite band is Thrice. His favorite thing to do at camp is hang out with people he loves. He lives in Los Angeles. He says he does not like his car. He said he is Brickhouse because that is the name his first tribe leader gave him. His best friend is Dynamite. His favorite hobby is recording music. He works for Jews for Jesus. His favorite food is a well-made hamburger. Moose said that Brickhouse was a fun camper. He started coming to camp at age eight. When he was at junior camp he was into cabin decoration day. And his tribe went in the woods to get stuff to decorate their cabin and one of the items was poison oak. He still is very allergic to poison oak and wore gloves to play Capture the Degel. Brickhouse is kind, loyal, a good leader, and a team player. That’s who he was as a camper and now as a member of the Camp Gilgal staff.
As we go through our relationship with God, we experience our love and devotion towards him through Tabernacle. Beginning with the cajon (A percussion instrument) as our heartbeat growing just as the drum and the lyrics guiding us to sing through this time of worship as it leads us on the path of walking with the Lord. Elizabeth R. claims her favorite song from worship is “King of My Heart.” This song declares that God is working and will continue to be our good ruler through all the times in our life.
Teen Camp 2017 was one of the most fun weeks of my life. It was fun because I got to see Pippin! Pippin is a hobbit from the Lord of the Rings who loves second breakfast and sleeping, which she can really relate to. She comes from a full house of three other siblings the oldest is Willow who is about to have a baby! Then there is Sarai who loves to talk really fast. Last but not least is Eli! She is the youngest of them all who loves doing make up. Pippin’s favorite hobby is photography. She owns her own personal camera and loves taking pictures of her sisters. Her beauty secret is drinking water and at least 12 hours of sleep. She also uses Maybelline so she can look absolutely, fabulously stunning. Pippin met God at camp through worship. This is where she says, “God is noticeably working the most.” Pippin loves everyone at camp, but S’mores and the mascot baby Levi are her “go-to” friends. Since Pippin loves second breakfast her favorite meal is all the warm, moist dinner rolls. Yummm! The one thing she loves most about the campers is the way we encourage each other and are great mensches!
During free time I was reading when Brickhouse started yelling and said “snack shack is closed so we’re going to Vons.” Everyone gasped. Monique was really excited to go to Vons. We all got into the 15 passenger van and drove to Vons. Stix asked what people were going to get and some said nectarines, cookies, blueberries, candy, and other things. When we got there we had to run to the door so Streetlight could get a video. Some people went into the Starbucks inside to get drinks. Bella got a cotton candy frappe with extra caramel drizzle all. I gave her sort of a sugar rush because she hadn’t had it for a while. Galaxy, Monique, and I went to the candy aisle to get stuff. Monique got Swedish Fish and gummy Lifesavers. Galaxy got green tea mochi. I got gummy bears.
If you were ever wondering what is like to go on the SoCal vans, I will tell you. My experience has been great each time, and I have been going in the vans for five years. Every first day of camp all of the campers that live in Southern California meet at a public park near Los Angeles. When we arrive I say hi to all my SoCal friends and we remember funny old camp memories. After about 20 to 30 minutes of talking to my friends we put our luggage in the van, say goodbye to our parents, and we head off.
At 12:30 PM all of the SoCal campers stop for lunch at Carl’s Jr. When I order at Carl’s Jr. I get the six piece chicken nugget meal. After all the campers have finished eating we play on the playground outside. After lunch we get back into the vans and take off heading for camp. About two hours later we take a break and we stop to use the restrooms. One hour later we arrive at camp and we unpack all of our stuff and move into our cabins. In conclusion, this So CAL drive was great and one of my favorites.
Columbia is an extraordinary place to go to. It has lots of fun activities to do, and lots of cool things to buy. Camp Gilgal goes on July 4th to march in the parade and do fun activities with your tribe. When we arrived at Columbia, we jumped out of the car and headed to the picnic tables. Once we were there, we assemble, go to the restroom, talk, etc. After that we go to the place where we practice our march and do our pictures. When it’s time to march and to sing in the parade we prepare ourselves, put on bandannas and get in our lines. When it’s time we sing our hearts out, to show the people of Columbia how good God is. Once we return to the tables, we eat lunch.
When we finished eating we get money from Bank Gilgal, then everyone in your tribe goes to do fun activities. For example you can go shopping, candle dipping, gold mining, bowling, egg tossing, egg relay, eating contest, etc. The tribe of Simeon (my tribe) went for ice cream, shopping, and we did the egg toss. My tribe leader (Chip) won 5th Place in the egg toss. I got out in the middle of the game, my partner was Macaroni. We named our egg Greta. Before we do the egg toss, we watch our fellow campers do the grease pole. A camper, Ryan, of the youngest tribe Naphtali, won the small grease pole. After the tribes did their activities we went back to camp. The Day at Columbia was great! That concludes my article on Columbia.
Ellie and Raina were blowing up balloons. “What do we need that for?” Myra asked pointing to the balloon. “Those are for a caterpillar” Pippin smiled. “Cool!” Myra said running to the balloons. I followed her and she pulled out a balloon shaped like Mickey Mouse. “This is weird looking.” I said holding it up. “It’s green perfect for a caterpillar. The ears can be horns and we can drive face on it.” Pippin said grabbing it. “Can I help draw?” I pleaded Pippin. “Hmmm…,” she said drawing a nose. I plopped down next to her. “May I draw the mouth?” “OK” Pippin said handing me the marker. We made the caterpillar. We also folded puffballs and tied them to the bunks. Then we made curtains and put them on each bottom bunk, we also put verses on every bunk. We made it look like a green jungle in our cabin. We had a great Cabin Decoration Day.
Design your belt.
