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! 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.
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.
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.