Our first full day has been such a blessing…

What a wonderful day we’ve had here at Crystal Lake! Campers awoke at 7:00, followed by flag raisings in boys’ and girls’ camps and inspiring Quiet Hour sessions in each cabin.  Breakfast was scrumptious biscuits with gravy and apple butter, prepared by our talented kitchen staff.  At morning assembly today, several counselors acted out a skit conveying the message that every one of us has a place and a purpose in God’s kingdom.

After Kapers (cabin cleaning), campers chose two out of four sample activities to participate in to give them a better sense of a few of the activities that would be available this session – rock wall, arts, frisbee and soccer.  From the grins on their faces and the stories they told afterwards, the activities were a huge success!  One camper, a Kiyan first timer at CLC, even made it to the top of the rock wall (after several attempts, and with lots of spiritual support and spunk); now that’s what we call stepping out of one’s comfort zone and trusting in God’s protection.  That is exactly the sort of growth we expect to see here this summer 🙂

The Activity Fair, free swim and Council Fire were three other highlights of the day.  The most popular class during sign-ups at the Activity Fair was Stagecraft. Campers spent a good hour and a half playing around in the lake afterwards; the Aquaglide was a huge hit; LTs took a good, long swim from the beach to the teepees and back; the Kiyans giggled endlessly as they poured handfuls of wet sand on the boys’ head counselor, Natious.

After our picnic dinner of hotdogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, potato salad and ice cream sandwiches everyone suited up in their clan gear and headed over to the Council Fire.  All clans competed valiantly, cheering for their fellow clan members as well as other clans.  The Bear Clan, however, ultimately earned the most points and proudly sang their clan cheer after each “win.”

Tomorrow morning is church / Sunday School, followed by CS book-marking, lunch, Rest Hour, and afternoon class periods.  Tomorrow evening’s awesome activity is a barn dance led by two graceful (or at least earnest) male staff members.  Come back tomorrow to hear about what sorts of crazy dance moves we Crystal Lakers thought up…