Sunday: The Reset Button For The Week
Similar to Saturdays, Sundays are also a chance for us to take a break from the regular routine of camp. The general feel of the day is a little more relaxed and reverent, as we are able to go at a slower pace and savor our surroundings. After an extra hour to sleep in, everyone is treated to Sunday breakfast, including Krispy Kreme doughnuts that get delivered to camp that morning! Any day that begins with doughnuts is destined to be a good day. Along with the sweet treat, we also enjoyed cheesy egg casserole, sausage, oatmeal and a breakfast bar with yogurt and granola, and fresh fruit.
Sundays are like a reset button for the rest of the week, and after playing hard all hours of the day, we use Sundays to clean up and refresh for the week ahead. Boys have to keep their cabins clean for morning inspections each day, but on Sunday they are given extra time to catch up on cleaning, especially because their trunks have to be open and ready for inspection by the directors and tribal leaders. This helps practice responsibility, and keep everyone accountable for maintaining their own cleanliness and health. Everyone takes turns with sweeping, cleaning the bathroom, and taking out the trash. Parents might be happy to know that boys are expected to make their beds each morning, so hopefully they bring those habits home with them! The boys get some extra motivation too, because the cleanest cabins get called first in the ice cream sundae line after lunch!
This morning’s church service was centered around “Joy,” the theme for this past week
After tidying their cabin areas, everyone changed into their Sunday whites and headed to church service. Falling Creek is a Christian camp, but we are non-denominational and our church service is centered around common values that are important for everyone, no matter your faith background. Today’s service continued with the theme of “joy” that we have centered our first week around. Happiness and joy seem like interchangeable descriptors, but we discussed their slight differences this morning during our service. The main difference is that happiness is circumstantial, while joy can be a constant. Rather than relying on experiential factors that affect fleeting happiness, we can choose to be grateful and find joy in things that may not meet our initial expectations. Even when things are not what we expect, we can still choose to find intrinsic joy in those moments.
Singing along during Church
During Lunch, we celebrated the birthdays of Oliver A. (who turned 11!) and Cabell T. (who turned 12!) with cake and singing. Every Sunday we enjoy a favorite meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and warm rolls. Though it’s always tasty, after lunch comes the real treat. We get to enjoy ice cream sundaes with all the toppings you could want. Campers are called to line up based on their cabin inspection score, with the cleanest cabins getting awarded a front spot in line. Today, the cleanest cabins in each tribe were Cabin 9, Comanche, Tsali, Black Hawk, and Nantahala. We had chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream (or blackberry sherbet for anyone who doesn’t eat dairy), plus sprinkles, strawberries, cherries, pretzels, Oreo pieces, fudge sauce, caramel, whipped cream, and cherries on an outside ice cream bar. It is definitely a highlight of the week:
After an extended rest hour to catch up on reading, take a nice nap, or write a few letters home, boys were able to spend the afternoon doing Special Signups. Sunday afternoon is a time when counselors can offer activities that they wouldn’t normally teach, and boys can try something different than their regular schedule. They can be old favorites like dodgeball on the field, as well as more unique activities like paper airplane contests on the side porch or learning how to change the tire on a car. Counselors announce where they will be for the first or second half of the afternoon, and boys are free to meet them where the activity of their choice is held.
During the first half of Special Signups, fly fishing was offering fly tying lessons with Josh Cooey, or an advanced fly fish prep. At Arts and Crafts, boys could make “wood cookie” name tags, which has been a popular request since all the counselors have them. Up at the lodge, there was a dance party happening, and in the Thunder Dungeon, there was a stretching/yoga group. Sketch was hosting Yu-Gi-Oh card games, and there was a slack line up at the grassy knoll to practice balancing on. Boys could draw on the Arts and Crafts porch, or go on a “slow run” to the old apple orchard. Up at the overlook, boys could opt to trade their Magic cards, or they could meet at the Esefel library for backpacking progressions and storytelling. At the lower lake, the paddlers were holding kayak preps, and there was a “biggest cannon-ball” competition at the swim docks.
There was even more to choose from by the afternoon. Some of the same activities were hosted during the second half of Special Signups, as well as plenty more. Boys could learn how to make rope out of inner tree bark, have a canoe race in the lower lake, or read with the book club. They could play “king of the courts” at the tennis courts, or weight lift in the lodge. There was also dodgeball happening, chess matches, and rounds of disc golf. With so much to choose from, it was hard to decide what to do first!
Camp friends are the best friends!
On Sundays, we have a cookout where we eat hamburgers picnic style as a whole camp community. Some of the delicious sides we had tonight included blackeyed pea salad (known as Texas Caviar), creamy pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes, special coleslaw with crunchy ramen noodles, and brownies. A highlight for the campers however, is the weekly Cheerwine soda that they get to drink with dinner! Though we eat family style with our cabins during regular meals in the dining hall, it is always a fun change of pace to eat outside with friends in a large group setting.
Sunday evenings always close with Campfire, one of the most beloved times at camp where we all share stories, songs, and laughter around the fire. If you could narrow camp down to a single word, it could arguably be summed up by these six letters: Behold. “Behold” is the word that begins every Campfire, the cheer we yell at the end of group huddles, the word you whisper to yourself when you stand in awe at the Overlook, and the way that Psalm 133:1 starts out: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.” The word evokes memories of campfires, brotherhood, and community, all things central to the Falling Creek experience, and all things that we get to enjoy on Sundays at camp.
Since the theme of the first week has been “joy,” tonight’s campfire introduced the theme for the upcoming week: Service. We discussed how service is only valuable “when rendered in the spirit of joy.” Kyle elaborated on this message when he spoke, sharing that “the spirit of Falling Creek is founded in the idea of service and unselfishness.” He told everyone that this week we would be talking about how to better serve each other, our responsibility to serve our community, and how to best serve mankind as a whole. He used Mark 2:1-12 to tell a story of service.
As the “Call to Quarters” bell rang after Campfire and the all boys were ready for bed in their cabins, the only sounds were the crickets and bullfrogs along the banks. After Campfire we always sing Taps, and this comforting melody is the perfect way to end the day. It’s words ring true as the whole camp prepares for a good night’s rest: “All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.” Goodnight.
-Annie Pharr
Two thumbs up for weekends at camp!