What a Day!
It’s been a great final day!
This morning we awoke to a beautiful sunrise, painting the sky in rosy pink hues and highlighting the fog collecting in the valley below. Boys headed down to breakfast, half of them returning from their Cabin Overnights. They were sleepy-eyed and smiling, with their clothes smelling a little like campfire and their cheeks still a little sticky from smores, all signs of a fun evening of camping. As we gathered on the benches at Morning Watch today, we reflected on this being the last full day of camp, not only for this Junior Camp session, but for the whole summer. It’s been a summer full of fun, growth, adventure, and excitement, and this past week was no different!
All smiles at the docks!
This morning was a favorite breakfast of egg and cheese burritos, oatmeal, fruit, and yogurt. We sat on the porch for the final Morning Assembly of the summer, and HarryO shared the weather report with us as usual, shouting “It’s sunny!!” at the top of his lungs. The Falling Creek band led us in singing “Leroy Brown,” and “Rocky Top” which really set the happy mood for the final day. The excitement levels were certainly high as we headed into our last day of activities.
Even though it has hardly been a week at Junior Camp, we have packed a ton of fun and excitement into each day. Since boys are able to sample each activity that camp has to offer, they get to experience a huge variety of fun. There are sports on the field like flag football and soccer, as well as on the courts with basketball. Boys can hang out with our animals, including feeding the chickens at the F.A.R.M., and riding horses at the barn. The waterfront is always a hit, especially the blob, where boys have fun bouncing each other into the water. Fishing is also a hit, both during activities and at Free Time. They’ve also been enjoying traditional outdoor activities like canoeing on the lower lake and climbing on the wall.
Reaching the top!
Feeding our fine feathered friends!
Even though we have plenty of sports to choose from, we also have lots of arts and crafts for boys to show their more creative side. In Art, they were using oil pastels to create original patterns and work on mixing colors to form unique designs. In woodworking, they were building portable ping pong tables to play with. At blacksmithing, older boys were hammering out arrowheads on the anvil. It would be hard to pick a favorite with all of these choices!
Last one in’s a rotten egg!
At lunch we had chicken nuggets and potato wedges with fruit, soup, and salad. As we washed our hands to go inside, several of the boys I saw has charcoal smudged on their faces like warpaint. They had been building forts at OSC, and running around outside in the woods, playing hard and just having fun being boys.
Fortbuilding- a quintessential summer activity!
The afternoon was filled with our last fun activity periods of the week, and after working up an appetite, we enjoyed homemade baked ziti, mixed vegetables, warm dinner rolls, and a full salad bar After dinner, the boys enjoyed a chance to spend some time with their cabin groups sharing stories with each other about their favorite adventures and times they had while at camp. As the boys and staff walk quietly to the final campfire for the session, they have been told earlier to bring with them a rock that they found tonight with their cabin to drop on the right just before the bridge leading to the Campfire Area. Many others, before and after them, have added or will add rocks to this growing old style uneven rock wall for their final campfire of each camp session. Even dads and sons will each place a rock at their final campfire during their weekend at camp. This is our Ebenezer wall. An Ebenezer serves as a reminder of God’s love, God’s real presence, and God’s assistance. Every Ebenezer rock serves as a reminder for each camper and staff member of the contributions, memories, and experiences they have had at Falling Creek Camp.This meandering stone wall reminds us, too, of the spirits of all those who have been part of the Falling Creek Camp community – past and present.
To close out another great session, we ended the evening with Campfire. The theme of tonight’s campfire was “friendship,” and we reflected back on how this past week has been filled with brotherhood and appreciation for this Falling Creek Community. We began Campfire as always with Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.” We sang songs such as “lean on me”, Country Roads”, and our FCC version of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken.” We also enjoyed a skit about a pig, dinosaur, beaver, rooster, and giraffe who joined together using all of their individual talents to build a house together. After singing Taps, boys silently returned to their cabins to share one last Evening Embers together and reflect on a great week at camp. We are so thankful for the individual light that each of these boys brought to this session, and are grateful that you chose to share your sons with us. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning as you pick up your boys, and we can’t wait to tell you all about the fun we had.
-Annie Pharr
Jumping into the final full day of the session!