Sundays at Two-Week Camp
Sunday morning moves at a gentler pace during Two-Week Camp. Instead of heading straight into a regular activity schedule, the boys had more time around their cabins with donuts, cartoons, crossword puzzles, and other activities set out on the porches.
After breakfast, they returned to prepare for cabin inspection before gathering for church in the gym. The day continued with Free Choice, lunch, Sunday ice cream, and Rest Period before the afternoon picked up again.
Church in the Gym
The boys carried song sheets with the words to “Peace Like a River,” “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High,” and “10,000 Reasons,” and the Lord’s Prayer for the end of the service.
Matt Sloan asked everyone to take a deep breath and become still. Church, he explained, is not defined by the building where people gather. It is an opportunity to focus on God, notice the creation around them, and remember that each of them was made with care and purpose.
Matt first asked the boys to look back at the previous week’s focus on enthusiasm. They said enthusiasm creates joy, makes life more exciting, and affects the people around them.
Jordain Ferguson, a counselor from Jamaica, offered the simplest description.
It’s contagious.
Matt then asked whether they thought God was enthusiastic. He reminded them that God is full of love and enthusiasm. He made them, loves them, and knows even the number of hairs on their heads.
As the boys reflected on Psalm 8 and the words, “How majestic is your name in all the earth,” they considered a God who is not distant or indifferent, but deeply interested in the lives He created.
From there, Matt introduced the next part of the Falling Creek Code: respect. That conversation continued later at Campfire, but the boys carried one question into the rest of the day: Who is one person they could show respect to today?
Running Through the Rain
Rain was falling by the time Wild Wild West began, adding slick trails, soaked shirts, and plenty of mud to the familiar all-camp game. Boys raced across camp collecting discs, pickleballs, and flags for their lines while trying to protect what they had already found.
Henry G. from Tulsa returned breathless, trying to explain how he had found a pile of discs, pulled several flags, lost some of them, and headed back out to begin again. Benjamin D. from Raleigh came through carrying three pickleballs, while Sam T. from Houston, Texas, emerged from the woods covered in mud and holding three red flags.
After a collision during a full sprint, Sam returned soaked and frustrated, announcing that he was never playing Wild Wild West again. Someone found him a new flag belt and gave him a moment to sit and collect himself. As quickly as he had sworn off the game, he was in the rainy woods and back in the game.
There were close calls, muddy knees, lost flags, and plenty of stories about what had happened just out of sight. When the points were counted, Red had won the afternoon.
Choosing What Came Next
After Wild Wild West, counselors gathered the campers and made sure everyone was accounted for. Once the lines were settled, they presented the week’s Adventure and Special Sign-Up options, with opportunities in paddling, backpacking, mountain biking, rock climbing, horseback riding, fly fishing, sailing, blacksmithing, woodworking, and other activities.
James and Charlie N. from New Orleans, Louisiana, stood with their arms around each other to sign up for the Tuck-Tuck paddling trip. They are not only paddling partners, but brothers who wanted to take on the next challenge together. The buoy course had tested them, but that was part of the reason they wanted to keep going.
We want to challenge ourselves.
Nearby, Will O. from Atlanta signed up for Woodworking with plans to make a dog inspired by Norbert, the real dog waiting for him at home. While the brothers were looking for their next challenge, Will chose a project that would remind him of someone he missed.
Some boys continued an activity they already enjoyed, while others chose something entirely new. They moved from counselor to counselor, added their names to the sign-up sheets, and decided where their next camp adventure might take them.
Their First Campfire
After sign-ups came a cookout supper and Line Assemblies. During Sorrel’s assembly, Benton W. from Chattanooga, Tennessee, in Cabin 3 was announced as Camper of the Week.
The boys immediately began cheering and clapping, with voices calling out, “That’s my friend!” Benton then stood to say a few words to the entire Sorrel Line.
I try to be friends with a lot of people by being kind and respectful.
When he finished, the whole line cheered again and attaboys went all around. It was a fitting recognition on the first day of a week devoted to respect.
The honor followed Benton into Campfire, where he and Sorrel’s Counselor of the Week represented their line before the whole camp, holding the Sorrel flag and lantern.
For the two-week campers, this was the first of only two Campfires they will attend during the session. Part of the evening was learning to respect the space and the reverence surrounding it. The boys were reminded not to clap between songs, stories, and skits, allowing each part of the program to flow into the next.
They also learned that their place around the fire connects them to Falling Creek’s “long green line,” the generations of campers who have gathered in that same space and carried its traditions from one summer to the next.
Harry Spring opened the evening with “Behold,” followed by familiar Campfire songs and the latest “Boy Story” skit. Harrison Keys, a seven-year camper now in his second year on staff, continued the day’s conversation about respect, the focus of the next blog.
After “Puff the Magic Dragon” and “Country Roads,” the boys returned to their cabins for Evening Embers. Taps carried across camp, bringing their first Sunday, and their first Campfire, to a close.