The Siren: June 30, 2023

Welcome back, Pine Manor! Our oldest boys have returned to camp, greeted with an overwhelming reception after their ten-day canoeing and portaging adventure in Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. Tonight after our Friday Night Service, the bus pulled it and the reception looked just like the first day of camp. This remarkable Canadian expedition is the capstone experience of our tripping program, representing the culmination of many campfire dinners and nights slept in tents that prepared them for this ultimate adventure. Everyone in the cabins of Pine, Manor, McCabin and Mooseleg was filled with pride on their accomplishments and all smiles as they returned.

Last Tuesday, on the eve of their departure, we gathered with the campers and staff for some pre-departure processing. We heard nerves, excitement, sentimentality, stress, fear, and determination. However, tonight they returned with heads held high, adorned in their new gear from Canoe Canada Outfitters and looking great (despite still being a bit stinky).

As has been previously written here, this is another part of our program intended to push the boys beyond their comfort zones while providing them with our full support. They confronted a lot of rain, strong winds in both directions, mosquito bites, sunburn, demanding portages, taking the wrong portage and having to do it in reverse, and the absence of beds and showers throughout the trip. We are so excited to have them back at camp, and so proud of what they accomplished on their trip.

Tonight’s Friday Night Service was about Integrity. We had a beautiful evening at the Council Ring with great music, a beautiful sermonette by Wyatt Zirlin, and a fantastic keylog ceremony. It is so incredible to see a group of young men voluntarily get up in front of their peers to tell them how much they appreciate one another. One thing that we’ve already been seeing around camp is that our older boys have been absolutely wonderful to our younger campers. They have made a point to learn their names, take interest in them at their activities and around camp, and to make time for them each day. We’ve seen it since the start of the summer and it was reflected in the keylogs tonight. And all of this in front of a perfect Council Ring sunset.

This afternoon we played Glen’s Game, a camper favorite, where there are four areas that campers must get to. Those four areas, however, are heavily guarded by counselors. Campers have to use speed, smarts and other skills to get into a coned area. Once there, they get a mark and then head to another area, hoping to collect all of the stamps before the clock runs out.

Last night Caspar led a very cool evening program of an Egg Drop competition. The night started with each cabin working to earn their supplies through a series of challenges from relay races to joke telling. At its conclusion, each cabin had to work together to create a vessel to drop their egg from the top of the climbing wall and have it hit the ground without breaking. It was another great example of the many silly ways we can have a blast at camp, while learning at the same time.

Today’s Grace:
“Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”