Camp Two: Part Five.

Thursday morning we woke up 30 minutes early for breakfast so that we could load the bus and head off to our service sites. Every year we integrate service into our weekly schedule and this year it fit perfectly with our theme of Faith and Acts. An integral part of service is not only doing the act of service, but contemplating the why, the how, and the meaning of the service.

We had four different groups. The first group went to St. Mary's Convent in Sewanee to work in the lavender fields planted for Thistle Farms and the organic garden that supplies the nuns with food. The second group went down to Sherwood to help spruce up their former school-turned community center for their homecoming celebration. A third group went to the nursing home by our campus to play bingo with the residents and the last group stayed here and cut t-shirts for Thistle Farms to use for paper making and painted benches to help give back to Dubose.

At the convent, the garden worker Nathan toured the campers around, showing them the new vine plantings they use for jams and explaining the idea of prayer and work going hand in hand using the phrase "Ora et Labora", found on a sign at the entrance to the garden:

The lavender is freshly planted and will be used by Thistle Farms, a Nashville ministry started by a camp alum, for essential oils in their bath and body products.

Here's the on campus group scraping and re-painting some benches. Camp Gailor-Maxon is housed on the grounds of Dubose Conference Center and so we love being able to contribute to the upkeep of this special place.

At the nursing home the kids played BINGO with the residents, sang to them, and listened to stories from them.

In the afternoon we had an on-campus and off-campus group of kids. The on campus group did things like play on the great playground across the street (it is even fun for big kids!), make pizzas from scratch, swim at the pool, and tie-dye in the art barn.

The hiking group went to Caldwell Rim, a hike on Sewanee's campus.

 Part of the hike stops at a large field where the kids played ultimate frisbee and soccer:

Later that night we had our skit night and coffee house. There were a lot of great acts!

Then it was off to bed to get ready for another big day of camp! Cabin time at night is another essential part of the experience - the bonding, the sneaking of snacks and food, and the occasional pillow fight!