Camp 2: Thursday!

First of all, we had a birthday yesterday! Happy birthday Wallace! We're so glad you spent your day here with us at CGM! (Yes, that is Wallace under all that hair!)

Thursday was all about our "buckets"- the invisible bucket on top of our heads that gauges how we are feeling. In chapel the staff put on a pretty awesome skit- including buckets and water- about how your bucket affects you. We learned that how others treat you can empty or fill your bucket, and then how you treat others can do the same. 

After a chicken sandwich lunch and a siesta full of naps, we were ready to fill other people's buckets on our day of service! We had 2 parts of our service rotation, one for helping DuBose and the other for helping the ladies of Thistle Farms! Around DuBose we spread mulch in needed places and cleaned up trash around campus. In the downstairs chapel we learned about Magdalene House and Thistle Farms, what they do and how we could help. Yesterday we helped by cutting t-shirts to be sent to the paper studio and had a blast doing so! Everyone kept cutting when it was time to finish- we just loved being together while doing something good for someone else!

 When we finished our service projects, we played in the pool and in the field (ultimate frisbee) a little bit before free time. And then last night.... we had Coffee House! An annual favorite that is our talent show! Our youth get to show off all the wonderful things they can do- from singing, to piano, to belly clapping (ask your child for a demonstration- it is quite the sight). Each cabin also performs a skit- most of them this year were some form of interpretive dance to some pretty hilarious songs.We love getting to watch so many come out of their shells and show us how talented they are! Below are just a few pictures of our acts from last night. They were pretty priceless!

We finally finished with Compline all together. It was a great day full of laughter and life!

Camp 1: Thursday!

Today was full of sunshine- finally! We used it to the best of our ability!

We started today talking about how to fill up our buckets. In family groups we used crayons to make candles that will light our service later! We loved spending time with our family groups as they are such an important part of CGM!

In the afternoon we filled DuBose's bucket by doing service around campus! Some of us painted, others did landscaping, but all were involved and helping our campus! I heard several people say that it was the best time they had doing service!

After we finished we had a tree planting ceremony- and took a selfie with our tree!

Last night was our annual coffee house- which is where our campers get to show off their many talents. From "stomach clapping" (you can ask your camper how that works) to beautiful singing, our campers are so amazing! We had a sad farewell to our favorite camp band- Banchee and the Loopy Mistake last night as these boys are graduating and becoming counselors! Thank you for the years of fan playing, screeching, ukulele and smiles!

We're coming to our last day now and we are so glad to have this time together!

It's here! Staff Week: Day 1

Camp Gailor-Maxon 2014 has officially begun! The staff arrived yesterday at noon and started the planning process right away! Between moving in, discussions about chapel theme, New Zealand night prayer and a bonfire, we had a busy first day!

We can't wait for all of you to join us on the mountain!

What a week it has been!

What a week it has been for Camp Gailor-Maxon! We have so much exciting news to share!

We'll start with the cabin build that happened last weekend at Dubose. Fortunately, we are adding counselor rooms to cabins 5 and 6 so we can have a greater capacity for female campers each week- and we're aiming to fill up all our extra spots!
The weather didn't cooperate too much on Saturday so we were working in the rain, wind and a whole lot of mud. But when it cleared up Sunday our work crew accomplished so much! Below you can see some of the progress made, certainly was not all they got done last weekend though!

A VERY big thank you to Bob Sarratt, Greg Estes, Reid Estes, Dave Thompson, Andrew Gregory, Frank Puryear, Charles Houston Beaumont, Greg Champion and the Champion boys for coming to help! CGM is so grateful for your hard work to help us get ready!

Sunday night was so much fun as we got to participate at the Diocese of Tennessee Youth Eucharist! We loved getting to meet so many youth and tell them about the exciting opportunities CGM gives youth of all ages. Thank you all for having us there and letting us share our excitement for youth work with you!

Watch out as more news is coming in the future- we have a very exciting annoucement to make next week!