Day Sixteen: 6/15

On the first full day of Camp Gailor Maxon, we spend time introducing the chapel program and getting into the first stage of "Exodus: Journey of a Lifetime," by talking about strangerhood. We also try to make sure that the kids are getting to know each other and get along with each other by doing a night activity that involves teamwork.

Today was the first full day of Camp II. Camp II, for those who don't know, is the rising 7th-9th grade age group, so they're either in middle school or just come out of it. This group is very differnt from Camp I, just as Pre-Camp was different than Camp I and Camp III will be different from Camp II. This group focuses a lot on socializing and seem to deeply care about forming relationships with each other. They still seperate into boys and girls in large groups and have the kid inside them still that loves to play and have fun. They are inhibited about certain things because they don't want to be judged. The biggest difference I have seen goes along with that - Camp I kids were comfortable in their own skin while Camp II kids haven't found how to do that yet. It is my hope that camp helps these kids embrace their own personalities and find out who they are.

The highlights of today were the creek clean-up at Fiery Gizzard and the Octathalon (that really has 9 events but we don't think the word Nontalon is nearly as fun). The creek cleanup was optional and kids could sign up during afternoon activity signups. We wanted to keep it optional so that we could foster voluntary community service in these kids. We had a substantial group sign up and they really enjoyed learning about the organisms in the water and see the difference they could make by taking the time to clean up.

After dinner, we proceeded to the CGM Octathalon. The cabins were encouraged to have team spirit and two teams really embraced this - Cabin 6 and Cabin 1. Cabin 6 was decked out in pink and black, with their hair piled on top of their head and black war paint on their faces. They coordinated cheers and made sure to support each other as they did each of the events. Cabin 1 dressed in all blue and came up with a team name - the Blue Devils. They rallyed behind each other and supported each other very well.

The competition was stiff and every cabin won at least one of the events. Of particular note were the stylin' dance moves of Maddi Taylor and Rylee Hilliard, who sealed the win for the dance off for Cabin 5. They were absolutely adorable as they did the snake and the moonwalk for everyone.

Included in this post are:

1) Cabin 1 and 2 racing to the center for the start of dodgeball

2) Robert, a member of the Cabin 1 Blue Devils, showing off his pride

3) Cabin 6 playing in the balloon toss

4) the creek clean up group posing after a successful trip

5) listening to the park ranger at the creek clean up

Fiery Gizzard Creek Clean Up

During each week of camp, we will be visiting the Fiery Gizzard Trail in South Cumberland State Park to give back to the community that gives us so much. Every year we hike Fiery Gizzard and swim in the awesome water holes. This year we decided to encourage community activism and volunteerism by having an optional creek clean up. 

The video below (link to youtube here) is the result of the first week's creek clean up. 

Where the Wild Things Are skit

For the chapel program on our fourth day together, the theme was Wilderness/Needs and Wants. For an afternoon offering the day prior, the kids put together a skit based on the book "Where the Wild Things Are" to teach the idea of wilderness. Here is a video of it...

ps - the video quality is low due to blogger's restraints on MB size - go to youtube for a better version

Camp Gailor Maxon Prayer

A few years ago, the campers of Camp Gailor Maxon created a prayer specifically for our camp to be said at times like dinner, the Eucharist, and during chapel. We have a banner with it written on it and the staff members have a small copy of one they keep behind their nametag. I'd love to share it with you...

Camp Gailor Maxon Prayer

Holy God, Father of Love
Your blessings in this place are unending;
Beauty in your creation that inspires and reminds us of your majesty
A home away from home,
full of laughter and light
and friends that gather as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Teach us to guide each other in our journeys of faith,
and send us with an angel to discover our paths
You have set before us.
Amen.

Day Fourteen and Fifteen: 6/13, 6/14

Saturday and Sunday were a blur - we woke up Saturday morning, still amazingly tired from the night before, dragged ourselves to our nice continental breakfast in the dining hall, distrubuted pictures and t-shirts, packed our bags, and said goodbye. The bus loaded up and the usual suspects ran after the bus, the perfect farewell to a great week at camp.

Saturday was spent sleeping and chilling by the counselors. We were all exhausted from camp and needed to rest! Sunday, the staff reconvened at noon to prepare for a new group to come! Camp Two arrived at 2pm and all of a sudden we were back in the swing of things with camp, running around and leading fun activities. We did the swim test (the weather held out very nicely for us - we were afraid there would be thunderstorms), then went to dinner. It was spaghetti. It is always spaghetti on the first night. Always. We played icebreakers in the downstairs chapel, sang some awesome songs led by Holly and Julia, and went to family group. The group names this week are random Disney references, so we have groups like Pizza Planet, the Maters, the Glass Slippers, the Magic Carpets, and the Jiminy Crickets. Family groups went to their meeting spots to learn about each other and play laugh your face off. We then came back together for compline, had snack, and went to cabins for cabin meetings!

Reflecting on Camp One, I am amazed at how smoothly everything ran. We had one sprained ankle, a victim of ultimate frisbee, and one stomach bug. Otherwise, we had no incidents whatsoever. The kids had fun, we got all our activities in despite rain on Wednesday and Thursday, and the kids left saying it was a great year. With a very new staff, a new director, assistant director, and chaplain, we had many changes this year but tried to maintain the traditions of the past that the kids love. We wanted a balance between a typical year at camp and adding new elements to spice things up. I feel we achieved that well.

Day TThirteen: 6/12

Today was the last full day of Camp One. Everyone was sad to see it come and we've already had kids begging for next year to be longer again. Camp One, in the past, had been extended to anywhere from 7 to 10 days and this year was shorter than it had ever been. We learned our lesson for that, seeing how much the kids love camp and want to stay longer, and are making accomodations for next year. We've set our dates and will be releasing those ASAP so people can start planning!

We started the day off with the final chapel program, all about the Promised Land. It was a great discussion, looking at how Moses never reaches the Promised Land in the book of Exodus and how that may actually be a good thing to realize. We talked about our "Promised Lands" (college, relationships, money,etc) and listed to a song by Colin Hay called "waiting for my real life to begin" about someone who is sitting around waiting for his promised land, knowing that life will be great once that happens. He realizes that he is missing out on life and is told to be still and listen, and if he does this he will be lead to his own promised land, the one meant for him. We paralleled this story with the story of Moses and the story of our own lives.

For afternoon activities, we had three groups. The first group, about 20 kids, went to Morgan's Steep to rock climb and rapel. The next group swam at the Res, a water hole on St. Andrew's Sewanee's campus. The last group stayed on campus and prepared for the evening by making a liturgy plan, decorating for the banquet, and making tissue paper corsages and boutinneres.

That night we had our final banquet, Eucharist, and dance. The banquet was full of the traditional activities like the counselor tunnel to get in the dining hall, the staff serving the campers, making it "rain" after the dinner, and singing camp songs in the dining hall at the end of the meal. At the Eucharist we celebrated our time together on the Mountain and blessed our 14 seniors as they go off to college. Four of our seniors had been with us all 10 years they could come to camp, which was a really exciting thing to recognize. After the Eucharist, we broke it down in the dining hall, dancing to all sorts of new and old songs. Then we sent the kids off to bed, knowing that they'd probably stay up all night dissecting each moment of camp. Right before the kids went to sleep, the boys ventured over to the porch of the girls cabin and serenaded the girls to sleep.

Pictured above:

1) The 14 seniors graduating from camp this year

2) JB serving the campers at the banquet

3) Winn Van Cleave entering the banquet through the counselor tunnel

4) Andrew Street about to go rappelling

5) A camper rock climbing

Day Twelve: 6/11

Thursday night at Camp Gailor Maxon is full of creativity. After dinner, the cabins go back and think up master plans for greatness in the form of skits. After a hurried 45 minutes, the cabins come together for Skit Night, in costume and ready to go. This year was no different, as our four cabins came together in the Pavilion to show off their skits.

First, Cabin One went (a boys cabin). Their skit was an original one, clearly thought through and showed the intelligent and witty character of those boys. There was an interview as if they were on a television show, full of famous guests like Sean Connery and President Obama.

Then the lovely ladies of Cabin Six performed. All week, this cabin had shown its obsession with Twilight and, in particular, Edward Cullen. Their counselors, Meredith and Lizzy, decorated the common room with Edward Cullen posters and the girls made up a "conversation with Edward Cullen" as if he, Jacob, and Harry Potter came to camp and interacted with the cabin. They took this conversation and turned it into the skit - quite hilarious. I think Harry Potter ended up saving the day?

Next was the gals of Cabin Five. This one involves a bit of a backstory. See, there is a legendary conference that comes to Dubose yearly. It is a marriage seminar, led by the "Doctor of Love", Dr. Rod Kochtitsky. There are flyers posted around Dubose and outside the downstairs chapel there is a newspaper article posted about his conference. Clearly, the girls find this conference fascinating. So of course their skit HAD to involve Dr. Love. In addition, there has been a running joke about three of the counselors, Meredith, Nick, and Alex. Meredith and Alex have played like they are married (all leading up to a skit for coffee house later) and Nick is the "other man." They orchestrated this whole bit about it. So for the Cabin Five skit, the premise was that we were taking a glance into Dr. Love's office at his counseling session with Meredith, Alex, and Nick. Dr. Love's singing secretary was a hit, as was his needy wife.

Finally, the men of Cabin Two (they would like to make it known that they claim Cabin Three as home forever) performed their yearly ballad based dance routine. These boys have put together a show stopper every year since 2006. First, they danced to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", which included a Wolfin (the creature that lurks in the forest behind the cabins), a small town girl, and a love story that ends with the Wolfin and the small town girl breaking out into a synchronized dance routine while the back up dancers decked out in eighties gear break it down. The following year, they performed "Its a Hard Knock Life" and last year was "99 Red Balloons." This year's performance, however, was the perfect mix of song, dance, and story line. Cabin 2 had felt scorned this year by Cabin Cleanup, due to a day of extra cleaning because of a leak in the shower that flooded the bathroom and left a mess. They based their skit off the real life event of the meeting that ensued after the cabin cleanup mess and the subsequent revenge in the form of immaculate cleaning. After winning the Golden Dustpan, they were inspired to chronicle their story in the form of skit night. Singing to "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions," Cabin Two told the story of a lowly cabin, dragged down by the weight of an extra cleanup, only to rally and clean masterfully and become the eventual champions of the dustpan. I'm hoping that someone will post it on you-tube so I can link it for you all.

After Cabin Skits, we went into Coffee House, our annual talent show. This is such a talented group of campers.. we had guitar playing, singing, piano, voice impressions, dancing, and more. Julia Gardial played many awesome songs, Jillian sang our favorite, her original song about Peter and Wendy, Jacob Elam played the piano, guitar, and sang, Philip did his Robert Goulet (RIP) voice, Joe did the Batman voice, Anne Hagans did a ballet dance, Julia and Mary Blythe did a hip hop dance routine, and much more. Coffee House is always one of the favorites of the nights because everyone shares a bit of themselves in coffee house.

The Emcees did an excellent job - they had a running skit throughout the night to tie together everything for coffee house. The premise was that Meredith, a gold digging snob, and Alex, a Pokemon loving rich geek, were on their way to Tunica for their honeymoon. They get rear-ended by Nick, a thuggish hunk, who woos Meredith. They run over a bear, which Nick saves by CPR, and Meredith switches her loyalty to Nick. Then they find out Nick is an escaped fugitive and Alex saves the day by kicking Nick out of the car. Meredith realizes that true love and character are qualities found inside and learns to look past outward appearances and reunites with Alex. What a story.

Pictured Above:

1) Julia Gardial plays the guitar and sings as the emcees for the night, Meredith and Alex, look on

2) Cabin 2's epic skit of the tale of a cabin searching for the golden dustpan

3) Cabin 5's Dr. Love skit

4) Cabin 1's television skit

5) Cabin 6's Twilight skit

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to dinner..

The friendships you make at camp last a lifetime. This fact, to me, is proven again and again. Personally, I was shown this at my wedding (see the first picture) when so many of my camp and Winterfest friends were in my wedding or guests at my wedding. The friends I met through Camp Gailor Maxon are the ones that I know will be around for years to come. We have a special bond that transcends artificial social situations.

One of the most fun parts about camp friends is that even when you live hundreds of miles apart, once you run into each other randomly it is like you haven't missed a beat. This happened the other day for a few old CGMers that I was with. Alex Haralson, Shan Overton, and Christy Beesley were out with me at Papa Ron's for lunch this week and we ran into Ted Rice, an old CGM guy who had been on staff when Shan was director. They had so much fun catching up with him and he actually is going to bring his two daughters to pre-camp next summer! The second picture is of Alex, Shan, Ted, and Christy.

Day Ten: 6/9

Today we went canoeing, a new activity for our camp. We took the trip to Dunlap, TN to go canoeing down the Sesquatchie River. After a quick chapel session focusing on silent reflection and meditation, we loaded up on the ole' yellow school bus and hit the road for Dunlap.

The canoe trip was the perfect balance between rigor and relaxation. There were spots to get out of the canoe and swim but it was never too deep, fast, or dangerous. The kids were able to get their canoes up next to each other, joking around and playing the entire time. They also got to see many pieces of wildlife, including many birds and even some cows.

The trip had one downfall though - many campers realized after getting off the river that they wanted to suggest to the canoe company to invest in some seat pads! Their rear ends were a little bruised... Ultimately, the canoe trip was successful and everyone enjoyed themselves.

After a long day of canoeing, the kids were able to shower and get some rest. That night was the big "Counselor Hunt" where the counselors hid on the grounds and the kids go around in groups trying to find the counselors. This year, to add a twist, we instituted a token system. Whenever any group found a counselor, the counselor gave them a token. The object was to get the most tokens of any group for that counselor so you could "win" them (meaning that you push them in the pool). While the counselors hid, the kids wrote up charges for the counselors, accusing them of everything from being too positive to having an obsession with all things arts and crafts.

Counselor Hunt lasted an hour, half of which they got to use a flashlight. All counselors but Amy were found at least once, with Alex, Meredith, and JB being found more than once. If there was a tie for which group found the counselor the most, the group had to answer a trivia question about that counselor correctly. Lizzy's question was "in what years did Lizzy see Hanson live?" Just so you know, it was 2000 and 2008. JB's question was "how many years had JB been coming to camp?" - answer is 14 consecutive. Wow.

Enjoy the pictures...

1) Lizzy and JB, lifeguards for the summer, posing as intimidatingly as possible for the camera

2) the counselors after being thrown in the pool post-Counselor Hunt (note: Amy is dry.. but not for long!)

3) campers getting out at a water hole along the river and swimming

4) friends enjoying the river

5) two campers canoeing

Day Eleven: 6/10

**Sorry this is out of sequence - this is Wednesday and the one above is Tuesday**

It is hard to believe that half a week of Camp I has already passed. This week has flown by... we are having so much fun. Today in chapel, we focused on "Celebration" based on Moses's liberation. We learned about the values of celebrations and had a little dance party. We had big plans set for the afternoon... the kids could pick from rappelling off Morgan's Steep, a day trip to Sewanee, or staying on campus for some pool, workout, and drama action. The rain, however, had a different plan. Right about time for the bus to show up, the clouds came rolling in. The park ranger called and cancelled for today, rebooking for Friday (very accomodating) and we decided to regroup and let kids from that group decide whether to stay on campus or go to Sewanee. We ended up with a group of about 30 go to Sewanee for the afternoon. The rest stayed on campus and enjoyed the relaxing down time.

Our Sewanee trip started shaky because of the rain but quickly ended up being a memorable trip. We went to the bookstore (see picture above of the kids reading in the bookstore - seriously, a group of them read for about an hour and loved it), then to the Sewanee playground. The playground was a lot of fun and there was a fort in the shape of a ship that many of the kids (and counselors) liked to play on. We swang, had chin-up contests, and shared good conversations. We ended the trip by stopping by Mountain Breeze Ice Cream Shop on the way back. There is nothing like some home-made ice cream to end a good trip.

After dinner, the night continued with our traditional "All Saints" night. Right after dinner, the kids loaded the bus, decked out in their primped up styles, headed to the chapel on the campus of Sewanee, All Saints. We did an evening prayer service with a litany of lights accompanying, sang many songs, and then had prayer and reflection time. After All Saints, we went to the Memorial Cross and sang more "campy" songs like Country Roads and Teach Your Children.

Coming back to Dubose, the next item on the agenda was the bonfire. There was a bit of a twist this year because Charles Houston decided to bring his newly adopted stray dog to the bonfire in the form of the "putrid yellow dog" from the ghost story. The kids loved the dedication to the portrayal of the ghost story and especially loved getting to play with Droopy.

Tomorrow night will be Coffee House and Skit Night. With this camp, it will be exciting to see what they come up with - this group of kids always has entertaining skits and coffee house selections.

Pictured above:

1) the campers at the Sewanee Memorial Cross after All Saints

2) Five senior boy campers, enjoying their last year of camp.

3) a daytime view of All Saints, taken during the Sewanee day trip

4) campers on the ship-fort at the playground

5) at the Sewanee bookstore reading

Day Nine: 6/8

Today was our first full day of Camp I. All our planning and hard work is definitely paying off! Our day ran extremely smoothly and our kids had a blast. We started out the morning with deacon duty, breakfast, and cabin clean-up. Then, in morning chapel we learned our fist lesson from the chapel program Shan wrote called "Exodus: Journey of a Lifetime." The kids heard a poem called "We Wear the Mask" and talked about enslavement and strangerhood in connection to Moses in Egypt. They then went on to small group discussion and made masks while talking about their own masks they wear and how they feel enslaved in their own lives.

After having a nutritious lunch of chili and grilled cheese, the campers went on to siesta. After siesta, a group left for a creek clean up of Fiery Gizzard with the help of a park ranger. In addition to the community service group, a number of kids stayed on campus and participated in arts and crafts, sports and games, pool time, and hanging out in the pavilion.

The big event for the night came later - the CGM Octathalon. Modified from the CGM Olympics, the Octathalon was a series of eight events that cabins participated in to show their unity and teamwork. Events were
- tug of war
- balloon toss
- synchronized swimming to Ode to Joy
- dodgeball (regulation style)
- name that tune
- spelling bee
- trivia
- charades (tournament style)
and to end the night, a dance off.

After all the fun was had, the judges were off to tally the results. The winner received dibs at first in line for taco bar night. The girls of Cabin 5 came in first place with the boys of Cabin 2 close behind. It was a hard fight but in the end, everyone had a great time.

Pictured above:

1) Cabin 2 wins at tug of war with their spectators looking on in awe

2) Cabin 5 is girly and strong at the same time

3) Cabin 5's theme was eclecticly 80's disco for the night

4) Cabin 6 girls participate in a synchronized swimming routine

Day Eight: 6/7/09

Today was a day of extremes. We went from the little pre-campers to the big highschoolers, all in the course of about 4 hours!

We started the day by saying goodbye to our newest Camp Gailor Maxon family members. We had breakfast, a Eucharist, and got our t-shirts and pictures. After packing up and hugging (and a bit of tears), the kids all said goodbye. Reflecting on the Pre-Camp experience, I feel it was beyond successful and all that we wanted it to be. In envisioning Pre-Camp, we hoped that the parents would enjoy themselves, the kids would fall in love with camp, and that people would form strong relationships. I definitely feel that was the case.

The staff went straight to work on the preparations for Camp I. They finished the chapel program, set up the canteen, and decorated their cabins. Once completed, the staff got a well deserved one hour break before the kids got there! Once two o'clock rolled around, we were ready to go with registration.

As kids showed up, it was so fun to see people we'd missed over the past year and to meet new campers. The bus rolled in about 3pm, which meant an influx of Memphis kids. After just a short amount of time, all campers were accounted for! We had a successful registration with no flaws -just the way I like it. We let the campers get aclimated and catch up with each other before jumping in to the traditional first activity of camp - the swim test. Isn't it delightful to get to camp and have to swim across the pool first thing? From a practical stance, it is necessary but it is still comical to think about.

After swim test, we had the traditional first night dinner - spaghetti. We then sang some songs, did introductions, and signed the covenant. We next went into playing large group games like Dancing Tambourine - a crowd favorite where you have an object (preferably a tambourine but we used a percussion egg) that is the magic object... whoever has it dances in the center of the circle to music and grabs people to come dance, forming a strand of people all dancing. The first person, at some point, decides to drop the object (the music stops then) and everyone races to get back to open seats. The last one left is the next person in the center. The kids really love it and get into the dancing - we sure have some awesome dancers in the crowd. One thing that was cool to notice is how much these kids embrace their individuality and who they are - they are totally fine being themselves for the most part. It is impressive.

We then split into family groups to do a few more games. The theme for family group names is "funny German words" so we have names like the Gesundheits and Kinderspiel. The kids are getting into developing German accents (see statement above about individuality!).

We must have done something right because we gave the kids time in their cabins after the cabin meetings to hang out and catch up but by the time the staff was done with their meeting, all teeth were brushed and everyone was in bed asleep! A great first day of Camp I has passed and I can tell that this group is strong and going to be a lot of fun.

Pictured above:
1) The signing of the Covenant
2) a peek at the compline service in the Pavilion
3) Nick and Lizzy's family group, meeting out on the porch
4) the boys dancing in the Dancing Tambourine game
5) Singing and dancing in the Downstairs Chapel to some awesome praise songs.

Day Seven: 6/6/09

Today was the big main day of Pre-Camp. It was a long, crazy day - the kids were worn out by the end of the day! We started out with biscuits and gravy for breakfast. The pre-campers learned how to be deacons for the table and were very excited to get to use the rags to wipe down the table. Jackson Seltzer made an especially good deacon and was very enthusiastic about it! The morning was filled with more singing with Brie, a chapel session with Mark, and a trip to the playground across the street. We also took our group picture - a big camp tradition.

We had square pizza (known fondly as "public school pizza") for lunch with 'nanner puddin' - camp food is a big deal for camp alums and so we tried to hit the big meals for the parents. After lunch, we had SIESTA (spelled Q-U-I-E-T) and then headed down to the art barn for arts and crafts. After some art barn action, the kids went to the pool and then the pavilion. What a traditional camp afternoon.

The banquet was next, and the pre-campers dressed in their banquet best. We also had a birthday girl in the group so her dad got a cake from the Blue Chair in Sewanee delivered. The kids loved the cake and we got to sing Happy Birthday. Next on the agenda was night swim and then we told stories in the Barth Room with the kids.

I feel so great about Pre-Camp. The kids were so much fun to be around and were so energizing. We got lots of great ideas about Pre-Camp for next year, including adding a hike and making it a day longer. We can't wait to plan for next summer - many of the kids will be back, some will be in Camp III, and we've already heard of more people that are going to sign up! Pre Camp was such a good experience.

Pictured above:

1) some of the staff after the banquet

2) Pre-campers singing in chapel

3) Jb, Charles, and Lizzy in their seersucker get up

4) hanging out at the pool

Picasa Web Based Picture Album

In addition to starting a blog, we are embracing the technology age even further by creating a Picasa picture account for Camp Gailor Maxon. The idea with this Picasa account is that people can view pictures from camp and share them with their friends. We'll have an album for each week of camp and hopefully will be adding pictures as they get sent to us. If you have great pictures from a camp session, email us the best pictures and we'll add them to the CGM Picasa account!!

Here is the link.

Day Six:6/5

Pictured above:

1) Charles Houston, Director, tells the Biscuit Family story at the bonfire for Pre-Camp

2) Pre-campers playing Ships and Sailors in the downstairs chapel

3) New friends on the first day of Pre-Camp

4) Dad and Son by the campfire after a long day

Pre Camp arrived today! The newest addition to our camp community is the session fondly known as Pre-Camp. We've been preparing for this camp since it was a wee little idea in the heads of a few people last summer. After a quick morning canoe trip, the staff prepared for the littlest members of our camp family to arrive.

Families started rolling in about 3pm and everyone was so excited. We weren't able to do the swim test today because it was chilly so we played in the pavilion and then went to the downstairs chapel for a game of "Ships and Sailors" before dinner. Dinner was spaghetti (of course - the only first night meal camp should have!) and then we moved to the downstairs chapel for the covenant. The campers signed their names, promising to abide by the covenant and then we moved on to some singing. Brie Wallace is our guest musician for the weekend and is not only talented musically, but is extremely talented with this age group. They learned some new songs today and had a blast. After learning about friendships in Christ for a little bit with Mark Frazier, who is serving as Pre-Camp priest, the kids got ready for the big night event - the bonfire! The parents and campers bundled up and headed over to the Stone Altar, where they learned about making a fire with Charles Houston while the s'mores were cooking in the oven. We all indulged in a smore or three and then settled in for some stories. Charles Houston told a story about a talking bear who ate the Biscuit family and Brie taught the campers "Sippin' Cider." A good time was had by all involved. We said our goodnight prayers and headed up to the halls for bed. I can tell friends are already being made and think it was a great first night for Pre-Camp.

Day Five: 6/4

First of all, I am posting this a day late with a good reason - our internet up on the mountain has been spotty at best. We've been out of internet for a good day now! Charles and one of the pre-camp parents just semi fixed it long enough to hold out until the company comes (hopefully tomorrow?) to fix it.

So - Thursday...

We were supposed to go canoeing so that we could do a trial run of the river before taking campers on it but the weather forecast said thunderstorms so we made the executive decision to not go on the river with lightning in the future. Instead, we did a life line after breakfast and then had an intense chapel planning session. After doing that, the staff broke into groups and got a large amount of the small things done, like making name tags, setting up family groups, inventory-ing the infirmary, and so on. We also took a side trip to Mi Casa for lunch, which was amazing as usual.

After all of this productiveness, we reconvened for a trip to Murfreesboro. After being so busy all week, our staff needed a break before the little ones got here! We went and picked up the shirts (the premise of the trip) and then went on to split into two groups - a movie group and a mall group. I was with the mall group (of course) and we had some quality staff bonding time at Forever 21. It was a great night had by all - until we got back up to the mountain and realized the fog had rolled in. We drove 15 mph up the mountain without being able to see a single thing more than 10 ft in front of us. It was definitely a test of our ability to rely on each other and as the driver, I know that I had to listen to the girl staff well as they told me where to go since I couldn't see. God tests us in the most amazing ways - we needed that to come together even more as a group.

Overall, Thursday was a really fun day and also eased the staffs' minds about all the details that needed to be taken care of. We all went to bed with a purpose, ready to get sleep and wake to the first day with campers!

Below is a picture of the CGM 2009 T-shirt that all campers will get!

Day Four: 6/3

As a staff, we are truly starting to be prepared for our campers to arrive. This morning, we spent some detailed time working on chapel planning - our theme uses the book of Exodus to talk about journeys. Shan, our chaplain, has been very diligent about this theme and the staff is truly embracing it as their own. We spent much of the afternoon in the Episcopal Church's Safeguarding God's Children training, a must for anyone working with children in the church. We ended with a great discussion of camp and how Safeguarding relates to camp - about our role as a counselor and the responsibility we hold to protect and enrich these kids lives.

We also worked a lot on the afternoon schedule again, developed our evening activities, and got a lot of scheduling done. We took a picnic to the Sewanee Memorial Cross for dinner (Shenanigan's to go) and it was absolutely gorgeous. We laid out on blankets, reflected on the day, and enjoyed each others' company. Coming back, we played a made-up game called "List Feud" where there are categories and each team has the leangth of a song to come up with as many things that fall into the category as possible. Of course, our categories were camp related. They included things like "number of campers that have gone on to Sewanee" (I think we totalled 12 that we even knew about? There are most likely more since that was just from recent years), "old camp phrases" (red-devil, blue-devil was one we didn't know but now do thanks to CHBIII), and "bus drivers". It was a lot of fun - this group is competitive but knows how to have a good time.

Reflecting on staff week as we get ready for campers to arrive tomorrow, I feel that this year will prove to be exactly what we set out for - a successful summer that grows on the triumphs of the previous years. We are incorporating a lot of traditions while bringing in some new items as well. We also have focused a lot on communication of the staff and making sure they are trained well to tackle issues with campers that may come up. They feel secure about camp and cannot wait to get some kids on the mountain!

Want a preview of some things we're doing?
- Canoeing
- Repelling
- Rock Climbing
- Community Service Project at Fiery Gizzard
- Arts and Crafts with the Nursing Home
- Boot Camp Workout with Lizzy, Grace, and Nick
- Drama
- Frisbee Golf
- Morgan's Steep hike
- the Res
- Abbot's Alley
- Tie-Dyeing
- Water Day
- CGM Octathalon (similar to the CGM Olympics)
- Counselor Hunt

Extra Post

Sometimes there are people that put words to feelings that you recognize but can't express. For many of us at Camp Gailor Maxon, we feel so strongly and passionately about camp. We live and breathe it, we are closest to our camp friends, and we count down the days between camps. It is an intense admiration and respect for something that is more than just the grounds, more than just the skeleton of a camp. It is the people, it is God's work that is done here. The connections that are formed, the spiritual development that happens, the renewal, the insight, the friendships... they are all the reason why we have people come back over and over.

Another counselor shared the following with me. A Camp I camper (high school age) had writtten this on her myspace page about missing camp and Winterfest. It is so interesting to read and realize that this place has such a power. As counselors we strive to make Camp Gailor Maxon as powerful an experience for our campers as it was for us. It is very assuring when we see things like this...





If I could spend the rest of my life in one place, with one group of people,

It would be there.
With them.

When I'm there, I'm alive, and I'm full.
That place works miracles and saves lives.
It makes people happy and gives them a glimmer of hope in dark times when they thought nothing would ever pull them through.
The people there are some of my closest friends and love me unconditionally.
So surely,

SURELY,

God is at work there.
For a place so worn and so old could not be that amazing and beautiful, and love could not flourish that much without him.


I live for that place.
I feel more at home there than I do in my own house.
I feel like I belong, like I can be who I am and who I truly want to become and I'll be accepted with open arms no matter what.
God's love thrives there, and I feel closer to him there than I do anywhere else.
Those people are my family.
That place is my HOME.
It's where I belong.
It's my escape.

That place,
is my Neverland.

I may be at my house,
but I'm really not.
Not in my heart, at least.
In my heart,

I'm there.
With them.

I love you guys.

<3
Camp.
Fest.

Day Three, 6/2

Our third day together for staff development week proved to be just as fun and informative as we had hoped. The quote board is being filled already - a good sign of a close staff. We started off the day with morning prayer and a good breakfast. You can count on great food from the kitchen lovelies of Dubose. We then had a time we've called "life lines" where we share our stories with each other - two went today and they were very powerful. We learned about incorporating the church into our every day lives and being disciples with Anna Howard and then Vena came in to talk about Pre-Camp!

We are very excited about Pre-Camp, a new endeavor for this year. You'll see pictures later this week because they arrive Friday. The concept is that we wanted to give a "sneak peek" to younger kids so that they'd be fully ready to leave their homes for a week-long camp by the time they were camp age. Pre-Camp is a weekend retreat for parents and their rising 1st to 3rd grader. We're doing a bonfire, singing lots of songs, playing in the pool, learning about the trinity, and having the traditional camp banquet. As you can see, we're incorporating the standard traditions that every camper knows and loves. Vena, a camp alum, is spearheading this Pre-Camp and came today to talk to the staff about all she has planned. I cannot wait to have the newest CGM-ers up here on the mountain!

In the afternoon, we had pool safety training, worked on the chapel program some more, and planned afternoon and night activities. Don't worry, counselor hunt will be around again this year, as well as some other excellent activities. Personally, I'm really excited for the CGM Octathalon. We also got in some quality sun time at the pool in there - nothing like some pool time for staff bonding.

Tonight, we learned about age developmental levels using the Maria Montessori theories. Shan led us through the stages our kids will be experiencing. Afterwards, we learned about the Millennial generation - all in preparation for our campers. After our night session, we had an activity called Poloroid Panic where we went to Walmart and each team took 20 clues and had to take a digital picture for each clue that included at least two group members and a piece of Walmart merchadise. Clues included:

- Something you'd give to the kitchen lovelies in exchange for a lifetime of magic bars
- The most random thing Wal-mart sells
- The most expensive thing in the store
- Our campers would love this...
- "Rockin' the Suburbs"
- As seen on TV
and more....

We're judging the pictures tomorrow morning and I'll post the best one or two on here.

Day Two: 6/1

Well, the second day of camp has almost come and gone. This was our first full day as a staff and I think the staff will be ready for their bed tonight! The whole point of staff development week is to be prepared, body-mind-and-spirit, for camp to come. We've been planning, learning, and growing as a team today. We started off at 7:45 with a morning devotion, had some breakfast, and then spent 3 hours with Ron Ramsey being trained in first aid and CPR. Ron, a pro and someone that is known as "certifiable" because he knows and does so much, was an amazing teacher and really helped the staff feel comfortable with safety. As we love to say at camp, "Safety, Safety, Safety" is our #1 concern.

After having some delicious lunch, the team went out to the field with Ron and did some low-ropes team bonding. With all sorts of puzzles to figure out, the team seemed to be bounding through all the various activities at a rapid speed. They really seem to be working well together. Post-teambuilding, we did some brainstorming about activities. I can't wait to see the kids repel, rock climb, canoe, make tissue paper corsages, and who knows what else.

Next, the staff participated in a scavenger hunt over the Dubose grounds. The team hopped from clue to clue. Some of the clues included (See if you can figure them out - and let us know by commenting!):

"If you are a C.S. Lewis fan, you'll appreciate this Aslan reference. While there will not be a lion on this table, after an intense ultimate session, you might see some kids "lion" around"

"Art students, take note - three dimensional objects protruding from stationary edifices cause nightmares"

"Take your team to the only place where the drain leads directly to the Earth"

The scavenger hunt ended at the Art Barn, where the treasure of cherry limeades from the all-new Monteagle Sonic were waiting for the staff. After running around Dubose for a good hour and a half, the refreshment was much appreciated. While slurping on our sodas, we had a great discussion on teamwork and everyone's role as a part of the staff.

For your enjoyment, pictures below are:
1) the staff in the basement of Claiborne learning about their laundry opportunities
2) the staff walking from clue to clue together
3) the end result - cherry limeades!

Day One: 5/31

Today was the first day of Camp Gailor Maxon 2009. The staff showed up at 3pm, rolling in with tons of luggage, huge smiles, and a lot of expectations. We are starting the week-long process of preparing for campers to arrive Friday. Our staff development week is packed - they'll be trained in first aid and CPR, they'll hike, they'll learn about leading small groups, about developmental stages in children, and more. We'll grow as a team. Tonight we made a mission statement for CGM 2009 that I'd love to share with you:

"As staff members of CGM, we pledge to serve the Lord, campers, and each other. We strive to contribute back to the camp community that shaped our lives. We aim to accomplish this by enriching the lives of those around us; fellowship with campers, staff, and clergy; passing on traditions kept close to our hearts; and praising God through song and worship. We pray for guidance to model healthy relationships, aid in spiritual growth and create a space for campers to freely and openly discuss views, beliefs, and values while feeling safe- emotionally and physically. "

The staff wrote this and pledged to constantly be working towards furthering the mission they set forth as a team on this day. I can definitely say this is going to be an amazing staff.

Pictured below:
1) the "Leadership Team" meets and plans a great day of staff development
2) the staff sets their rules and expectations for themselves