Carnival Recap, Sunday Update

I am writing this very early, because Sunday is a crazy busy day (ironic isn’t it).

First… last nights carnival. So Much Fun! It is inspirational to see so many girls having so much fun for so long (it begins about 6:00 and goes until 9:45 fireworks are over). The western theme worked amazingly well; the mechanical bull and trapeze jump were perhaps the biggest hits. And the funnel cakes- the best we have ever done. We got rid of our fryers in the kitchen (the fancy new ovens can “fry” without vats of oil— who knew!) so we hooked those monsters up at our funnel cake station. We were able to cook funnel cakes as fast as they wanted, thus all funnel cakes were hot (the way God intended). I was very proud of this accomplishment, for normally we have to cook about 100 cakes before we give the first one out thus leading to less than hot cakes for most customers. The delight of saying “be careful these are hot baby hot” is great. Word from the campers is that the fireworks were better than ever… a bit of a surprise to me (they were not the big “display” class of firework, so we could shoot them about 200 feet closer to the crowd… nice effect).

So we awake to a new day. On this day, everyone, except for the most sleepy, experiences camp before the bugle blows. On Sundays we let everyone sleep in till 9:00… but almost everyone makes the choice to get up for an 8:00 running club (Stumblers) that meets at the track for a 3 mile “wake up” jog. Seeing all these girls together on the track while the mist is still on the mountains (everyone is smiling, it is kind of an amazing sight that astounds us all to grin ear to ear)… good times!

We take a break from the routines of the week on Sundays, thereby honoring the commandment and getting rested up from a very busy schedule. Buffet breakfast from 9-10. Cabin cleaning till 11:00 Sunday School (that meets by cabin groups), 12:00 Church, big lunch (called Dinner in the South), long rest hour, free activities in the afternoon, buffet dinner (picnic style), EP (Opening Vespers, when we hear the linsey woolsey story and light candles to signify the light of God’s love and this camp experience). Not a bad day!

The girls will have to write a letter home at rest hour (their “meal ticket” for the evening picnic), so if you are still awaiting word… just a little longer.
Our first week has been very, very good. We have been proud of the campers, who have had very little adjustment issues. The counselors are on top of everything… in classes and in cabins. Kitchen has been producing solid meals with moments of true inspiration. Maintenance has kept every system humming so smoothly we don’t even notice it. Hostesses, Head Staff, Office: it really does take a village and this village is far better than most! I am very happy with where we are.

We have been paying a lot of attention to inter-camper relationships this year, in an attempt to stomp out any “meanness” right off the bat. I think we are better at catching mean spirited actions now than we ever have been. We have nipped such situations in the bud very well and the community flourishes because of it. A Christian camp should be the sweetest of places; I think that Greystone is reflecting that spirit and that is perhaps the biggest reason this week has gone so well.

Thank you for checking in.

Jimboy