Challenge Day

We are pumped up… PUMPED UP!!!

Screaming, yelling, jumping, running, etc. … whipped into a frenzy by design. Today is Challenge Day, a fact that will bring back all kinds of memories for old Greystone campers. Memories and smiles, for a lot of really great moments will take place before we go to sleep tonight.

It started yesterday at lunch where we announced the EP Team Meetings. Team Meetings is the favorite EP of our Head Counselor Sarah Brown… and she wanted to make it special this year with a custom Greystone gift…. she thought socks. Huh? I have to admit that I don’t get it, but Sarah was right! The girls were delighted with the socks, really cool knee socks with a team theme that are unique to this year (we had never before given away Challenge Day socks… thus a tradition is born). They wore them to team meetings (which really was a great EP; TONS of energy and non stop movement) and are wearing them all day today for the competitions.

Every class meets as normal but has devised a way to work in good natured competition. We cheer for each other and anticipate what kind of competition can possibly come out of painting class… you would be amazed. The competition ends at 5th period and lunch will end with the big announcement of which team won the morning’s tally.

EP will be the famous Greystone Carnival. Carnival is a celebration, for the campers feel a great deal of accomplishment with the end of our first week. The first week of camp is a big deal for everyone (campers and counselors alike). MANY people were nervous about how this experience was going to play out— you really don’t know ahead of time for there are so many details that are outside of our control. With the end of the first week comes a collective sigh of relief: “This Is GREAT! I can do this… in fact, I like it here!”.

So we will give away some cool tie-dye T’s (a carnival tradition that started last year), enjoy a really great NC BBQ picnic, play on inflatable rides, eat carnival food (yes, we have funnel cakes and cotton candy), play carnival games, and top it all off with a camp wide dance competition (one camper and one counselor are crowned dance queens of the carnival). It is a fun night, a worthy end to a fun week.

This first week of the summer is a big deal to us all. We catch glimpses of the summer as we hire counselors and make various preparations all winter long. It is with the summer in mind that we renovate cabins and engineer gas lines to properly function with the new tank less water heaters. It is with the summer in mind that we purchase and train horses all winter long, even in the cold rain! Summer motivates us and when it finally arrives… we see if we got it right.

This year we got it right! This is going to be a home run summer, I can see it now. The proof is in the week that we just enjoyed. Cabins doing fun “cabin spirit” cheers for each other, classes where the girls lean in with bright eyes as the counselors gather everyone to teach a new skill or drill, and excited chatter at every table in the dining hall (a noise that combines to a volume about as loud as a airport tarmac at rush hour). This has been a great first week.

I will take a moment to speak of our “Breakfast Club Theme” for the week: Social Growth. The thumbnail sketch:
Meet Someone New – we encouraged the girls to work at meeting new people every day they are at camp. How do we meet new people? Go up to someone and introduce yourself and share something about yourself… with a big smile.
Show Interest in Others – we encouraged the girls to go outside of just talk about themselves, get into sincerely being interested in what other people are interested in, what they are good at, what they like about camp.
Unselfishness – we introduced the girls to the “secret of Greystone”… which is no secret at all. Unselfishness is the foundation of good social skills. Unselfishness makes for good “citizens” at camp, at home, at school… everywhere.
Popularity – we encourage the girls to seek out the “unpopular” person and get to know them. Popularity is a real trap… for the popular girl it is a trap of pride and for the unpopular girl it is a trap of heart ache. We can and should rise above such superficial measurements. Each of us is made in the image of God. Jesus Himself was “a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief”… popularity did not matter to Him, we should not seek it. Rather… we should reach out to the “unpopular” person and get to know them… such attention is a healing balm and bright light.

Lunch today will be a big hit… Chicken Strips and Tater Tots! To make you moms feel better you should know that we do not have a fryer in the kitchen… we do not serve fried food anywhere but carnival. We instead have a high tech German oven that looks more like a space ship than an oven. This oven uses heat, high velocity blowers, steam, and magic to prepare any style of food that you like. The touch screen allows Gervais to do anything from poach an egg to fry a tater tot… it really is amazing. This kind of oven is standard equipment on cruise ships because it is so good at cooking a lot of food in a variety of ways… perfectly.

In the kitchen as in the classes… good equipment pays.

Thank you for taking the time to read this… even during your weekend. It is an honor to serve.

Jimboy