Bugle Call – Week 2 – 2014
A little rain and gloomy weather never stopped a Kohahna girl from having fun, but we certainly were grateful to have our second week here at camp filled with sunshine and warmth! It was a big week at Kohahna and a big week out on the trial with two trips out, including the week long CT (Counselor Training trip) and the Nordhouse dunes trip. More details on the trip later on, but first let’s review our successes and fun at camp! We kicked off the week with an evening activity of a Counselor Hunt, headed by the secret society of ninjas! In this evening activity, every counselor was a ninja, lost from the great ninja tribe. The goal for the campers was to find counselors hidden in various locations around camp by decrypting a map that had been drawn in riddles. Some counselors were hidden in trees, some were hidden in the pine forest, some could be seen rolling down the great lawn, and fun was had by all of our Kohahna ninjas! The campers successfully found all of the counselors and succeeded in their mission to decript the secret key, and complete the “connect the dot” Kohahna logo!
Tuesday, Kohahna campers enjoyed polishing up their knowledge of their cabinmates and proving their the depth of it in the Newlywed Game! The Newlywed Game is set up for our purposes by having one member of each cabin answer a series of questions separate from the rest of the campers, while their cabinmates try to figure out how they would answer. Questions include, color of hairbrush, number of siblings, type of pets, favorite dessert at camp, and so forth. Each camper gets a turn to answer questions, and at the end, four cabins tied with the hightest score of 25 correct in total!
Wednesday brought about a lovely on camp cabin day with plenty of cabin bonding. We had zip linging, we had cookie baking, we had play time at the playground, we had a game of paint Twister (don’t worry mom, its washable!), and so much more! Wednesday evening was another lovely church service replete with several camper and counselor testimonies. Seeing that the CTs were on their trip this week, they weren’t there to read, so we had a counselor stand in!
On Thursday, Kohahna enjoyed a game of Poz Dog on the beach. After each camper got decked out in her team colors and headed down the beach steps, the beach area was divided into a Sand and Pine side. Each team was given a football that they must protect. Campers crossed to the other team’s side in order to attempt to get the football, but ran the risk of being tagged and sent to jail by the other team. The Pine team scored the only point that night, but leadership and joyfulness were seen expressed by older and younger campers alike. The competition was pure and filled with examples of loving sportsmanship, and each sandy child left the beach with a smile on her face!
Friday evening brought us a wonderful game of Capture the Flag in our back meadow and woods here at camp! No flags were captured, but all the campers loved the adventure, the teamwork, and the beautiful surroundings! Saturday morning, we introduced the coming week’s quality for the summer theme which is forgiveness. In brief, we acknowledged that forgiveness is freedom! It is freedom for you, for the other person or the situation, and it helps us “bring the fun” as we become more aware of spiritual joy in every situation, no matter how difficult!
Afternoon activities this week included extreme hula hooping, where campers speed hooped in various places around camp such as cookout, the beach, and pine forest. Traveling dance party was also offered; an activity where campers put on their wildest costumes and performed dance mobs for passersby. During another afternoon activity, campers were able to take a hike to the meadow and make crowns out of wildflowers as gifts for their pinecone pals and friends, or simply for a fashion statement! This brings us to pinecone pals, one of our favorite traditions at camp. Campers selected a name of another camper out of a hat at counsel fire and from then on were designated a pinecone pal, for whom each young woman would make gifts out of nature, or arts and crafts supplies, or out of our favorite material…or non-material material if you know what I mean…spiritual inspiration! This past Sunday at counsel fire, we did the traditional revealing of the PCP’s or pine-cone pals. As always, it was a wonderful way to remember to selflessly give and is a fun tradition that brightens the spirits of campers and reminds us that we are all cherished and loved!
This week has also been a week of wonderful trips! What would camp be without the camping after all? Our trips counselors led a trip to a new and exciting location, the Nordhouse dunes, a trip which two campers had the opportunity to quartermaster (lead the trip and work on earning levels). It was a great opportunity for younger campers to express their leadership and develop a deeper appreciation and love for the woods. Also, our CT’s took out a five day trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where they canoed the Manistique river, shared many laughs, cooked good trail food, fought off the bugs, and returned feeling successful, and more united as a CT group! We are so grateful to have them back in camp!
In the coming week, we have much to look forward to in wrapping up our three week session. It has gone by so quickly, but we certainly have learned a lot, and truly brought the fun!!
