My Week at Camp Tohiglo, Pre-teen Week 2016
By Claire Wingert
I went to Pre-teen Week 2016 this summer, July 17-22. The dean was Dale Carver. The theme verse was Romans 1:16. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes." The theme of the week was Sacred Agent.
I was in Cabin 7. The head counselor was Tara Nunes, and the Junior Counselors were Sarah Meiklejohn, Adrienne Grove, and Kristiana Stanacheck. Cabin 7 was the coziest cabin of them all (I've been in the other ones, Cabin 9 and 10 are absolutely gross) by far, and also one of the largest. Tara had put posters on the walls and inflatable flamingos and lots of stuff to make the cabin very fun and homey.
There were 16 campers in my cabin, plus Emmalyn Nunes (Tara's daughter who was staying with her at camp but was not old enough to be a camper), plus 4 counselors, so there were 21 people staying in the cabin! Very crowded, but lots of fun.
We'd get up at 7:00 (definitely a downside) and go to breakfast at 8:00. Breakfast was always delicious, with eggs or sausage or waffles, etc. After every meal, you could tell when everyone was finished eating because they would all turn their paper cups upside-down and pop them (slamming their hands on them so hard it made a loud popping noise).
Then we would return to the cabins for Cabin Cleanup, in which we had to make everything spit spot, or else, making beds, cleaning floors, polishing sinks and showers, neatening clotheslines, everything to make the cabin look great. Nobody enjoyed that very much.
Next we would have Vespers (which is what they would call Bible lessons for some reason). All through the week we had different speakers, which included Dale Carver, Pastor Kell, Pastor Greg, and others. Before the lesson started, though, we would sing a bunch of songs, ones we liked, like Thrive by Casting Crowns and others. During Vespers, our cleaned-up cabins would be inspected.
After Vespers we would complete a devotions page. We had fifteen minutes to do so.
Then the real fun started for the day! We had our first activity then, which was Archery for me, taught by Mr. Kendle. I love Archery and had an average of around 28 points using five arrows. I did get a couple bullseyes. We shot from 33 feet away from the targets.
Then we had Group Time, where we would all split into four groups and go to different places to be taught stuff. I was in Group Three and it was held in Cabin 2, one of the unused ones. It was taught by Crystal Smith.
Next was lunch! It too was followed by lots of cup-popping, and afterward, Mrs. Noll, the Cabin Inspector would read the results of the Cabin Inspections, reading off what we did wrong and right. Cabin 7's highest amount of points was 99 (not 100 because Mrs. Noll got real picky and didn't like our lumpy, un-fluffed-up pillows.
After that was Activity Number 2, which for me was Basic Art & Design taught by Josh Brumbaugh. He taught us to draw things like Olaf from Frozen and Judy Hopps from Zootopia. I really enjoyed that class!
Directly afterward, at 2:00, was Activity Number 3-Hemp! I loved Hemp because there were only four students and we would sit in silence, listening to music and getting very into our weaving. It was taught by Noelle Otto.
Next came time for getting a snack at the Snack Shop for the girls and Swim Time for the boys. After about an hour that would switch. Usually I'd get a pretzel and chill in the cabin. I only swam once; it was really crowded.
Afterward came supper, and that too was followed by cup-popping. Right after the cup-popping came Mail Call, where Dean Dale Carver would read the names off letters for us and we would come and get our letters. It was always nice to get a letter.
Now, after dinner was when everything changed day by day. On Sunday, we took the Agony Hike through the woods (which was very filled with agony because it was so hot), played Water Balloon Annihilation, and had Vespers. On Tuesday, we had the Water Olympics (which included events like Best Bellyflop and Craziest Dive and Synchronized Swimming) and Vespers. On Wednesday, we had Skit Night and Beautiful Bob (which was when a guy who tie-dyed his beard and wore mismatching clothes performed strength tricks) and Vespers. On Thursday, we had the Counselor Hunt (the counselors would go hide around the campus) and the campfire.
Always after these things came Devotions, which was when all the girls came into Cabin 7 or 8 (those were the only two big enough) and a counselor would talk to us. These devotions always went way past Lights Out and got very emotional sometimes.
On Friday, the morning was normal, but after lunch we had Activity 2, 3, and a Trash Scavenger Hunt which was not half as fun as they tried to make it sound; who likes picking up trash? Then we had the Awards Ceremony and went home. The Cabin of the Week was Cabin 8, but we came in third place. The Campers of the Week were Callie and Corben.
Overall, I had a very awesome week and learned lots. Camp Tohiglo is the best camp of all.
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