Military Day, Thu, July 31

Our last full day at camp was going to occur on Military Day. This themed day took about 3 days of preparation by several of the older kids at camp. They would have military type games like capture the flag, and competition between three large groups. The event took place in the forest about a 25 minute walk from the camp. Army Cadets that also participated in the camp were leading much of these activities. One of the counselors was a 3rd year student and he had been put in charge of the whole event. One of the cadets named Alex spoke excellent English and was assigned to help out our team prepare for the games the camp staff wanted our team to participate in.

The camp in the woods was set up much like a Boy Scout camp. The cadet leaders had used fallen logs, ferns, and anything else they could find to make a camp entrance, a seating area, a cooking area, and banners to define their camp. They had also prepared a Bonfire for lighting at the end of the evening.

I was asked by the head counselor to come up with 10 games of a military nature to play with kids who were not part of the major competition. This was a tall order since we didn’t know what supplies or resources we could use for these games. A couple of days before this event I started working on games that could be played using resources I had seen around camp and in the forest. By the time Thursday came around, we had gathered or made the things we needed to entertain 80 kids with 10 games over a 3 hour period. Of course, things change by the moment and these guidelines quickly changed at the hour of the event.

We had 3 sets of 3 games per station that they would rotate between every hour for the 3 hours we were to have them. The games included things like grenade toss (using plastic balls we had to toss through a target), prison escape using string as “barbwire” and interlocking their arms back-to-back simulating being restrained. We had medical stretcher relays, tug-of-war, obstacle courses, and even a target range where they shot rubber band guns to knock down empty drink boxes. I had glued two large crafts sticks together in the shape of a pistol that a rubber band could be shot from.

One of their favorite games was what I called Air Traffic Control (ATC). We used a megaphone as the air traffic controller and a blindfolded camper with a board over their shoulders as the pilot. We made a small “runway” and the ATC would have to “talk” the pilot in for a landing. The other kids could be the distraction for the pilot as he attempted to land. We’ve done a similar game in Sunday School with the lesson of hearing God’s voice for direction in your life.

After we did about an hour of the three hours we had planned, it was time to eat. Each of the three major groups had prepared a meal. The group we were assigned to had prepared soup, a rice-based main dish, and bread cooked over an open fire if you wanted. There was a competition between the three groups where the General Director of the camp would compare all the groups with her entourage of staff inspectors. All the three groups tied according to the General Director.

After the meal, the staff wanted us to play more games with the kids. So, we sparked some of the games we had already played that were popular and then brought out some beach balls for the kids to play with. It’s amazing what a dollar toy brought as a back-up resource can do for an event. The staff and the kids were happy.

The event ended with a performance by various groups, lighting of the bonfire, and some fireworks. The campers began their trek back to the main camp after that.

On the way back, Jenya and Natasha saw the lake and wanted to take a dip! So the rest of us watched and waited as they made their way through the bog and out to the lake to go swimming. They came back soaking wet and laughing all the way. It had been a great day!