Sunday’s are special here at camp. The Lord set this day apart and we try to do the same here at Timberlake. As a result Sundays look a little bit different than any other day at camp. The boys get to sleep in an extra hour and a delicious breakfast of biscuits and bacon awaited them. After breakfast all the campers headed out for an especially loud morning yell before proceeding to the chapel. Chapel is a little different today as we sing a few extra songs take prayer requests instead of hearing a message from one of the counselors. A counselor from each cabin stands up and prays for his cabin and the requests of his boys specifically and then Dan closes us. It is a quiet but beautiful way for us to be reminded the importance of being in constant conversation with our Savior and coming to him daily with whatever is on our minds.

Instead of morning classes the boys can participate in any of a number of contests going on. There’s frog catching at the Lake, a sandcastle building contest at the beach and a dam building contest in the creek. Riley I.  was the Runner up in the Frog Catching Contest and Ethan H.  was el campeon muy grande. In the Sandcastle contest, Jack D., Jonathan F. and T.J. W. were crowned champions for their creation “Monkeybottom”, a full city complete with bridges, arches and flowing water. Finally in a hotly contested Dam Building contest “Disco Pogo Fortress” came away with the victory, built by Tim Bryan, James Henkel V. D. and Victor Henkel V. D..

We also sent out two awesome trips today including a kayaking trip to the Ledges, a challenging series of rapids and drops. Thomas L., H., Hank B., Eric H. and Jack M.  proved to be more than up to the task, however, expertly maneuvering the waters and having a great time. In addition a backpacking overnight trip left camp today. Grant H., Grady S., Jonah P., Malcolm R., and George H. hiked to Greybeard Shelter today, and tomorrow will be summiting Pinnacle, a difficult feat they can all be very proud of.

Lunch was a special treat as the kitchen whipped up some fried chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch. Rusty Walden made another appearance representing TBC (Timberlake Broadcasting Channel) to fill everybody in on the Olympics. We were all in high spirits listening to his retelling of Michael Phelps last Gold as he took his place in history as the Olympics most decorated athlete.  Alex “The Batman” Gotfried also gave the guys another fun fact of the day. Did you know that salamanders  breathe through their skin?? Neither did I but now we both do. With a shout the campers headed off to the best Hour, Rest Hour! (Normally rest time is only thirty minutes but as I’m sure you’ve picked up on by now, Sundays are a little bit different).    After rest hour, some of the guys from Greybeard headed to the basketball courts for a few pickup games. A good time was had by all but Alex Deal and Creighton Shipman were particularly sharp shooters. Tired and hot from the games the boys trudged up to the lake where they were greeted by the sights and sounds of a free swim! The slightly overcast morning had broken into a glorious sunny afternoon and everybody had a blast swimming, doing tricks off the diving board and going off the Blob.

Every Sunday evening we have a cookout on Spencer’s Green where we enjoy hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and watermelon. The food was delicious and the guys enjoyed eating out at what is in my opinion the most beautiful spot at camp. Following dinner, everybody headed off to Vespers, our special Sunday service. The boys laughed at the counselors’ crazy skits, sang along as the camp band, The Black Mountain Oysters put their own bluegrass spin on some popular tunes and then listened to a great message on the beauty of Jesus’ grace for us from John chapter 8. You might think that we couldn’t possibly fit anything else into one evening but at Timberlake, there’s always more fun to be had. The men from the cabin’s Stomper’s Knob, Little Slaty, Big Slaty, and Greybeard played a rousing game of Ultimate Frisbee on Spencer’s while Tomahawk, Little Piney and Big Piney went down to Macky’s Green for the Slip n Slide!! As you might guess the Slip n Slide is long, wet, steep, fast and fun. They boys were a blur as they shot past me on their way down and Truett B. set the record for farthest slide. Everyone then headed up the hill for showers and devotion to bring to end a very special Sunday at camp.