Good evening and happy Wednesday! We’ve had an action packed day here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. After an incredible breakfast of pancakes and sausage, the girls headed out for a great chapel service with another true story from Adam Boyd! The message said that if we hold on tight, God will not let you go. After, their last activities for the Monday, Tuesday, Friday schedule started. Little did they know they were in for a surprise. But! We will get to that later. 

The day was hot, but that didn’t dampen any fun! A few girls went on a mountain biking trip today including Ava Taylor W., BellaRose G., Olivia B., Grace A., and Aubrey W. Poppy W. and Clare R. were shooting in the archery range, round after round. Dance was exciting in the first period, with sassy poses accompanied by Harry Styles’s song, Watermelon Sugar. As I headed from the gym to the guitar hut, I was graced with girls learning to play Taylor Swift. With this music accompanied laughter. I stopped to listen for a minute, knowing that these girls had not only progressed in their guitar playing skills, but their friendships too. 

Near the top of Pippin Hill sits the riflery range, where the activity was in full swing both morning periods. Mary Elizabeth S. worked hard with her groupings while the counselors guided her. At the top of the hill was soccer, playing sharks and minnows, and the climbing class, with girls scaling walls along with cheers of encouragement. I headed back down to only be greeted by campers walking the puppies! They adventured out down the hill as I caught up with the other puppies learning how to sit and lie down. 

Before lunch, a van pulled into camp, signaling that the girls from our overnight backpacking trip had arrived back! Two campers, Lucy L. and Molly M. filed into the dining hall, sharing stories of their hiking and Kraft Mac-n-Cheese that they had for dinner off camp. Remember that surprise earlier? Well here it is: at lunch today, it was announced that all activities in the afternoon were cancelled. Why? Because this afternoon was TRIBE WARS! The girls headed to rest hour and some free time to get ready to deck out in their tribe colors. We had multiple games going on at the same time – tribal trivia, el presidente, and gold rush. From girls pulling socks to other girls chasing down counselors decked in gold, this afternoon was the pinnacle of excitement. Following that, the older campers got into tribe meetings to do song fest. This is a time where the tribes will come up with a new cheer for their tribe and perform it in the Tucker Inn tonight at dinner. I’m sure there will be a lot of stomping and clapping for all the camp to hear soon. After dinner, there will be another round of tribal games to be played – inferno for the upper camp and swim fest for the lower camp. 

To say that today was an exhilarating day is an understatement, and we have yet to finish it out. As I was walking around camp today, I was greeted with hellos and joy in everyone’s eyes. Just as Adam shared that we should hold tight to God, I’ve been holding tight to the moments that God has created here at Merri-Mac. From the joy of hearing about a camper getting her bar to seeing two girls becoming new friends, it’s clear that He is working wonders here. Hold on tight, Merri-Mac family. We can’t wait for you to hear about these wonders. 

Sending love from the Blue Ridge,

Collette Campbell

1st Summer at Camp

Tweedle Doe Counselor  

Riflery Instructor