This Wednesday at Merrimac started off chilly. Campers made their way to breakfast in sweaters and long pants, where they enjoyed French toast sticks and sausage. After breakfast, camp headed up to Chapel, where we heard a short sermon from Evie, Riding Staff. She talked about her experience growing up, how she was often disrespectful to her parents and had a hard time in Math at school. Evie connected her own story to John 1:12, which says that humanity is God’s child. He is always reaching out for us, the same way our parents are, loving us endlessly, even when we’re resistive to it.

With this message in mind, campers began their days, spreading out in different directions towards their various activities. In Riflery, girls were learning how to shoot in different positions, standing, sitting, and lying down, while others worked on bars. In Cooking, campers made baked mac and cheese and pigs in a blanket, a classic Southern recipe. In Dance, girls were practicing their jumps across the floor. The girls in Basketball were working on bars and dribbling (see awesome picture attached).

All of this was just in time for lunch, where the kitchen staff served delicious Chicken Caesar Wraps (in surprising green tortillas) and curly waffle fries. The salad bar was open, as always, and for an alternate meal, tomatoe soup and baked potatoes were available. Tribe songs got especially rowdy, and Ann stopped us, so she could video a newer Black Bear song that she wanted to remember and add to our song books. After that, camp found out that we’re playing Battle Ball tonight, a crowd favorite, where tribes compete against each other in the Mike, fighting it out in camp’s twist on traditional Dodge Ball. The Tweedles will be doing their own thing tonight: Cookout and S’mores Extravangza on Macky’s! Also announced at lunch was Lucy Wagner’s birthday! She turned fourteen, cake, singing and all!

After lunch, Happy Hollow enjoyed a fun freeswim on the dock, and tonight their cabin and some other girls from Bear Camp will be doing the slip n slide! Also this afternoon in DIY, girls did coloring sheets made by our very own Susanne, who is talented artist and counselor in Tweedle Dee. Lastly, girls in Yoga did a Heart Opener flow (fancy term for back stretches) and finished with a few relaxing minutes of meditation.

This two weeks is off to a great start, with girls hard at work on the things they care about, whether that’s earning bars, taking backpacking trips out into the wilderness of Montreat, or soaking up the sun with their friends out on the dock… Merri Mac offers them a place to try all of these things, to fail and to grow, so that when they leave this Haven, they know where they’re going.

Sincerely,

Lizzie Herring and Camille Ayer (Happy Hollow and Jiggity Jog)