At 7 o’clock, reveille rang, inviting us to join the exciting day ahead. As always, we spent the hour before breakfast completing chores, getting ready, and talking with campers about what they were most excited about today. After we completed our chores, we walked down to breakfast where we ate delicious waffles and sausage. Campers also had the option of choosing grits, yogurt, or fruit from our health bar. During breakfast, it was announced that we would be playing The Great Relay Race tonight. During The Great Relay Race, tribe leaders assign every camper a fun short activity they compete in ranging from hitting an archery target, serving a volleyball, or even sliding down a slip n slide. The goal of this evening activity is to be the tribe to finish all of these activities first and raise their flag up the flag poll. 

After breakfast as we walked to Chapel, many campers talked about the game of Battle Ball that was played the night before. During Chapel, we prayed, sang songs, and listened to a True Story by Sarah Renshaw about her time on a backpacking trip and how this experience reminded her that God always has a plan for us. 

After everyone went to their morning activities, the lunch bell rang and everyone rushed into the Tucker Inn to eat their BLTs. During lunch, many exciting announcements were made. First, our evening activity director reported that the Golden Eagles had won the game of Battle Ball the night before. Next, Cabin Cake winners were publicized. Winning the cabin cake is a major accomplishment, as it means that you had the cleanest cabin in your age group. The winners of these cakes were Tweedle Dee, Happy Hollow, Comet, and Rainbow! Finally, we celebrated Mattie T’s ninth birthday by singing her the traditional happy birthday song with our own Merri-Mac twist. 

As the girls enjoyed their rest hour, the counselors in training began to acclimate into the world of Merri-Mac after their week long backpacking trip they spent in the Blue Ridge mountains. During this trip, they became closer with each other than they ever thought possible. Today, these CITs were told which cabins they would be helping in. Campers, counselors, and CITs are all thrilled to spend these next few weeks with each other. 

Now, we look forward to the exciting night ahead as each tribe has been strategizing on how to win The Great Relay Race. Everyone is also excited for the extra hour of sleep that they will be getting tonight, and for the day of rest that awaits them tomorrow. 

-Finley Murray