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What a great first full day of camp! Campers and counselors were BUSY having fun today!

Bright and early at 7:15 a few brave souls headed down to the beach to start their day by jumping in Big Sandy Lake. Polar bear plunge is chilly but a great way to start the day! Breakfast was scrambled eggs and bacon morning chapel introduced our ‘C’ of the day (cooperation) and then it was time for some all camp and cabin activities. The cabins were busy with skits, arts and crafts, fishing, throwing (tomahawks, archery, slingshots), and playing some intense soccer.

After the first cabin activities, everyone gathered together to work on some super fun, secret agent training. Cabins went from station to station, practicing and preparing to be a top secret agent! Tasks included doding “lazer beams”, putting together secret puzzles, racing through obstacles, creating code names, and more. Then, cabins worked on spirit! We tie dyed, and cabins made their cabin flags and practiced their cheer to be performed at tomorrow’s campfire. The cabin spirit award is the highest honor at CYC. We award it to one cabin each week. It isn’t so much a competition between cabins (although only one cabin can win), but it’s really about being the best cabin you can be. Spirit award winners are the cabin that best uses the 5 Cs, are good sports, kind to everyone, helpful, and work hard to make our community great. So all week long everyone shows their spirit with cheers, dressing alike, team handshakes, etc. Today cabins worked on painting their cabin flags, writing their cabin cheer, and other things to show their team unity.  At the same time, they were also tie dying tee shirts, which we will all wear on Friday.

Lunch was italian dunkers, beans, cake, and salad bar. Afterwards an hour of quiet rest time was just what everyone needed to recharge for the afternoon.

After rest time it was time for the first individual activity that they signed up for last night. Each activity brings together boys and girls from different cabins. Individual activity periods last one hour each and campers will do the same two activities each day. Arts and crafts, archery/tomahawk/slingshot, canoe/kayak, paddle boarding, fishing, drama, sports, swimming and rangers/outdoor skills kept all the kids busy. It was a great start to the week!

Dinner was cheese ravioli,  garlic bread, fruit and salad. After we ate, cabins headed to “Primetime” which is a time to chill out and relax- campers can do a variety of activities like playing gaga, playing games on the field, playing carpet ball, hanging out in the sky chairs, visit the camp store, hang out in the art hall, or bounce around between all of those activities. It’s a great time to relax after a full day.

After Primetime was our favorite camp game- Angels and Demons. Campers are divided into two teams. Campers have to run through the forest and go to each of the three angels stationed throughout the woods. Campers get little scraps of paper signed at each station and once they have all 3 they bring it back and put it in their team bucket. Whichever team has the most at the end wins! BUT there are also demons scattered through the forest and if they tag the campers the campers have to give up their paper and try again. You have to be fast or you have to be clever to sneak around the demons. You might escape by saying a prayer, doing a dance, singing a song, or running really fast! Either way it is a blast and everyone loves this game!

As the day winds to a close we head to the flag pole to lower the flag and sing our “day is done” song. And then the best way to end the day is with Praise and Worship! Praise and worship gave campers more opportunities to sing (they’ve been belting out the camp songs all day everywhere they go!) and listen to one of our counselors talk about our ‘C’ of the day- Cooperation. We even got to do praise and worship on Sunset Beach tonight! It was great.

It’s been a great day at CYC!

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