The drive up to camp is about 2 hours from here. I’m going to be stopping at the grocery store for some last minute items before I get there. Camp actually doesn’t begin until Sunday afternoon, but a few of us are driving up early to help setup. I’m also going to try to get used to my surroundings. No matter where I’m at, if I am not in my own bed, I always have trouble sleeping that first night when I am away.

It’s hard to believe I’m once again going to camp. This will be my 10th year at this particular camp. Through my many years of participation, I’ve come up with some strategy for camp:

• Gain the respect of the alpha male in your cabin. Within male cicles, there is always the dominate figure…ie. the alpha male. This is the one the rest of the peers follow. If you gain his respect, the rest of the campers in your cabin will respect you also.
• Never ever talk down to the campers. Treat them as your equals. By doing so you will gain their respect and they will be more likely to listen to you.
• Overall have a good attitude even when things might not be going the best….Remember you’re here for just one week. Make the best of it.
• Never miss the opportunity to give encouraging words to someone. A little bit of encouragement goes a long way.

I may be able to update this weblog from camp, but don’t hold your breath. You may not hear from me for about a week.

Except for a few minor items, I think I have almost everything for church camp next week. I know I’ll probably forget something when I’m packing, but I’m not too worried about it. I can always go to Walmart or Dollar General down the road. Seems like every year I end up bringing more stuff to camp.
I am excited about camp. It is the highlight of the summer and most likely the highlight of the entire year. Camp is one of those few places where you can find pure Christianity. The devotional songs just sound better at camp. The prayers seem much more earnest. The friendships formed at camp seem much more sincere. People who I’ve only spent one week at camp with, I’ve kept in touch with for 10 years or longer.
Each day at camp I get see a great view of the hill ridge next to camp. The view is amazing. Pictures just don’t do it justice.

Sometimes I find the dumbest things to worry about. Case in point. I’ve got this camp coming up next week. I’m a bit anxious and worried about it. Worried about things going smoothly. Worried about the weather. Sometimes I just need to put my worries aside and let God take over.
I am in charge of the camp relay races Tuesday night. I’ve been trying to come up with all the ideas I can for it. I went shopping today for the items for some of the races. Cheese balls and shaving cream, jellybeans, balloons, Lifesavers and toothpicks….. I know I’ll have to do some last minute shopping, even at a grocery store in Kentucky right before I get to camp.
I did go to Hilo Hatties today and picked up a Hawaiian shirt. The only problem is I got the wrong size. Stupid me thought that I wore a large in knit shirts. Not so. It’s more like a medium or small even. So back to Hatties I go. I love Hawaiian stuff. Someday I’m going to have a tiki bar in my house. Gilligan Island style…..

I wore my jeffwhittle.com shirt at the retreat. So everyone remembered my name. The retreat went really well. In between devotionals and meals, the kids played kickball and capture the flag. Everyone seemed to have a good attitude and have a good time.
There is a puddle problem in the showers in the lodge. It wasn’t built properly or just doesn’t have the right water guard. So eventually there’s a puddle of water seeping out into the sleeping area by the middle of the morning.
I tested out my night vision camera. In almost no light, it was able to film perfectly, just as I expected. Basically the video looks like it is black and white with a hint of blue. You have to get really close to your subjects in order to view them.

Finally found some feed bags for that potato sack race. All this just after a couple of phone calls. And they’re free! A lady at church has offered them to me.
We’re going to have a summer youth minister intern at church again. This is a good program. It lets potential youth minister to experience real world items and at the same time help out with youth activities. Whoever it is will have a tough time being compared to our previous youth intern.
I’m a bit concerned about this devo I’ll be doing at the retreat this weekend. Not necessarily concerned about actually giving it. It’s more me putting it on a level which the kids will understand. There will be kids from 4th-6th grade at the retreat. I hope I won’t be going over their head on it. It’s been a while since I actually conversed with kids that age, so it is a learning experience for me trying to get on their level.

On the retreat we stayed in 2 wings of a large “winterized” cabin on the girls’ side of camp. I had hoped we would stay in some of the smaller cabins, just for the convenience of not having everyone in the same cabin. Everytime I tried to go to sleep, someone would come in and turn on the lights thereby waking me up. The bathrooms were above par for a camp. Someone remarked anytime you don’t have to use flipflops when taking showers, it means your facilities are good.
I did get a chance to meet the caretakers of Short Mt. Bible Camp. Seemed like nice people. They even recognized me from some previous retreats I had been on.
I found out that Cake, Better Than Ezra, and Cracker are all going to be playing Dancin’ in the District this summer. Cracker and BTE will be the same night. It’s a good thing that good music is still alive and well in Nashville.
Pictures from Ottawa are online.

On the retreat I ended up playing capture the flag Saturday. This was after Phil, our youth minister, begged me to play to even out the teams. I fell down and got some good bruises on my knee and hands. I was pretty frustrated at myself for letting myself get hurt. I was only supposed to stay in one place, but I strayed away and tried to catch somebody.
The rain this morning was very soothing. I woke up at 7AM to the sound of rain on the roof of the cabin. Later on I found out that there had been some very strong storms in the area, but I didn’t even notice. Just a few minutes later, the sun shined brightly.
We got lime green tshirts to remember the retreat. The illustration on the back is geared more toward the youth, but I’m always glad to add to the collection.
Phil asked me to teach a class of 13 year old boys. I had about 10 minutes notice on it. I think I did a good job. That age group is always at a critical age when making decisions that will affect how they turn out later in life. Usually I can relate to them pretty well.
While on the retreat I had a chance to experience some repelling. I had never done it before, but found it relatively easy. Felt almost like Spiderman on the rocks. Now I know how they do it in those movies.