Let The Games Begin!
I’m currently sitting on my front porch listening to cheers and screams of 290 campers playing games on the fields and in the gym right across the street. Summer is here! For a 65th summer, the sounds of camp will ring out around our little canyon rising up from Little River. Bells signaling start of activities, voices raised in worship, laughter of boys walking down the road.
My name is Glenn Breazeale. My wife, Carter, and I are second generation directors at Alpine. We are so pleased that you have chosen to send your son to camp with us this summer. I look forward to giving you a tiny window into our world in words every so often. Maybe I can provide a few more details than those beloved camp letters from your boys!
70 cabin counselors eagerly greeted your boys today in our 3 cabin areas, the Canyon, the Mountain, and the Ridge. I mentioned to a few of you today that I don’t know if I remember a staff that has been more energetic and excited to get started. I think they were tired of hearing me talk for the last 9 days of staff training. These counselors are going to be Alpine for your boys over the next 9 days. There are only a few of us that work full time. It’s the counselors that make Alpine. They are the secret sauce.
Our mission statement is paraphrased from Luke 2:52. We want boys to grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. That might happen in the nightly devotionals that the counselors lead. It could happen in the dawning light of morning watch where head counselors speak each morning. Most likely it will not. Most likely the growth will come from all the little moments in between. It will come from the actions and words and interactions of the counselors all throughout the day. That’s how we grow. And I told the counselors that many times last week.
A few little tidbits on our day today. After you drove out, campers received quick health screens and lice checks. They took cabin photos. Most of those are posted, along with other opening day photos, on our daily photo site, images.alpinecamp.com. You should have received an email today with password and other instructions. If you have questions feel free to email summer@alpinecamp.com. If you don’t see your son’s cabin photo posted, check back tomorrow. A few cabins waited to take photos until later this afternoon due to late arrivals.
Counselors played games, created ice breakers and other fun get to know you games. This afternoon after a quick snack at the Store, we held our first 2 activity periods of the summer, periods 4 and 5. Tomorrow all 5 activities will meet, 1 through 3 in the morning and 4 and 5 once again in the afternoon.
Tonight we had our opening meeting in the gym after supper. Carter and I made introductions to some key staff who can help boys if they need anything. I reminded them that it’s OK if they get a little homesick. It is very normal. We talked about Alpine being a place where you can be yourself and that we don’t pick on boys that are a little different than us. Some of us love sports, others music or art. God made us all unique. We reminded the boys to please let us know if something is bothering them, physically or otherwise. And to always speak up if someone is saying or doing something that they know is inappropriate. I gave a few health and safety tips. And then we played some more! Each night each age group gets assigned a different night game to play before bed. I’ll talk more about those fun games in a future post.
For now, know that your boys are tucked safely in bed as I finish this post. Again, we are so glad they are here. Thanks for reading and good night for now, Glenn
