Camp Lutherhaven

One of the most exciting and enjoyable experiences of sixth grade is our Camp Lutherhaven trip. I started packing last Tuesday night, and after much anticipation, we took off after chapel on Wednesday.

The bus ride to Albion was long and hot. Thankfully, the trip was only about an hour long, so we didn't have to suffer for very long. Finally, we pulled into Camp Lutherhaven and unloaded our bags.

As soon as we were settled into our cabins (I was in Cabin 6) and applied gallons of bug spray to our already itchy bodies, we ate a quick sack lunch around the fire, and then divided into groups of three and set off on a scavenger hunt organized by the counselors. The real goal of the hunt was to help us grow accustomed to the whereabouts of camp. My group - not unlike any of the other groups - was tired, hungry, and a bit uninterested, so we were not very successful.

After we were somewhat comfortable navigating around the camp, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Albertin, insisted that we all take part in a baseball game. We grudgingly headed to the baseball field, but the game turned out to be quite fun. My team won, and I hit a few out of the park (this was super easy, because Mr. Albertin would throw us slow, underhanded pitches).

After baseball, we split into three large groups (I was Group 3) and went to our assigned activity. Our first endeavor was archery, a challenging but addicting pastime. I am very proud to say that I actually hit the target several times (something that most of my group couldn't do) and even thwacked an arrow right down the center of the target. Archery was probably my favorite activity of Lutherhaven.

We switched activities a few times and then assembled for lunch. We did more or less the same thing for the rest of the day, going from one station to the next, until dinner and devotions time. After our pizza dinner and devotions by the fire, it was a mad dash for the showers.

The showers were a nightmare. There were only 8 showers that we were allowed to use, so if you didn't reach the bathroom first, you either had to call a shower or wait. . . for a long time. Waiting wasn't half as bad as the actual showers. The water was lukewarm, and it smelled like eggs. Not to mention the bugs flying around the stall.

After showers, we got about half an hour of free time, which most of us spent down at the playground. I enjoyed playing tether ball immensely, and I dominated most of my class (I suggested to my dad that we install a tether ball pole in our backyard).

By 10:30, I was really tired, but unfortunately, my cabin mates were not. Lily, Katrina, Nicole, Timerah, and Lisa forced me to get in countless group photos and help them make human pyramids. Finally, after the boys in the cabin beside us started banging on our walls, our chaperon, Mrs. English, told us to get in bed.

Since it was so hot, I slept on top of my seeping bag, which also provided some extra padding on the thin, uncomfortable mattress. Nevertheless, I got a good night's sleep. It would've been even better had I been able to sleep in. Yes, we had to get up at 7:00 sharp, even though we were at camp.

After our delicious breakfast, Group 3 went to the orienteering station, where we located certain items throughout the camp using a compass and a bearing. It was really fun and interesting, but my partner, Jack, and I got lost in the woods and couldn't find the seventh item.

After orienteering, we got to canoe and kayak around Lake Muncie. Everyone wanted to kayak, but first we had to prove that we could listen to instruction and honor boating safety rules in a canoe. Unfortunately, I was partnered with Bryce and Jacob, who share the role of class clown and all-around goof. I would've passed our counselor's inspection easily if I had been with anybody else.

Bryce decided to play bumper boats with the other boys, Jacob flung seaweed at Lisa, and both of them drenched me by scooping up water with their paddles and tossing it backwards. By the end of our time, I was soaked, tired, and mad. However, my mood quickly improved when we went exploring through the woods.

The vast woods that surround Camp Lutherhaven are filled with paths, and one could literally spend hours trekking deep into the dark, lively forest. There is even a small marsh, where we caught a frog (Jack's entire foot was submerged in the green slime during the attempt). If you journey even farther into the maze of intertwining paths, you will find the enormous tree house built by the counselors a few years ago.

The gigantic tree house is actually four real sheds, supported by trees and connected with wooden bridges, about ten feet apart. There is a small fire pit, a slide, and a fireman's pole, and we spent quite a while in this amazing tree house.

After our forest adventure, we headed to the main fire pit for our cookout dinner. The hamburgers were superb, grilled to perfection by Zach, a counselor with wild dreadlocks (who is also, ironically, a vegetarian). The hot dogs, on the other hand, weren't as good, because we had to roast them ourselves over the fire (we either burned or barely singed our hot dogs).

After we finished dinner, we had devotions around the fire, and the race to the showers began once more.

When everyone was finished showering, most of us played a game of pickup basketball on the basketball court. Of course, the game was really fun, but C.J. managed to bump and bruise us all with his merciless physical play.

After our game (My team lost, but we demanded a rematch. The game is still unfinished), we said goodnight and headed to our cabins. Once again, my cabin mates kept me up until 11:45. I finally drifted off at about midnight, but was woken abruptly by the annoying, blaring noise of a fire alarm, which was coming from a few doors down. We didn't panic, because we knew that Cabin 4 had been experiencing difficulties with their fire alarm. Disgruntled and sleepy, we tried to get a few more precious hours of sleep before 7:00.

We woke up a bit grouchier than the previous morning, and our dispositions didn't improve when we found out that we were playing an early game of Predators and Prey, a continuation of yesterday's lesson.

Predators and Prey is a really fun game (but it's much more fun when played during the afternoon, and not immediately after you get up). The class split into two groups, one group of predators, and one group of prey. The object of the game is simple: the predators try to find and catch the prey. My group was prey first, so we got a few minutes' head start to hide. I decided to hide in the playground, beneath the giant tire half buried in sand. Luckily, I was never caught; in fact, I was never even found, and I got pretty bored just sitting underneath the tire for 15 minutes, listening to Predators chasing Prey around the camp.

At last, the bell sounded, which meant that the groups would switch from Predator to Prey. After the new Prey disappeared into their hiding places, we leaped down from the fire pit, madly sprinting around the camp, searching for Prey. Bryce and I scoured the woods, wandering aimlessly along random paths until we finally discovered Nathan relaxing in the tree house. Startled and amazed, we caught him unawares and proudly took him back to the fire pit. Next, I spotted Lily peering out from the eaves of the forest, and after 15 long, hard minutes of giving chase, I finally caught her.

In the end, Group 1 emerged victorious, but nobody really cared, since brunch was about to be served.

The delectable brunch consisted of pancakes, French toast, mixed fruit, sausage, and eggs. Needless to say, everyone was nourished and energized for our next project: service hour, the joy of Camp Lutherhaven.

Group 3 was appointed the delightful task of moving couches and chairs upstairs to make room for more tables in the cafeteria. After our grueling task was done, we headed to the devotions center to rake leaves from underneath the benches and place new mulch. We worked hard for a whole hour, and our reward was punch, Popsicles, and granola bars.

After the service project was over, we had a few minutes of free time, which I spent in the game room, beating Lily at Foosball.

Finally, we ended our Camp Lutherhaven trip with a closing devotion.

The trip home was uneventful for the most part, and everyone spent most of their time itching bug bites or singing a favorite song from devotions.

Camp Lutherhaven was (deep breath) sweltering, itchy, interesting, tiring, exciting, and sweaty, but most of all, it was unforgettable.