Reporting to you from the Canaan Valley today is Elise Foerster. I have held many roles here at Merrowvista including camper, leader, coordinator, and driver. This summer I am a driver during session A and I will be the Kids 4 Peace Coordinator during session B. I am enjoying being a driver because I get to get off site to bring villages to their trips or bring them back to camp. It is during these moments that campers are buzzing with excitement and nervous energy or they are exhausted and proud of their accomplishments. They share stories in the van about achieving things they never thought possible, trying new foods, and beautiful scenery.
Today in particular was a beautiful golden day with a few splashes of silver. In camp this morning campers participated in Go-Getters before flag raising. Flag raising was led by Jefferson Village. They spoke about what keeps their cup full during difficult times. These women showed maturity and leadership while speaking about their village mates, families, leaders as sources of support. One shared a new mantra that her leaders had provided the village, which is, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” This camper had clearly been enlightened by these words and emphasized to the rest of camp how it could be applied to many different difficult situations.
After breakfast, I took off in route to the Mahoosuc Mountain range to pick up Chocorua Village. The women of Chocorua hiked in the Mahoosucs for four days. When I found them they were very excited to be returning to camp. They were a little bit stinky but full of laughter and ready to sing their hearts out to their favorite jams in the van. I was happy to spend the afternoon singing along with them. We arrived back at camp just before dinner. All felt replenished by delicious chicken and vegetable fajitas. In addition to Chocorua returning, the men of Shaw Village rode back into camp, all of them biking in over camp hill. That is no easy task! Also, the Trailblazer campers have left camp for canoeing and hiking trips. The in camp community has been growing and shrinking as everyone engages in their various adventures.
Tonight, as I write this post, camp is now very quiet. After a relaxing game of “Founderly Feud,” a camp version of the game show Family Feud, campers have gone back to their cabins for Village Insight and prepare for bed. It was a wonderful day and my heart is full.