Salt

The purpose of this Blog Post is to prove that our Servant Leadership Team (composed of Corey, Angela, Kathleen, Kristen and Nicole) is good. This will first be done in explanatory, paragraph format, and secondly in the form of a syllogism*.

*Syllogism: [sil-uh-jiz-uh m]
–noun
1. Logic . an argument the conclusion of which is supported by two premises, of which one (major premise) contains the term (major term) that is the predicate of the conclusion, and the other (minor premise) contains the term (minor term) that is the subject of the conclusion; common to both premises is a term (middle term) that is excluded from the conclusion. A typical form is “All A is C; all B is A; therefore all B is C.”
2. deductive reasoning.
3. an extremely subtle, sophisticated, or deceptive argument.

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Salt. Everybody likes it. (I feel pretty confident in saying this). Some people use it wisely. Some people (ahem, Chris Aderhold) use way too much of it. Regardless of the amoung used, people generally like the way salt makes their food taste. (Side note: My dad used to put salt on his watermelon.) I guess what I'm trying to say is: salt makes things better.

At Camp Gray, we use normal amounts of salt, perhaps more if you consider all the snow/ice we get. But we also have a special kind of salt. This salt is spelled a little differently (SLT) but we pronounce it the same. And just like the salt you put on your food, this SLT makes everything better.

SLT stands for Servant Leadership Team. Our SLT missionaries are young people who have already graduated college. They come live and work at Camp Gray for a year. Many of you may be familiar with the oft repeated Bible verse from summer camp, "Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest, the leader as the servant" (Luke 22:26). Our SLT missionaries truly strive to live out this verse in their daily lives here at camp.

Here is a list of the top ten ways in which they make Camp Gray better (in no particular order):
1) They are the face of Camp Gray (which is good for emotional and aesthetical reasons). They make sure that people are feeling comfortable and having a great time, something that the rest of us could not do very well from the office.
2) They are the ones who lead all of our retreats! Without them, we would only be able to handle a few groups throughout the school year, with them we handle approximately, at least, 130 groups. (Wow!)
3) They make everything more fun, because they are such fun people.
4) The SLT pray together a lot, which is fruitful for them, and all of Camp Gray!
5) The SLT help prepare meals that are tasty and delicious (and salty).
6) SLT members are true missionaries, who only get paid a small stipend, which is good for camp's budget.
7) SLT missionaries double as skilled baby sitters for the families on camp.
8) They provide extra team members for sports such as basketball, football and randomly made up games.
9) It snows a lot here, and SLT missionaries shovel a lot, keeping our walking paths clear all winter!
10) SLT missionaries are willing to do anything that needs to be done, in order to serve camp's mission.

In summary:
If A makes B better, A is a good thing.

A = Salt
B = Food
Salt makes food taste better. (A makes B taste better).
Therefore, salt is a good thing. (Therefore A is a good thing).


A = SLT Missionaries
B = Camp Gray
SLT missionaries make camp better. (A makes B better).
Therefore, SLT missionaries are good people. (Therefore, A is a good thing)

Additionally:
If B is pronounced the same as A, but spelled differently, and A is a good thing, then B is also a good thing.

A = Salt
B = SLT
SLT is pronounce the same as salt. (B is pronounce the same as A).
Salt is a good thing. (A is a good thing).
Therefore, SLT is a good thing. (Therefore, B is a good thing).

We have therefore shown the two proofs for the goodness of our Servant Leadership Team Missionaries. If you know someone who is graduating college this spring, and they desire to be like salt, please encourage them to apply to be a SLT missionary at Camp Gray!

Where Did All the Kids Go?!

By: Kathleen Corrigan

GOOD NEWS for all you avid Camp Gray blooggers-we FINALLY have another blog post! We apologize for our slack, but some of us got so caught up in the Holidays that we forgot our blogging responsibilities. But, fear not! We're back to provide you with all the "going-ons" of good ol' Camp Gray! :)

Well, it's winter here at Camp and a beautiful one at that! Just before Christmas we had a solid 2 feet of snow come rolling through and we staff have been taking advantage of it: sledding, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, snowball throwing... and TONS of shoveling! Camp covered in snow has allowed me to experience one of the most beautiful winters yet, and I am incredibly thankful for it! Though, as of late, some snow has melted and we have been finding other ways to keep ourselves busy.

As a first year staff member, I am, personally, still getting used to this time of year. While winter is my favorite season, winter on camp also means a lot less time to spend with kids! (?!?! What could we possibly do with ourselves?!) Well I have quickly figured out that though we don't have group after group arriving at camp, there is still plenty to be done - a lot of cleaning, updating, polishing, and preparing camp for the pending insanity the spring will bring. I must admit that though this doesn't sound as exciting as the fall season we made it through, I actually was pretty excited for this slower pace to start up at camp and to do some of these mundane, yet necessary, projects. The hectic fall go me ready for a low-key winter. Though I am already anxiously anticipating the craziness of spring!

It's interesting, and maybe even a bit of a struggle, looking at my winter responsibilities at camp in light of my fall responsibilities. The fall was busy ALL the time; it was a craziness! We were run ragged every day tending to energetic children, late nights, running around camp, energetic children, few days off, oh... and not to mention energetic children. For some of us, coffee had become our best friend, and we were all exhausted! Yet, I still managed to go to bed every night able to say, "This is totally worth it!" Because every day that I got to spend with a group of children, I got to se smiles on their little faces, repeatedly hear the words "I love Camp Gray!" shouted from their little mouths, and receive giant-sized hugs from their little arms. How could you not praise God at the end of an exhausting day (week, month, whatever) after being able to experience all of that?

That being said, feeling the same joy and motivation is different throughout the winter. While I'm not as exhausted, it can be a struggle making the mundane winter work feel as meaningful as the lively work of the fall. Because of this, I find it important to remind myself that when you're living life as a Servant for the Lord, even the most trivial of tasks is never meaningless. As St. Teresa of Avila said, "If obedience sends you to the kitchen, remember that the Lord walks among the pots and pans." Though sometimes a struggle, the quietness of winter is also providing me with more time to work on important things such as my prayer life. I find more time to be still with the Lord and work on my own relationship with Him so that I am refreshed and renewed to share His love with others in the spring. Praise God!

Well all, thanks for taking time to read! We pray that you all have a safe and blessed winter season! And please remember to keep us in your prayers as we prepare for another busy season coming up in just a few short weeks! Be well and God bless!