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| Jason, Luke, and Hunter after a merit badge class |
There was great anticipation this morning as the scouts awaited visits from their parents (and the food that comes with them). Each day starts the same with a 5:45 wake up call from SPL Jacob and a preparation for the day ahead. After the flag raising ceremony, we enjoyed chicken biscuits and scrambled (folded) eggs. Some scouts treated themselves to a variety of cereal as well. It was then time to head out for our daily merit badge classes.
Several scouts are starting to knock out some of the more complicated parts of their merit badges now, such as qualifying for shooting sports badges. The scouts seem intent on getting their merit badges completed at camp and we hope that intent turns into reality. The weather today was very nice and not too hot for June in Alabama. The biggest change we would like is more of a breeze.
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| Aiden leading camp in prayer before lunch |
Before lunch our outgoing Chaplain's Aide, Aiden said a prayer for the camp thanking God for all of our blessings, including our meal. He did a great job representing the troop. We then went inside and enjoyed "pizza sticks". There were two types of them - a mozzarella filled bread stick and a pepperoni filled one that was similar to a hot pocket. We had some marinara sauce for dipping as well.
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| Jason shooting rifle in troop competition |
After lunch, there was some free time and several folks took that time to practice shooting before the annual troop competition. The troop shooting competition consists of two representatives from each troop for archery, rifle shooting, and shotgun shooting. Jacob and Trey represented the troop in archery. Jason and Luke represented the troop in rifle shooting. Miles and Boone represented the troop shooting skeet with shotguns. Most scouts didn't perform as well as they'd liked, but they did represent the troop well. The results of the competition will be revealed at the closing campfire on Friday night.
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| Hunter displaying his lopping skills |
While the boys were preparing for the shooting competition, the rest of the troop worked on a service project to help clear back brush along the waterfront trail. We worked with another troop using loppers and swing blades for about an hour to make the trail easier to walk on for others who will use the camp later this summer.
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| Paul's family visiting camp |
Several families arrived just before the flag lowering ceremony bearing gifts of both healthy and yummy food! Lots of drinks were also brought to help us get through the rest of the week. They were escorted to our campsite and we ate as one big happy family. We enjoyed fruit, pizza, drinks, and cookies. Boys took their families and showed them around camp during our free time before the campfire.
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| Order for the Arrow campfire |
The campfire for the evening was for the purpose of calling out candidates elected into the Order of the Arrow (OA) for their troop. The troop elected OA candidates at our recent Court of Honor and three of those scouts were called out at the ceremony. There are other scouts who were elected that are not present at summer camp. They will find out soon. Candidates present at summer camp were Joe, Paul, and Trey. Congratulations to them!
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| Trey, Joe, and Paul - newest OA candidates |
Once the campfire ended, families that remain made their way home and we headed back to camp to enjoy some more chess, card games, and fellowship before heading to bed around 10:30. Another busy day is in the books. We all slept well through the night and the weather was uneventful.
For more pictures from Camp Sequoyah Day 4, check out our
troop photo album.
