Food!! by Theo Bloyd
Every day at Mountain Friends Camp we have three wonderful meals prepared by our kitchen staff and campers participating in ‘Kitchen Plork’ in the morning. For every meal, one or two campers to help make a menu to be read out during our circle. These menus generally have alliterative names for the parts of the meals such as “Crazy Cereal”, “Simplicity Salad”, or “Plentiful Pancakes”. On “Backwards Day” we had breakfast and dinner switched up. It was wild to have cereal for dinner, and spaghetti tacos for breakfast, but it was still really tasty. We love the food at camp and are really thankful to the kitchen staff for the love they put into each meal. Click here for full Newsletter with a favorite recipe, Quaker Quiche!
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"MFC is a place to feel comfortable with yourself and others." -Camper
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Magnificent Mora
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The first session of camp was filled with opportunities to engage with the broader Mora community. The Mora Mountain Mamas, a local community-building organization, invited us to their annual ice cream social at the Collins Lake Ranch Activity Center. We enjoyed live music, a delicious lunch, and connecting with the dozens of guests who came to take part in the festivities. Thanks to the Mamas for their warmth, and helping us celebrate two staff birthdays!
We had a second opportunity to learn about Mora on our field trip to the Mora Health Fair . . . Click here for rest in full newsletter!
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Alien Invasion
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During the second session, an unexpected alien invasion put our plans on pause. The aliens stole all of our kitchen spices and left several coded clues.
While we were solving clues, one of our counselors disappeared! That evening, one of the alien invaders, Neezle, came to visit us in the hopes of getting more spices. We discovered that the aliens had thought that our S.P.I.C.E.S (the Quaker testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship) were the same as spices you can eat . . . Click here for rest in full newsletter!
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"I learned how to make new friends and be more calm and silent in some situations. I want to come back next summer because it's a second home and everyone's nice." -Camper
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Yurt Fever by Sky Ford
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Flash. The flicker of lightning is visible momentarily through the yurt skylight. (For a split second the entire sky gleams bright.)
One one thousand.
Cards spill over the edge of the table onto the floor. “Your turn, your turn!” Kindness cards has been a camp classic for years. Red-Blue-Violet-Lavender, Red-Blue-Violet-Lavender; friendship bracelets woven by practiced hands grow steadily longer. On one edge of the yurt, someone softly strums a guitar.
Two one thousand.
The storm clouds begin to grow around 2:00 PM in Mora Valley. They blossom in the West, bloom into white cauliflower heads they roll over each other, casting mutual shadows in ever darker tones of gray-scale. By 4:00 PM, the lake shudders under a cold wind and rumbles echo between the hills. Storm Warning.
Three one thousand.
July is monsoon season in Northern New Mexico. After months of withering grasses, fire bans and the needle on roadside fire warning signs stuck stubbornly on “extreme”, the clouds here finally relinquished the withheld waters as it seems, all at once, onto Mountain Friends Camp. Three days this week, ample hours of indoor containment are part of the afternoon program.
Four one thousand.
“How far away is the lightning now?” “Can we go out yet?” “When will the rain stop?” Fortunately for us, Yurt Fever comes with the additional symptoms of good company, song singing, creativity, and games. . .Click here for rest in full newsletter!
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Powerful Plorkers! by Lydia Bateman
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Plork (a combination of the words "play" and "work") is always a popular activity at Mountain Friends Camp. We do work projects to improve Collins Lake Ranch and to show gratitude for our community. Even though we are working hard, we have fun working together with our friends.
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I asked several campers about what plork projects they were working on, and which plork projects were their favorite. Cat and Lee were working hard in the kitchen to make seven-layer dip for our lunch. Cat and Lee both cite kitchen plork as their favorite plork activity. Campers helped the kitchen staff to make solar oven brownies, grilled hamburgers, and a variety of other delicious food items this summer. . .
Click here for rest in full newsletter!
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"My daughter had a ton of fun, made friends, and felt safe and accepted." -Camper Parent
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