2018 TFP Call To Chivalry Camp Great Lakes - Day 1 Report

Dear parents:

It is hard to believe that an entire year has gone by since the last email.  But here we are again at the Great Lakes Summer Camp. The main crew left our Headquarters in Spring Grove Pennsylvania on Saturday Morning and drove through the day till we arrived in Indiana where we started picking up the young men who had arrived by plane.  Saturday night was spent at the house of a friend whose hospitality was prodigious. After getting settled in, our friend, Mr. Martinez took us all, staff and participants, to a Mexican restaurant where we had some amazing food and the more adventurous boys decided to try their manhood to a test of hot peppers.  There may have been tears shed but we won’t tell from whom they came.

         Since the night air was cool, we spent a pleasant night in the screened in porch of Mr. Martinez’s guest accommodations.  The next morning we had to hurry up and wait while breakfast was prepared and people showered.  The participants chipped in to help set the table and then later to wash the dishes.  After a staff meeting, we packed the vans full and headed out to the camp.

        We were greeted at the camp by the smiling face of Mr. Jacob Weber, waiting patiently with his father, who had kindly driven him down to help us.  All the boys who were with us jumped right in and started helping clean out the vans, the fact that we were not going to eat lunch till the vans were empty may have had something to do with it but we’ll just say that they were a great help all the same.  Lunch soon arrived in the form of pizza from a local shop and was promptly devoured down to the crumbs.  Assignments were given out and the setup went without a hitch.  By the time the majority of boys started arriving, we were putting finishing touches on the decoration. 

            Some tours were given to parents...wait I don’t need to tell you about that.  Anyway, after all the boys arrived, there were some activities in the game field.  Then we prepared for Sunday Mass by putting on our best clothes.  The priest, Canon Coggeshall, member of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest arrived to celebrate the immemorial sacrifice of the Mass according to the ancient usage of the Church in Latin.  First, the boys were invited to go to confession in order to set the tone for the camp and offer the sacrament to those that wished.  Then came the the Mass, solemn, sacred and devout.  The sermon, following the theme of Our Lord’s warning about wolves in sheeps clothing, was singularly appropriate for our confusing times.  The priest clearly explained Catholic doctrine regarding our duties and obligations towards our shepherds meanwhile giving excellent sources to go to for future study.  

After Mass there was dinner that had a Tex-Mex character to it, though any purist would probably deny that there was anything Mexican about it.  I cannot judge the national merits of the meal but can say that it certainly filled an empty void that needed filling.  Ice cream for dessert with cherries and chocolate syrup on top may have pushed the meal into the realm of intemperance but we are preparing for tomorrow's battle here so please grant us a little indulgence on that account. 

After Mass there was dinner that had a Tex-Mex character to it, though any purist would probably deny that there was anything Mexican about it.  I cannot judge the national merits of the meal but can say that it certainly filled an empty void that needed filling. Ice cream for dessert with cherries and chocolate syrup on top may have pushed the meal into the realm of intemperance but we are preparing for tomorrow's battle here so please grant us a little indulgence on that account.  

       Dinner being completed we had a short welcoming talk by Mr. Bob Dressler who lives on the property and is in charge of the smooth running of the facility.  Mr. Rex Teodosio then complemented this intro by bringing in the spiritual aspects of the camp.  He talked about the spiritual pollution that is contaminating the world and how we must counter that by enriching our spiritual lives and practicing the code of chivalry in our daily battles.  Then all were invited to play one of the all time favorite games at TFP Summer Camps...Prison Break. 

Guards with flashlights must track down hiding prisoners who do their best to keep the prisons clear while avoiding capture. Meanwhile, the attending fathers were discussing various topics of extreme import to the future of the world while liberating some poor spirits that had been trapped in glass bottles for decades.  We may not have solved all the world’s problems last night but we considered it only fair to leave some for the next generation to try their hand at. Then, long after the last boys had gone to sleep, we decided it was time to call it a night. That is all till tomorrow.