Laser Tag and More BBQ

Today the Afula men davened an early Shacharit whilst the girls slept blissfully. After the girls awoke due to the chirping birds ourtisde, we all headed to an amazing breakfast prepared by our own Chef Eli. After, we split up into three groups: the first group headed to the pool with the Pnimyat Hayom children (children that come to the Afula home only during the day), the second group went to war armed with guns shooting lasers in the dense forest outside of Afula (this is where Manny, who was a sniper in the IDF, spared no mercy and won several games), the third group went to relax with the kids in their rooms. A falafel that would make an Israeli cry out in joy was then served by Chef Eli for lunch. After lunch, the groups that had not gone earlier to the pool went to the pool. Constant games of who could drown each other faster were played by everyone, regardless of consent. Olympic level pool volleyball was played for hours with tempers kept in check by Manny. Preparations for the Introductory Banquet were in full swing as soon as we returned from the pool. Chicken, hamburgers, and kebabs were thrown into the flames as marshmallows and chocolate were placed near the flames for s'more making. The children of Afula manned the BBQ and infused it with their love. After the delicious food was devoured, we put the music on full blast and danced with the children of Afula as the sun disappeared. The last activity of the night was a big game of soccer in which our very own Soccer star, Tamar Tangir, competed with the male dominant soccer teams and showed the girls of Afula the power in all of them.

Personal story: One of my campers had been ignoring me since day one. I tried engaging him but to no avail. Today, After the first game of Laser tag, that camper came up to me and asked me what my score was. He realized I scored higher than him and was a bit bummed out. I proposed to him that we switch guns so he could show off "his" high score, he readily agreed. A couple minutes later, the staff leading the program announced that gun #31 had the highest score. My camper looked at his gun and saw that the gun I had given him was gun #31. He looked at me hesitantly, expecting me to take my gun back and brag about my high score. Instead, I smiled at him and gave him a high five along with a "ואו איזה גבר". He laughed and with a twinkle in his eye exclaimed that he had the gun #31. People started to congratulate him, but he wasn't paying attempting because we were both laughing at how he had conned the Laser Tag "system". We now had our very own little secret that brought us together and warmed the cold shoulder he had given me since the start of Afula.