Inside the Cove | Staff Profile
by Pine Cove
Brandon “Bomb Squawks” Gray is the Outback Men’s director. He graduated in 2016 from Wheaton College with a degree in interpersonal communication and Christian education. He worked at camp for five summers before joining resident staff, originally as a Camp in the City site director (now called Pine Cove City). His college roommate and best friend is Austin Langemeier, the camp director at Silverado. How awesome is it that he and his best friend both work at Pine Cove?
What did you want to be when you were younger?
Oh, wow. That’s hard. All growing up I wanted to be a sports writer, to write for a team or something like that. I don’t know why, and I know that’s super vague, but I always thought it would be so cool and I envisioned myself being a journalist for some professional sports team.
How did you end up at Pine Cove?
My college roommate, Austin “Homestar Runner” Langemeier, who also works for Pine Cove, tricked me into applying. He continually asked me, “Hey man, you should apply for Pine Cove.” I’m from Indiana, so all I knew about Texas was horses and wagons and dust. I was like, “I don’t want to go all the way to Texas because I’m from Indiana.” He kept asking and I kept saying no. One time, he called me and said, “Hey, man, something happened and I need to chat real quick.” He told me where to meet him, so I went to talk with him, doing what I thought was being a good friend. I got there and he had Kyle “G-Snap” Gore from the Shores with him, and he was like, “Hey, you’re going to interview for Pine Cove.” So, literally, he tricked me into it.
How did you get your camp name?
In eighth grade, a couple friends and I loved pulling pranks on our band director. She was super cool, so we would pull pranks on her and she would pull pranks on us. One of my friends’ moms had the idea of wrapping a dirty diaper like a Christmas present, (it was around Christmas time), and we set it outside her door. The hidden cameras in the hallway saw it and thought it was a bomb so they called the bomb squad on us. We got in really big trouble because they thought we had put a bomb in the school, which isn’t good. So that’s where the “bomb squad” comes from. Also, I really like socks, and that day of my name game, I was wearing some silly pair of socks. So, bomb squad and socks kinda make squawks. And squawks sounds like a bird, and they asked if I had any bird stories, so I told them that my aunt had a bird that I babysat one night, which instantly turned into me “loving birds.” That’s how it happened!
What are some of your favorites?
I love disc golf. That would probably be a favorite. I love biscuits and gravy. That would be another favorite. And, I’d say sweet tea. They’re very shallow favorites, but there you go.
What’s your favorite part about your job?
Being intimately involved in life change. I get to watch my staffers’ lives change as they grow to look more and more like Jesus. That exceeds anything else.
Favorite camp cheer?
I would probably say the Gospel Cheer. My first summer, a guy that I worked on staff with came up with the Gospel Cheer. It started out with just our team, and it’s been super cool to see how it’s evolved into this Pine Cove life thing. From the very beginning, I loved it. It’s super catchy, and I selfishly like that I know the guy who made it.
Favorite Bible verse?
Probably 1 Timothy 1:5. I can tell you a good story from my interview which is a picture of my life change. In my interview, I didn’t put my full trust in the Lord until my first summer working at Pine Cove. It happened between weeks two and three. So, in my interview, it was a lot of me giving answers that I thought were the “right answers.” I was one of those guys. And then the interviewer asked, “What’s your favorite Bible verse?” I word for word said, “The one about the iron,” because I knew absolutely nothing about Scripture. The interviewer said, “Oh, where is that found?” and I looked at him like, “Duh. In the Bible.” He was obviously looking for a reference, but I knew so little about the Bible that I just said, “The one about the iron.”
Most embarrassing camp moment?
I do a lot of embarrassing things. I don’t really have a lot of care when I’m in character or something like that, so most of my camp experience is just embarrassing. One year at the Shores during the “Mascot Mania” theme night, I was dressed up as a gopher in a giant gopher onesie. We were on stage, and for the big finale, I thought it would be a good idea to do a stage dive. It was like the Red Sea parting. No one caught me. I just landed straight on the ground because no one wanted to catch me. That was one of those moments of, “Well, this is unfortunate.”
Let’s say you’re stranded on an island. Which three Pine Cove staff members would you want to organize your rescue?
I think the first one, which is a pretty clear call for me, is Austin “Homestar Runner” Langemeier. He was my college roommate for four years; he’s my best friend; he was the best man at my wedding. He knows all things outdoors. So when it comes to being able to get a ship, he would be able to get me back. I would say that I want Chris “Hip Shot” Sherrod there simply because of his physical prowess. He’s a large man physically, and he’d be able to do anything Austin wouldn’t be able to do. And he’s one of the wisest men I’ve ever been around. He and Austin would balance each other out. There’s that. Another Pine Cove guy that I would want to help establish my safety….I’ll go with Taylor “Fish Face” Jervis. He’s my old boss. He’s very quick, very shifty, and also very wise. So, Austin has the knowledge of the outdoors, Chris has the strength, and Jervis has the speed. When it comes to a team of well-rounded individuals who can all get together on one mission to save me, those are the guys I’d choose.
What are some of the weirdest things a camper has said or done to you?
My second summer, I had a camper who was in second grade. This camper found out that his old counselor’s soon-to-be-wife was on our team. He fell in love with that idea. He went up to her and sat her down. Keep in mind that this was a second grader sitting in front of her with his legs crossed and hands folded. He said, “I want you to know that my daddy says that you need to live together for at least two years before you marry someone so that you can make sure you don’t hate each other.” It was one of those funny, but weird moments where you’re not really sure how to handle the situation because it’s funny. But also weird. Then I had to pull him away and explain how I don’t think it’s Biblical for a man and woman to live together outside of marriage. That one sticks with me. I tell that one often at camp.
What spiritual truths have been revealed to you lately?
Lately, I have been going through Deuteronomy, studying how sovereign the Lord is and how little control we have. Especially reading about the Israelites’ wandering and then about their time in the Promised Land. Over and over the Lord was telling them, “you will be in the place where I have called you.” The Israelites kept moving out of that and doing what they wanted. “No, you don’t understand. You are my people and you will be in the place that I have called you. It has nothing to do with where you want to go.” The Israelites kept moving out of that. That’s why their time in the Wilderness was extended, and that’s why Moses wasn’t allowed to go into the Promised Land. I’ve been trying to keep that in mind in my life with my job, with my family, and with my relationships too. The Lord is going to have me right where he wants me, and the harder I fight that, the harder it’s going to be for me to stay in line with the Spirit.
Another thing I’ve been learning is how the gospel isn’t about me. It’s really easy to believe that God saved me and to emphasize the me when thinking about it, when in reality, it’s God saved me. Not God saved me. When you read through Galatians, you realize that it’s zero, literally zero of our efforts and knowledge that saves us. It’s all by the grace of God. And you say, “Well, why did He do that?” And you realize, it’s because He loves you. Just repeating that. It’s for no other reason than His love. I so often think I have a story worth telling because I’ve made steps to progress my faith, but no. It’s all Jesus. Those are two truths that have been very refreshing to me lately.
Any awesome life transformation stories that you’ve witnessed or been part of at camp?
When it comes to personal transformation, Jesus met me and called me out when I was on staff at Pine Cove. Reflecting on who I was beforehand, knowing that I came on full-time staff as a site director at the same church where I accepted Jesus and even later stayed with the same family, is just awesome. I think back to the moments when I was in that house the first time, and can reflect now from a ten thousand foot view of how my life has changed and how the Lord has radically changed my heart. I’m literally not the same man I was. That is the greatest testament of the Lord’s strength and power that I will ever need.
A few years ago at the Shores, there was a senior camper there for two weeks, and by the world’s standards, his life was awful. He had both of his parents kind of walk out on him. He lives alone in this gigantic house that his parents still pay for. It’s one of those weird situations where he’s all alone. He has a car so he could drive. He got his license on his own. He owns four businesses. He works at an amusement park and has four of those little booths where they sell random stuff. He makes so much money. Like, ten thousand dollars in a week. He’s prospering by the world’s standards but didn’t know Jesus. I was talking to him one night, and he said, “There’s one question here I’ve come to get answered.” I was like, “What is it?” And he goes, “Who is Jesus?”
What was really cool is that later he got to meet our guitarist. They both got sick and ended up in quarantine together. So, all night they stayed up talking. Our guitarist that summer had grown up overseas and had more knowledge of Scripture than anyone I’d ever met. So they started talking and he walked this kid from Genesis through the Old Testament. Then, we got to Matthew one and this camper burst into tears. He was like, “Jesus is real. I know it for sure.” He put his trust in Jesus right there. That gives me chills to think of.
There was another camper at the Shores. She was completely deaf. We had to get another counselor from the Ranch to do sign language. Throughout the week, she slowly started to hear her counselor’s voice. Then, she had a dream that she could hear birds, which is crazy because she’s deaf. One morning, she woke up and could hear the water flowing against the retaining wall. It was like, “Wow, I couldn’t even hear that.” We all started praying because we knew something was happening. Then, we were in the pool and she came out. When she went into the pool, she was deaf. When she came out, she could hear. It was amazing because we got to witness a miracle. Two of her cabin mates accepted Christ right then and there. That week at camp, I wanna say that out of two hundred campers, forty of them accepted Christ. God used a miracle through this girl. Getting to be part of that in person was really cool. Those are two stories that are such good proof that God has called Pine Cove for some reason and is continuing to use it.
What staffer or director has made the biggest impact on you?
Woah. I would say my first site coordinator, Jordy “Shorts” Barksdale. He was the guy that was there the summer that I put my trust in the Lord. I loved just watching him live his life in such a unique and different way. Watching him has changed my life more than any other person has.
We have so many awesome staffers at Pine Cove! Come to camp and meet them in person! We promise it’s worth it.
Posted Mar 20, 2018
Categories: Inside the Cove, Staff Profile (Browse all)
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Tags: Staff Profiles
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