Harvest Time Bible Camp – June 2014
We left the hot sunny days of Florida near the end of May
and made the long trip up to Ellenboro, NC which is near home. Little did we realize that the days are
getting warmer and warmer in NC as well!
We will be working this project for the months of June and July. It is a
summer camp ministry that serves the youth of the area and surrounding
areas. We have as many as 140 children
(which includes the counselors) a week. I
tell friends over and over again, 40+ years of working a desk job is bad for
your health. These 9 hr. days of being
on my feet on concrete floors is wearing me out! My brain may not be as active but my muscles
sure are and we are in and out of air conditioning so dealing with heat is new
as well. We have gone from a job where you take a shower in the morning to
prepare for work to taking your shower at night or your spouse won’t let you in
bed.
VBS drama set construction this year was minimal for us so
we were able to devote more time to the Bible Camp here in Ellenboro. We really appreciate Paul Keener and Jason
Raynor who did the bulk of the decoration in the auditorium this year. Paul and his wife, Betty, also do some of the
rooms used during the VBS as well. They
are really great servants of the Lord and we are thankful for them.
This camp experiences on average 80 decisions for Christ in
one summer – it is exciting to be in an atmosphere where God is working and
meeting Him there. Not only are we
physically working hard but enjoying the “farm life” has been an adventure that
we were not use to! Lilly, our grand
daughter has come out 2 weekends and it has been so much fun running around in
a golf cart showing her horses, chickens, pigs, frogs and rabbits! Her face lights up at just the mention of “you
want to go for a ride”?!!!! Simple
pleasures of life are still the best – ok, maybe not the dead skunk in front of
the dining hall this morning!
Wayne is the girl counselor’s hero – he repaired a hole in
their cabin so Mickey Mouse can stay outside instead of visiting them all hours
of the day/night! His work has been
helping at meal time, but replacing light fixtures, repairing fences, cutting
down trees, installing poles for clothes lines and other general repairs. The days are full. It is good to do a lot of the work so brother
Stephen can concentrate on the spiritual side of the camp. I really appreciate how he is trying to train
the summer counselors in their spiritual life as well.
Ms. Donna is the camp dietician (!) – we are in to corndogs,
pizza and all kinds of camp food. The
kids light up when they read the menu board – after 20+ years she really knows
what floats their boat! The giant slip
and slide that Stephen & Wayne constructed has been a real hit, especially
when baby shampoo is added to the water (below is video)!
The first counselor, Dylan, turned his ankle trying out the new
toy. The taller they are, the harder
they fall. Red, white and blue
decorations were placed in strategic places today – just a reminder that July 4th
is only next week.
Gail has worked in the kitchen the whole time. Again God’s providence is amazing. Donna had two relatives die within a few days
of one another of cancer and she needed to be away. By then Gail had enough experience with the
help of some of the counselors to just keep things rolling. God is truly great and in control. Often we
try to arrange things, but God has it all figured out from the beginning. RV Crazy? We need to let God lead and listen
closely to the Spirit’s leadership.
We now are able to let out our news – Sarah, Vince &
Evangeline will be having an addition to their family in January. Wayne and I are secretly hoping for twin boys
so we can say we have 2 of each! Sarah
said the ultrasound confirms only one, but God may have a plan up His
sleeve! Snicker J. So in August we are planning our slow meander
across the U.S.A. – first Missouri, then New Mexico, then California and then the
waiting game in Arizona for G’Baby #3.
EXCITING!
