Other sights, sounds & smells

Some other sights, sounds & smells of this week:

• waking up Friday morning to see the boys at the pool - going for their polar bear swim
• campers' excitement when they won cabin clean-up
• brownies baking
• campers excitedly taking parents around to show them where they spent the week
• the learning of memory verses
• day campers eagerly helping put the syrup on the table for pancake & french toast breakfasts
• a mother & son spending time together walking through the daylilies
• the mud pit activity followed by a slip and slide
• one day camper's anticipation of leftover spaghetti - she loves spaghetti
• mothers calling to make sure child is okay
• mothers calling to let us know child is afraid of storms
• counselors letting off steam (pent up energy, frustrations, etc.) after campers had gone home
• counselors and staff in prayer for this week's campers
• counselors and staff in prayer for next week's campers
  

Sights, Sounds & Smells

There are certain sights, sounds & smells one expects to encounter while at camp. The one smell I distinctly remember is the musty smell the clothes would take being in the cabin. It seemed that the smell was just leaving the clothes when the next time to be at camp would come along. The sights & sounds I remember are campers having fun with all the activities, quoting our memorized Scripture verses in chapel & then the quiz following the verse recitation. Our counselors had prepped us all morning & afternoon on the chapel sessions from the previous evening & that morning. We had to be prepared for any question that may be asked from those two sessions.

Despite the fact some things have changed here at camp - cabins upgraded, indoor plumbing in all cabins, hot water with which to take a shower, etc., there are some things that still remain the same. The campers all go home with the musty cabin smell attached to all their clothes. The campers still enjoy the activities.

The one outstanding sight of this week of camp is seeing the boys sitting by the side of the pool. Not because of discipline but because of the weather. Every time the boys get to the pool, the thunder starts. They get out and very shortly leave the pool area because of lightning. We pray they will be able to swim tomorrow.

We are thankful for the rain. We know the boys are disappointed that they cannot swim. That is the all time favorite camp activity.

Going to the chapel...

Our regular chapel speaker had a prior commitment so one of the counselors led the chapel service this evening. He spoke from Psalm 1. He illustrated verses 1-2 in such a way I don't think the campers will ever forget what the counsel of the ungodly, path of sinners & seat of the scornful are.

Before chapel started I was talking to one of the campers. Greeting him by name, I asked how he was. "Excuse me," he stopped me. "How do you know my name?" "Well you were here last year," I said. "I know," he said. "I don't mean no offense but you're old." Smiling to myself, I said, "Old people aren't supposed to have memories good enough to remember names are they?" "No," he answered. "My grandmother is like 92 and she doesn't even know my name."

Campfire Service

This week is day camp. The day campers are given the option to spend Thursday night at camp. Almost all stayed here tonight. Since camp is now ending on Friday evening, the campfire service was tonight.

The chapel speaker had a prior commitment tonight so the activities director(?)not sure if that is his correct title spoke. He spoke on God's love & how it is shown. He focused on God's love is shown to us through His creation and through our family & friends. Throughout his devotional, he gave the campers the opportunity to share different ways God loves us. They also touched on ways our parents love us. One of the ways our parents love us is through discipline. An example given by one of the rowdier boys who was sitting on the back row was, "if your mom tells you not to use your dad's chainsaw you'd better not".

After the devotional ended, the campers were given an opportunity to share a favorite activity of camp. (The day campers campfire service is a little different than the overnight campers) Some of the activities shared were the zipline, bucking barrel, crafts, chapel, rest time, swimming. One little quiet boy sitting on the front row said the food was great. He especially loved the ham. And then going back to the example given about parents discipline, he said he ate that ham like a chainsaw eating wood. It was that good. We adults got a kick out of that (no pun intended).

It's boring

One of the local churches is hosting VBS this week. Some of the day campers are involved in that also. Can you say tired little campers? Today I asked one of the little campers if she were going to attend VBS this evening. She shrugged her shoulders. "How do you like Vacation Bible School?" I asked. "It's boring," she exclaimed rather loudly. I guess if you've been very active at camp all day and then have to go and experience less activity at Bible School it would be boring! :)

I'm so tired!!!

Yesterday as I was leaving the office to help serve lunch, little W was on his way from his cabin to the dining room. He was way behind his cabin group. The last two counselors were trying to go as slow as he was, but that was hard for them. I greeted him and asked him how he was. "I'm so tired," was his reply. I had to get up at 6 this morning. I came all the way from and he named the area he was from. I chuckled to myself and wondered what he would be like on Friday morning.

This morning his parents called letting us know he wouldn't be there. When they awakened him he wasn't feeling well. They let him crawl back in bed. He fell right to sleep. I told the mother that when he woke up if he felt better she could bring him on. I figured he must not be feeling well because this camper is always ready to come to camp. We pray he is feeling better tomorrow & will be able to come. We also pray that these children will not get tired of hearing the truths from God's Word and will eagerly listen to the stories they are hearing and be able to apply them to their little lives.

Thank You!

Little A was new to the area last year. Through a friend from a church they were visiting they learned of our summer day camp program. A's family started sending A to camp. She came the rest of the summer.

Today A came for the first day of summer 2009 day camp. She is one of the ones who have signed up to come all summer. When her parents brought her today they commented how much A had enjoyed herself last year. If we didn't offer day camp all summer they would have to hire a babysitter & were afraid A would be in front of the TV all day. Here she gets to run, play, make crafts, swim & most importantly learn God's Word. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We so much appreciate this summer program you provide.

Will you pray for little A and the rest of the children who are coming for day camp? Will you pray they are attentive during the teaching of God's Word and that they will grow in their relationship with our Lord & Savior?

Health Inspection

Today is over! We can all breathe a little easier. The state health inspector came to check our facilities. We "live" for the health inspector's visit. Actually we sit on pins and needles waiting for her arrival. When she comes we are glad it is over!

We served taco salad for lunch. All the campers had been served - some even on 2nds. The staff had been served. No taco meat left. There were plenty of chips, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onions, salsa & sour cream. We had left them on the counter until the campers were dismissed since some of them were returning for a taco salad minus the beef. Lunch was finishing up. 4 of the teenagers were being recruited as volunteers. 2 to help wash dishes & 2 to help set the tables in the dining room - after one meal we get the table ready for the next. The 2 who were asked to help in the kitchen had already washed their hands & were starting to help with the dishes. Those of us at the staff table noticed that a car had pulled into the driveway and a lady got out carrying her clipboard. We knew this was THE VISIT. Before she entered the dining room we buzzed into health inspector mode. Making sure no cups were sitting in the kitchen looking like they were being used, looking around & making sure there were no "violations" we could see, sending the two volunteers out of the kitchen with the promise we would use them for supper - and then forgot at supper to choose them as volunteers.

She is a very thorough inspector. She opened every cabinet & cupboard. Looked in both the staff fridge & walk in cooler - even testing the temperature of the sandwich meat & milk. Opened both freezers. Took lots of notes. We were waiting to see what the lots of notes were. After checking the kitchen, she went to check the pools & then the cabins. We sat in the dining room waiting to hear what the kitchen score was. We made a 94!!! We fixed the things we could. The 50 year old crack in the floor we were not able to fix.
The cabins & pools were all in the 90s also. She won't be back for the cabins or kitchen until next summer but will come back at least one more time before summer ends to check the pools again. We will still continue to keep the kitchen & dining room clean. We'll just be able to breathe a little easier knowing the inspection is over.

As we were sitting in the dining room waiting to hear the scores, the former ministry director who now purchases the food said "there is only one person who gets everyone in such a tizzy all at the same time. She came today & won't be back until next year." (not an exact quote). I went back up to the office and thought about what he had said and how true it was. She comes in & we all go into this fast paced mode of getting things whipped into shape. And then I thought about the campers & how they come to camp & are saturated with God's Word. They make promises & decisions for the Lord. Then they go home. Some will build on those promises & decisions they made but others will be sent back to homes where they don't get the spiritual support they get here at camp. They will forget all about those promises & decisions until they next year when they come to camp and remember what they promised the Lord the previous year. Then they will go into a tizzy trying to make up for forgetting the promises they made. We pray that the fire lit under these campers will stay with them as they go home. We pray that they will be "in a tizzy" to tell their friends & family of the Lord's love.

Mammy

Even though Mammy was not either parent's mother or their grandmother, we four girls considered her our grandmother. When Mother would go to visit Mammy we four girls were more than willing to tag along. You see Mammy always had a cabinet full of homemade snacks which she would pull out upon our arrival or allow us to. Also in that cabinet were 2 liters of Pepsi products - sometimes all Pepsi & sometimes there was a variety. She would always serve the Pepsi in green & white striped plastic cups. Each cup probably held 12-16 oz. of liquid & had a handle to hold. We could sometimes imagine we were drinking coffee. Before pouring the Pepsi into the cup, Mammy would go to her refrigerator and get ice from the ice maker in the freezer - a novelty to us. Mammy also had a portable automatic dishwasher. We thought that was neat to see her move the dishwasher from the corner in her kitchen to the sink so she could wash dishes in it. When a movie about Helen Keller came on TV, my teacher required us to watch the movie & write a report. We didn't have a TV but Mother called Mammy & the whole family was invited to watch the movie on their TV. If we had a lot of company coming and all our bedrooms were needed, it was not a problem to call Mammy and ask if we girls could "room" with her. We loved playing Scrabble with her during those sleepovers. Of course she always won. I think she knew every word in the dictionary. It was harder for me when Mammy died than it was when my grandmother died.

Three of Mammy's great-grandchildren are at camp this week. Seeing them come through the serving line, I am reminded of all the hospitality shown us at Mammy's home. I am reminded of the many ways she treated us as granddaughters and am thankful she allowed us to call her Mammy. I thank the Lord for allowing me to know her. I also pray that each camper will experience a little of that same hospitality while here at camp. I don't think I ever heard Mammy say she loved the Lord but I saw the evidence of that love in her life. I pray I evidence His love in my life also.

Hungry campers!

Today has been a somewhat different food day. Not that the food we serve has been different, except for lasagne instead of spaghetti. The campers have been hungry. Usually on the Tuesday during teen week, the campers are "not hungry". Now some of that could be because they're still trying to impress others. Today we have seen none of that. These campers have been hungry. There was only a little of the lasagne left from lunch and none of the ham & cheese sandwich melts from supper were left. They also ate all the lunch salad & supper vegetable sticks - which is quite unusual for campers. Usually we staff (who are serving) are the ones who eat salad because there is not much of the other food left. Today by the time we got to eat there was NO salad left. We pray that while the campers are here we feed them spiritually as well as physically. We pray that when they leave, they go home hungering to study God's Word for themselves.

Excited about the summer!

Here is the summer staff. They seem eager to serve the Lord as they minister to the children left in their care during the week. Aren't they a good looking bunch?