First day of March

Our morning started bright & early with the alarm clock chirping at 5am. I did not want to get up but did need to be in the camp kitchen by 6.

We arrived and worked on breakfast being ready by 7. We ended up eating around 7.15. The men were finished and on the job by 7.45. Breakfast was biscuits, sausage gravy, jelly (for those who might not like biscuits & gravy), grapes, orange juice, coffee & there were cereals - Cheerios & a Bite Size Shredded Wheat variety. The men were excited we were serving biscuits & gravy for their first meal.

Much work was done between breakfast & lunch. At noon we served spaghetti, garlic toast, green beans, salad, lemonade, sweet/unsweet tea & water. The men were able to eat a little more for lunch than they had been for breakfast. We had purchased some Little Debbie snack cakes for the men to have if they needed a morning or afternoon pick me up. They were set out for dessert.

We cleaned up from lunch & I was able to go back to the office. Supper was served at 5 - hamburgers - grilled outside - with all the trimmings, potato chips, lemonade, tea, water & I had set out a few soft drinks in case those were wanted.

As far as the progress of the new bathroom, they have the walls framed, pipes laid out & wires run. During each meal they laughed about finishing early enough they could go to Myrtle Beach before having to go home. Tomorrow there'll be even more finished.

We decided today that breakfast would be served at 7.30. That gives me 30 minutes longer to sleep! Tomorrow is pancakes & John's famous turkey. Bible study will be in the evening. We're studying Jeremiah...the Precept study. My heart is heavy for our country as I read through this book. The idolatry that was prevalent in the days of Jeremiah. And how faithful Jeremiah was to proclaim the message which the Lord spoke to him.

Hope you have enjoyed a look into our day today...mostly the meals. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some pictures to post.

And So It Begins

Every year a church in PA sends a group to do some work projects. They are coming two times this spring. The first group - consisting of 3 men - arrived today and will start work early Monday morning. Their project for this week is to put a bathroom in the office area above the dining room. We always provide the food for them to eat. Friday we staff sat down & created the menu. I typed it up & will hang it up on one of the cabinet doors in the kitchen.

They like to eat breakfast at 7 a.m. so we will have to be in the kitchen by 6 to start preparing that. Come by to eat one or two of the meals with us. Just call to let us know you will be there & we'll have a spot reserved for you.

Bible Club Week 7

We arrived at Bible Club a little early this afternoon - which is fine...it gives me time to get everything set up. As I was signing in, John took the easel & flannel board to the teen room which is where we meet. One of the activity directors told him we would be meeting in the kitchen today. The teens just earned the teen room back & she didn't want to make them leave early. So meeting in the kitchen met we didn't have time to get set up. There are 2 grandmother age ladies (of course for most of these girls these ladies might be great-grandmother aged) who prepare a snack for the girls. Today's snack was ramen noodles. Yesterday they had had ravioli.

We sat out in the hall & waited for the ladies to sweep & mop the kitchen floor. While we were waiting, we heard quite loud sobs coming from the gym. One girl was curled up sobbing her heart out. An older girl went over to her & tried to get her involved in the activities. The sobbing girl said, "No, I don't want to play...You don't understand. My daddy's girlfriend broke up with him. When she left, she took all his stuff & all my stuff too." I quietly said a prayer for this girl, her siblings, father & mother - who, even though she does not live with her daughter's father, would probably have to deal with this grief later this evening.

Then as the girls were being dismissed to activities we were able to enter the kitchen. Fortunately John had snuck in there & set the board up while the ladies were cleaning. But I didn't have a chance to get my figures separated. Well they were in the order they were to be used - I just like to put them with the page on which they're used...and didn't have time today. Since we were in a new location, the girls were antsy. They did not want to sit still. We got through the story. Chapter 2 of "The Mystery of the Golden Key". Upon being awakened at 6.30 a.m., Charlie is excited to remember he is at camp. He & Red get ready for the day. In chapel that morning, they hear the story of Joseph. He was betrayed, blamed & then blessed. Charlie hopes that if he is ever betrayed & then blamed for something he didn't do, he will be able to remember God is in control and will work good from this. The boys leave chapel & have fun the rest of the day. In their evening devotions, the counselor tells them that the golden key which unlocks the treasure chest is missing. Charlie & Red wonder if Muscle Mike found it before supper. They had seen him pick up something from the grass. The girls were disappointed that the story was over for the day.

John came up & led in some songs. "Stop & Go", "Let's Talk About Jesus", "Thy Word Have I Hid in my Heart" and a few others. While he was leading them in songs, I was getting the review game set up. I had accidentally brought "Feeding Gilbert" again.

We dismissed the girls & went to Food City. The group that came early this spring is coming back this weekend to finish one project they were not able to get finished because of the rain the time they were here. They are going to roof one of the cabins. We are feeding them lunch & supper tomorrow. Definitely breakfast on Saturday. Not sure about lunch but if we do will probably order pizza or something similar. Aunt BJ's lasagne was requested for lunch so we got the ingredients for that. We will do sandwiches for supper. I purchased a pork tenderloin at FC yesterday & prepared it in the crock pot last night. For noon today, I had pulled it all off the bone & added barbecue sauce. We had bbq sandwiches. There was "tons" of the bbq left over. We're thinking of offering that plus a few cold cut options we purchased. Breakfast on Saturday will be biscuits & gravy.

It is late. My eyes are heavy. Praying we have sunshine & nice weather this weekend.

New Mexico #1

The mornings started bright & early with breakfasts fixed by John. This picture was actually taken on Sunday morning. They knew they would be getting in late the night before so had asked Jill to purchase some cereals for them. John's actual first cooked meal was Sunday supper.




One of the work projects being done was tiling of a floor. A Native American family had donated a family home to be used for missionary housing. There are currently 2 families staying in the home.




Another project was fixing up this home. Due to health reasons, an adult son was having to move out of his parents' home. This was an ancestral home located near the family.




To thank the team for the wonderful job done on the home, this family had the whole group over one evening for a traditional meal of Navajo fry bread. I believe all the team members loved the evening...the meal & the fellowship.