Hi everyone - We are all packed up and ready to come home! In a few minutes we'll eat our final lunch here at Scioto Hills, say our final goodbyes, take a few more group pictures, and then load up for the 2 hour drive back to Columbus. We are right on time, which means we should be home around 3:30 or 4pm.
Last night was a lot of fun. The students shared, sang together, encouraged one another, and then played some fun games in the ARC. A lot of us just relaxed and talked, laughed, played music, and enjoyed being away from the busyness of everyday life.
This class has amazed me. In all honesty, I didn't know what to expect from this trip. But they have worked harder and complained less than almost any group I've been with. It has been a great weekend together.
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving - stay tuned for video and picture updates, and any seniors that have good pictures, please give them to me on CD or memory card, and I will include them in the final DVD that everyone will receive.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
A Wet Monday
We woke up to a steady rain this morning. And it continued throughout the afternoon. Everyone was still in good spirits after last night's rousing games of "octa-ball" (you'll have to ask us when we get home), carpetball and Catch Phrase. We enjoyed another great breakfast - pancakes and bacon - and then went to work again.
The staff was kind enough to give us mostly inside jobs because of the rain. A few groups did a deep cleaning of the large recreation facility, others scrubbed paddle boats, and others cleaned lodges. After lunch I went with a few guys out into the woods, into the rain, in the mud, and chopped wood for a few hours. We had large stumps, about two feet in diameter and weighing over a hundred pounds easily - and we hacked and hacked away at them until they split. After 3 hours we were wet, sweaty, tired, but feeling good about our accomplishments and our contributions to the camp. It's jobs like that which go much faster with six people chopping wood than just one. Or ten people cleaning a full-sized recreation facility, instead of just one. Or fifteen cleaning a lodge.
That is what the 10:44 trip is really about - helping out in God's kingdom. We come alongside a great ministry, a great group of people who are dedicated to serving the Church through camp ministry, and we work as hard as we can so they don't have to work quite as hard (although I'm sure they do!)
Tonight, after dinner, we'll have another evening of singing, sharing, and then playing games. I've heard several comments from students about looking forward to getting home and getting some really good sleep in their own beds. We should be home around 3pm tomorrow afternoon. I may not post another blog before then.
It's been a great trip! And I'm sure the students will have many stories to bring home and share - see everyone soon!
The staff was kind enough to give us mostly inside jobs because of the rain. A few groups did a deep cleaning of the large recreation facility, others scrubbed paddle boats, and others cleaned lodges. After lunch I went with a few guys out into the woods, into the rain, in the mud, and chopped wood for a few hours. We had large stumps, about two feet in diameter and weighing over a hundred pounds easily - and we hacked and hacked away at them until they split. After 3 hours we were wet, sweaty, tired, but feeling good about our accomplishments and our contributions to the camp. It's jobs like that which go much faster with six people chopping wood than just one. Or ten people cleaning a full-sized recreation facility, instead of just one. Or fifteen cleaning a lodge.
That is what the 10:44 trip is really about - helping out in God's kingdom. We come alongside a great ministry, a great group of people who are dedicated to serving the Church through camp ministry, and we work as hard as we can so they don't have to work quite as hard (although I'm sure they do!)
Tonight, after dinner, we'll have another evening of singing, sharing, and then playing games. I've heard several comments from students about looking forward to getting home and getting some really good sleep in their own beds. We should be home around 3pm tomorrow afternoon. I may not post another blog before then.
It's been a great trip! And I'm sure the students will have many stories to bring home and share - see everyone soon!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
The "New Birth"
Although the weather was perhaps colder than any previous 10:44 trip, we still headed just across the KY border to Carter Caves State Park. The students were excited to experience the caves, and they were all very helpful of one another. It's about a 3/4 mile hike to the entrance to the caves, and then we start to get really dirty. Hunched over, trudging through cold water, and sometimes crawling on our stomachs, we made it through the first couple of caves fairly easily.
We all walked back to the bus and enjoyed the "sack lunches" that the camp had provided for us- sandwiches, chips and what seemed like leftover halloween candy. After lunch, we split into groups and began to re-explore the caves. My group (team BOOTS) found several small passageways that required army crawling for what seemed like a long time before the cave opened up enough that we could sit up. The team with Mr. Estes and Mrs. Gillespie discovered what has become known as "the birth canal" because of the extremely tight opening, as well as the wet conditions getting in and out. Zach Vance especially experienced the chilling water when he found himself suddenly in a deep pool, but couldn't get back out until the rest of the group turned around from the dead end. He eventually had to remove his wet clothes and take on some dry articles from other members in the group.
In the end, everyone made it back to the bus on time, plenty dirty, and feeling like true explorer-conquerers. And now that we are back at the camp, they are enjoying warm showers, resting a bit before dinner and games tonight.
Thanks to everyone posting comments to the students - they love to hear that you are reading up on them and looking at the pictures, and they are amazed when I tell them the messages you send. When you post a comment, be sure you tell me who you are, because "love mom" is a little too vague :)
To Mrs. Gillespie's kids, she says, "Hi" and she misses you. To everyone else, still a few more days before we make it home - more fun tonight, more work tomorrow. More updates to come.
We all walked back to the bus and enjoyed the "sack lunches" that the camp had provided for us- sandwiches, chips and what seemed like leftover halloween candy. After lunch, we split into groups and began to re-explore the caves. My group (team BOOTS) found several small passageways that required army crawling for what seemed like a long time before the cave opened up enough that we could sit up. The team with Mr. Estes and Mrs. Gillespie discovered what has become known as "the birth canal" because of the extremely tight opening, as well as the wet conditions getting in and out. Zach Vance especially experienced the chilling water when he found himself suddenly in a deep pool, but couldn't get back out until the rest of the group turned around from the dead end. He eventually had to remove his wet clothes and take on some dry articles from other members in the group.
In the end, everyone made it back to the bus on time, plenty dirty, and feeling like true explorer-conquerers. And now that we are back at the camp, they are enjoying warm showers, resting a bit before dinner and games tonight.
Thanks to everyone posting comments to the students - they love to hear that you are reading up on them and looking at the pictures, and they are amazed when I tell them the messages you send. When you post a comment, be sure you tell me who you are, because "love mom" is a little too vague :)
To Mrs. Gillespie's kids, she says, "Hi" and she misses you. To everyone else, still a few more days before we make it home - more fun tonight, more work tomorrow. More updates to come.
Sunday Morning
Today is a little bit different. Because it is Sunday, we take the day off from working (which some students are actually disappointed about, believe it or not) and we head down to Carter Caves, just across the KY border. It will be a cold hike, but once we get into the caves, the temperature is steady around 50 degrees, and the caves are a lot of fun. It's always a highlight of the trip.
Everyone is healthy and having a great time thus far. The food has been great (as always) and the student's attitudes are even better. We all enjoyed watching the Buckeyes run up the score on the team from up north - and some of the students are getting really good at carpet ball.
Hopefully everyone is enjoying the pictures. I'm not able to upload too many while here at the camp because of bandwidth restrictions, but when we get back home, I will make a DVD with video, pictures slideshows, and all of the pictures files for each student - no cost.
As always, feel free to leave comments, and I"ll pass them on to the students. Hope everyone is staying warm up in C-bus - see you in a few days!!
Everyone is healthy and having a great time thus far. The food has been great (as always) and the student's attitudes are even better. We all enjoyed watching the Buckeyes run up the score on the team from up north - and some of the students are getting really good at carpet ball.
Hopefully everyone is enjoying the pictures. I'm not able to upload too many while here at the camp because of bandwidth restrictions, but when we get back home, I will make a DVD with video, pictures slideshows, and all of the pictures files for each student - no cost.
As always, feel free to leave comments, and I"ll pass them on to the students. Hope everyone is staying warm up in C-bus - see you in a few days!!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Day Two - Conquering New Challenges
It's been another great day! Here's a quick update:
We had a wonderful hot breakfast and then got back into our work groups. Many of the jobs we started yesterday will take several days to finish (or really are never finished, like chopping and hauling wood). Some finished taking down and cleaning the tee pee tents, others continued to clear brush, and then there was the ever-necessary raking of leaves! But at least today we got to burn some things :) That always makes it more fun.
After a hard morning of work, we enjoyed hot dogs with chili and cheese for lunch, and then headed back out for a few more hours of afternoon work. It's always harder working after you have had a big meal and just want to take a nap, but the students continued to put their all into it, and we really got a lot done. The reward was the "Avalanche"
The Avalanche is the name for the 80 ft. high, 200+ft. long zip line here at the camp. Two students can go down at a time, and it is a rush! Several students were are very afraid of heights still decided they wanted to give it a try, and although it wasn't easy, they made it to the top and enjoyed the ride down. The afternoon got cold very quickly, but students still stuck around to encourage one another as they climbed up and zipped down. I was especially proud as I watched students who initially had promised they would never climb up that ladder, conquer their fear and then have a great ride down.
After dinner tonight we'll have another time of devotions and group sharing, and then watch the OSU v. Michigan game! (Yes, we taped it, and I still don't know the score, so shhhhh....)
Thanks to everyone who is posting comments. I pass them along to the students, and they all roll their eyes back :)
Check out the new pictures too!
We had a wonderful hot breakfast and then got back into our work groups. Many of the jobs we started yesterday will take several days to finish (or really are never finished, like chopping and hauling wood). Some finished taking down and cleaning the tee pee tents, others continued to clear brush, and then there was the ever-necessary raking of leaves! But at least today we got to burn some things :) That always makes it more fun.
After a hard morning of work, we enjoyed hot dogs with chili and cheese for lunch, and then headed back out for a few more hours of afternoon work. It's always harder working after you have had a big meal and just want to take a nap, but the students continued to put their all into it, and we really got a lot done. The reward was the "Avalanche"
The Avalanche is the name for the 80 ft. high, 200+ft. long zip line here at the camp. Two students can go down at a time, and it is a rush! Several students were are very afraid of heights still decided they wanted to give it a try, and although it wasn't easy, they made it to the top and enjoyed the ride down. The afternoon got cold very quickly, but students still stuck around to encourage one another as they climbed up and zipped down. I was especially proud as I watched students who initially had promised they would never climb up that ladder, conquer their fear and then have a great ride down.
After dinner tonight we'll have another time of devotions and group sharing, and then watch the OSU v. Michigan game! (Yes, we taped it, and I still don't know the score, so shhhhh....)
Thanks to everyone who is posting comments. I pass them along to the students, and they all roll their eyes back :)
Check out the new pictures too!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
