Camps and More Camp Visits.

Last week Denise and I visited three more camps. One was a camp I'd gone to as a kid, Camp Ney-A-Ti, so it's been there for quite some time.

This particular building looked new.

The dining hall, the bunk houses, and the bath house were all concrete block structures with a metal roof.

They had a great open auditorium with bleachers on wheels and a little stage. The bleachers could be pushed off to the side and there was a basketball net at the other end. Great space for worship services, devotions, skits, and a little pickup b-ball action.

Another camp which was not far from Ney-A-Ti was Camp Trico, a Girl Scout camp. Because of the timing of our visit, we weren't able to get an escorted tour, but they'd left the buildings open for us to be able to take a good look around.

These were primitive, wood bungalows. Denise remembers staying in cabins like these when she was a Girl Scout leader. The sides push open (or roll up, if they're canvas) and reveal a screened in room.

There were also lodges a bit more comfortable . . .

This lodge had bunks, a full kitchen at the back of the room on one side, and a bathroom with several toilets and showers on the other side. There was enough space at the end of the room for the group to meet and have devotions or do some training.

Camp Trico was built in 1950, and Camp Ney-A-Ti was already established at that time, so both of these camps have been around for a long time -- better than sixty years. They both seemed to be in a maintenance mode, for the most part.

Later this same day, we headed to Camp Helen, which is owned by the Limestone Baptist Association. The caretaker met us there and we were able to get a good look around.

There was a large multi-purpose building which housed offices, storage, and a full industrial kitchen.

They also had two bunk houses, which were concrete block buildings. These were set up with bathroom facilities at one end of the bunk house.

The grounds were well-kept and there was a pond and a swimming pool. The property was small, unless you include the soccer fields down in the lower area.

Anyway, it was a pleasant day and I have the information needed now to put together a proposal which I have already started working on.

Okay, enough with the camps, it's time to focus on the the mission at hand! Proposals will go on the back burner for now, until the Fall Jamboree is over. It looks like we may have a bathroom up on the upper campground area ready to go before the Jamboree gets here. The committee voted and one was purchased; we just need to get it up here and working.

A Flurry of Weekend Activity

Well I had spoken with Brother Shannon Johnson and e-mailed a time or two and it was set, a group from Central Baptist was coming up to spend the night this past Friday. The weather man threw in a chance of rain, actually fifty percent, and one by one the folks started canceling. By the time the phone calls stopped, only Shannon and a couple others were left. They stayed a little while but decided to not spend the night and to possibly reschedule in the future.

On Saturday afternoon, right about the hottest part of the day, Brother Jim Kidd and his lovely wife showed up to prepare for their church picnic. Another couple showed up shortly after to help. I had a connection with the gentlemen as his father had retired from the Fire Service years ago. I chatted with the folks for a few minutes and then went back to the RV for awhile. Sometime after 5:00 the rest of the church started trickling in.

Close to 6:30, Denise and I made our way over to do some meeting and greeting. By this time everyone was through with dinner and they extended an invitation for us to have a bite, which we did. Never been to a Baptist outing yet that chicken was not to be found and this was no exception.

The food was great and Denise said the homemade pimiento cheese was really good, as well as the potato salad! We sat around and talked for a bit, took a few pictures and then helped them pack up. I enjoying listening to some of Brother Kidd's stories about work and ministry and there was even a few he said he could tell me but then he would have to kill me!

He did tell me of a story about a lady who came to a church he was the Pastor of in Florida that wanted to put her dog in the nursery. Don't think they cover that in Seminary! I think everyone had a good time despite the heat and I look forward to seeing them again in the future.

Busy & busier!

What a week it has been. Last week Denise was bitten by a spider. Now we live out in the woods, but where does she get a bitten? At work! That day we thought it was no big deal. It looked and felt much like a mosquito bite. The next day it changed and produced a dark center, so we went to see the doc who gave her an oral and topical antibiotic. A re-check appointment was made for Monday. Well it had changed quite a bit by that time. When the doctor came in and saw that her leg was swollen and the effected area was bigger than a large dinner plate, he was caught off guard. He immediately admitted her to the hospital, which is where we spent the next three nights. Finally they found something on day three that had some effect. He told us that it looked like a brown recluse bite, for which there is no known treatment. Anyway I stayed up there with her until finally she was released on Thursday morning. We had great nurses and techs, but I was sure glad to get out of there. So now we are back home and everything is gone except the center, which is the size of a quarter. We pray that it will just go away...we will see. Denise has two doctor appointments for Wednesday, one for the bite and the other for her foot. We hope she begins physical therapy this week.

One thing great about ministry is the people that you meet. Last week, in the continuing effort to prepare for the big day coming up on September 18, I met with a great guy from First Baptist Huntsville. I hope to get to know him better in the future. He is a Christian businessman with a heart for the camp and has pledged to help. So far that makes two businesses on board.

I spent about four hours up at the camp cutting grass on Friday. I did not get it all done but put a dent in it. Today I took a mower up there that was donated from Restoring The Church Ministries. Now we have two in case one breaks down.

There is a lot of planning and logistics that goes into a day like the upcoming Jamboree, but I am very encouraged by how things have been coming together in the beginning. Next week will be filled with meetings with camp directors and possibly RA leaders, touring other camps, meeting with possible sponsors, doctors appointments, therapy sessions and the first mail-out of the Jamboree flyers. Oh yeah, and Lighthouse is having their 15th Anniversary coming up this month, so I will be making sure that letter gets out tomorrow (which will be no small undertaking) and then there is something called my job to deal with as well.