Cornerstone Baptist Church Picnic

Sunday afternoon provided the perfect backdrop for a church picnic.  The skies were clear, the air was warm, and there was a delightful breeze.  We had the fellowship of Cornerstone Baptist Church, Fayetteville, TN, up here for an afternoon of food and fun.

This was the first time many of the group had been up here and they enjoyed themselves immensely, especially the youth!  They were quite taken with the trails and creeks to wander and explore; and of course, wherever there's water, there's wet teens!  The playground was (as usual) a big hit, too.

First we had lunch -- Todd manned the grill (and don't think there weren't a few comments made about his grilling attire) and cooked up some hamburgers and hotdogs.  

Everyone brought sides and desserts and there was a true picnic feast set out on the serving tables.  

After lunch had settled, a group of folks headed down to Serenity and Silty Bottom ponds to do a little fishing.  

It seems that everyone caught a fish except Pastor Danny, who caught a mud turtle.  Maybe he should stick to being a fisher of men?! 

Whitesburg Challengers Camp Out

It was Friday afternoon when the group arrived and Vern Handley and his son were the first to get here.  After a little while I headed over to see them -- their vehicles were there but no one was in the camp.  Later I saw Vern's son on a bike coming up the gravel road down from the pavilion.  A few minutes later there came Vern.....now he was off the bike and pushing it on up the hill.  It may have been another hour or so when the rest of the group arrived. 

I made my way back to the campground with paperwork in hand so Tim or Richard could fill it out for me.  Which speaking of that, I always get the two of them mixed up for some reason and I did it again.  It seems that I remember from the last time either John Crocker or Ray Romine (neither of whom made this trip) told me that Richard was the good looking one.  Not sure what they meant by that...maybe because Richard has more hair?....hmmm.  Someone mentioned that John was away on some very draining mission trip in New York I believe. 

Anyway I spent a few minutes with these gentlemen and took a few pictures.  Vern came up here last year and I think he is a "General" with some super-special Cadet group.  Tim and Richard have been involved with the Challengers for over 20 years and we talked about this for a few minutes.  Tim said when they first began the program, they would bring groups of up to seventy boys.  Now it is closer to a fourth of this.  He shared that there are just so many more extra-curricular activities that compete for the kids' time these days. 

The group spent most of their time in the main campground and I made it back over that evening to take a few more pictures.  They had a good night's sleep and the temperatures were just about perfect for camping out.  In the morning I could smell bacon frying so it was only natural to drift over there again.  The kids were responsible for their own supper but the leaders were cooking breakfast. 

An interesting method of cooking french toast was taking place as I arrived.  The had a two burner coleman stove with both eyes lit.  On it was a bread pan which had been heavily buttered and perfectly fit across both eyes.  They had six pieces of toast going at one time.  You could tell these guys were pros.  I did not stay around for breakfast as my lovely wife had breakfast going as well.  They hung around until about lunch partaking in some kind of activities.  This is a quality group of men and I am always glad to see them visit.       

One Fish, Two Fish

Or, rather, two groups fishing.  That's what we had going on up here this past Saturday.  Our first group were the youth, led by their leader Chris Brocato, from Neeley's Chapel Baptist Church in New Market.  They'd been out to the camp last fall for a church-wide picnic and had decided then that they'd come back in the spring to try their luck at the ponds.

The weather was perfect ... warm, but just a tad overcast and with a slight breeze.  They seemed to split into two groups. I headed up to the dock first, and was just in time to see this:

Followed closely by this:

Yup -- it was a great morning for fishing!  

When I traveled down to Silty Bottom to see what was happening there:

I met Caleb, who was catching shell crackers nearly as big as he was!

There was a lot of 'fun' fishing going on down here (meaning a lot of socializing)!  

But Caleb managed to reel himself in another biggie while I was down there.

But he wouldn't touch it himself!!

They seemed to enjoy their morning and there was a lot of talk of the guys coming back up for a night to do some primitive camping.

Our next group came in just after lunchtime.  This was Pastor Earl Johnson and some of his church family from Christ Community Church in Huntsville.  I met them up at the pavilion and gave them a little bit of a tour -- they'd not ever been up here before -- and then took them down to the ponds.  

They decided to set up on the dock at Serenity Pond.

And they were definitely prepared to make an afternoon of it!

They were dressed for it too -- love the matching shirts they've got on here.  They say, "Been fishing for Jesus -- Caught one -- Matthew 4:19 -- Christ Community Church"! 

I hope now that they know about the camp -- and all the amenities that we've got up here -- they'll be back up for some more events, too!