So much has been going on with conferences, projects, storms and just life that I have gotten behind on the blog. There is no way I can remember everything so this will be a summary of what has taken place concerning the camp since about April??? Well starting with most recently in the last week or so I cut grass for 8 hours one day and six another. We had storms that came through the camp the same day as the tornadoes and took out about 13 trees. Every single trail was blocked and one of the roads. A friend of mine from Southern Exteriors came up and we took care of the situation in about half a day. The storm that came through last week, sometime shortly after midnight that only lasted 30 -40 seconds, took out at least twice as many trees than the first storm.
There were and are trees down, others that have the tops ripped out of them and many more that have been uprooted but have not come all the way down. One very large tree came down and missed the RV by about 10 feet. This time I got out the chainsaw again and spent another 8 hours clearing a completely blocked road and some from around the RV.The new iron electronic gate is up, looks good and is working great. Just recently we added an electronic eye for safety purposes.The Pier project is one day from being finished. The actual pier is finished but the handrail has yet to be built. With all the storm damage all across the county this project (rightly) took a back seat for awhile. I hope to have that completed this coming week.We are one step closer to having the new bathroom in the main campground area complete. It appears one more good day of work there will finish it up. Sam Kelly and a group from Willowbrook are working on two new signs for the camp and from what I have seen so far they look great. At an upcoming committee meeting in June we will be discussing various plans, projects, and other things concerning the camp. I know of at least three times Brother Charles Miller from Owens Cross Roads Baptist has been out to do a little fishing and I think two of those times Brother Glen Bobo has been with him. The last time they came Brother Glen brought his dad with him.
A husband and wife from New Market Baptist came out and spent a night just to get away from hectic life for awhile. Another day a family came out and spent a day fishing. Met a fine gentleman from Cornerstone Baptist in Park City who came up and I gave him the $100.00 tour of the place. He was impressed enough that he has scheduled a Kid’s Camp here for a week in July.
Brother Wayne Cooper brought a group of RA’s from Hillwood Baptist and they spent a night.
If I remember correctly they had a little storm that came in the wee hours of the morning. No damage done but a few leaky tents were discovered.
Brother Jeff Whitehead was also part of this group and led their devotional time. I was able to spend a little time with Jeff and like so many folks in the ministry he is one busy guy! We think alike on many things and it is always a pleasure to come across quality people like him.
We've had a number of cancellations and reschedules because of the weather. Ignite City Church, a new church start out of the Madison Baptist Association, held a Sunday afternoon fellowship and prayer meeting up at the camp and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Early in April, Ray Romine brought a group of RA’s from Whitesburg up for an overnight outing. They had a good time and have been regulars to the camp for several years. John Shocke was also there and took the kids on a nature walk where they came across a box turtle I think they named Turbo. Interesting story on John. I had talked with him and we went out to lunch back in the fall to discuss a possible partnership on an upcoming project at the camp. He was scheduled to lead a mission trip to Israel. I asked him about that trip and then he proceeded to tell me what had happened. It seems he had been having some back pain but nothing serious for quite some time when it took a turn for the worse. He said the back pain was really bad and never let up. The doctor found a growth on his spinal cord. They went in and removed it and found it to not be cancerous but had to remove some vertebrae and then fuse his spinal cord together. John told me for the next two weeks he experienced pain like he had never before but forced himself to walk every day. This has been a few months ago and now he says he can’t tell there ever was a problem! God is great !I hope this catches me up for now and I did not forget anything or anybody. This weekend we have a group coming in for a family picnic, then we have a Camp Committee meeting next week, along with the Whitesburg Challengers coming in!
The group wasted no time and got to work pitching tents. Then the cook got to work as the rest went out to do some exploring.
Come Saturday morning they were all ready to jump on the service project before heading on over to the ponds to do some fishing. They made quick work of cleaning up the obstacle course area and then proceeded to try their hand at the obstacle course. It took some time to figure out the best way over the wall but with a little help most all made it. Hey even one of the adults did it! They had some fun and a few needed a break before making the hike to the ponds.
Everyone went back to the pavilion for something to drink and a time of devotion led by one of the men in the group. About an hour later most of the group made their way to the ponds where they spent the rest of the morning until about lunch time.
I managed to get a picture of the group minus one as one of the dads had to leave early. I heard rumor that one of the dads stayed up telling some stories late into the night, I bet that was interesting. No one in this group had ever been to the camp before. Everyone seemed to enjoy their stay and we look forward to seeing them again down the road.
