Busy as a Bee . . .

This past weekend was a busy one at the camp.  On Friday, we had the Whitesburg RAs in overnight. The group makes a regular appearance in both the spring and the fall, and we always enjoy hosting their campouts!  You can count on the group doing some kind of a craft:

And there's a lot of games, devotion time, hiking, and laughing going on! Plus food ... the grills are working overtime ... or in this case, the griddle . . .

And this year, they gifted us with a three-burner camp stove, which we really appreciate.

This will come in so handy at the next fish fry!

The guys stayed through Saturday morning ... they even got a good tour of the new cabin.  By noon the camp was quiet . . . for a little while.  Late Saturday afternoon, the camp played host to a special two-year-old's birthday party!

Everything was set up perfectly for this sweet little girl's "Busy as a Bee" themed party.

The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time.

The new deck is a real asset to the pavilion, and parents love to be able to let their kids 'go'!  The new permanent counter has also proved to be a tremendous asset, well-appreciated by all our guests.

And was a great place to receive lots of fun birthday presents, too!

After an afternoon of lots of good food, fun, and birthday cake, this group called it an evening and the camp was quiet once again.

That changed on Sunday afternoon, when Union Grove Baptist Church held their evening service up at the pavilion!

They had a terrific crowd show up, and enjoyed what was probably the best weather of the weekend.

We sure enjoyed having all three of these groups at Camp MACOBA and hope we'll see them all again SOON!

Sunday School Class Fellowship - New Market Baptist

It was really terrific Saturday for an afternoon/evening of fellowship on the pavilion. And we were so happy that one of our favorite groups were here to enjoy it!

Mrs. Sara made a terrific pot of chili and some hot cider -- perfect for a spring evening where the temps dip down into the 50's -- and Mr. Bill had a roaring fire going in the fireplace!

Dinner was jolly, with everyone 'camping out' by the fireplace.  

For dessert they had a camping favorite . . . s'mores!  Everyone got in on the marshmallow roasting fun!!

After dinner, we took one of Mrs. Sara's famous Bible quizzes. 

May I just say that her quizzes let you know how little you actually know about the good Book??! After the quiz, we played a funny game, and that wrapped up the evening.  They had a great time of fellowship and we love it that they always include us in their fun!

Flint River Community Group -- Low Country Shrimp Boil!

The weather was cool and clear -- a perfect evening for our first group of the spring season to arrive! And the perfect night for the second annual Flint River Baptist Church Community Group Low Country Shrimp Boil!

There was a good crowd of folks . . . probably better than forty adults, teens and children running around!

Once the cooking was done, the big pot was emptied out on not one, but TWO picnic tables!

What a spread! This year they had crayfish flown in all the way from Louisiana!

After a little tutorial on how to eat the crayfish, everyone sat down with plates piled high!

After dinner the fellowship started in earnest.  For some it was around the campfire, roasting marshmallows . . . 

And for some it was around the checkerboard!

That was a very spirited game!!

There were even a few brave individuals who pitched tents (in the dark)!

All in all it was a fantastic evening and folks really enjoyed kicking back and enjoying good food, good friends, and good fellowship. As always, we were grateful to be included in such a fun evening!

As Bill, the coordinator of the effort, said last evening, here's to forty more years!

New Market Baptist -- SS Fellowship

Sometimes, when a particular group visits often enough, they start to feel like family.  That's certainly the case with the group we had on Saturday night -- Mrs. Sarah's Sunday school class from New Market Baptist.  They've been using the camp for their class fellowships two-three times a year since we came to the camp six years ago!

This go 'round the group was smaller than usual, but still enough for a rousing game of scrabble!

And after dinner, Sarah treated us to her review of Sunday School materials from the last quarter. 

Truthfully, this is one of our favorite parts of their get-togethers -- always a lot of fun, spirited competition!  They're already on the schedule for fall -- we can't wait!

Last Activities of 2013

November and December flew by up at the Camp and even though the temps were definitely turning colder, we still had a good number of groups using the camp.  Saturday, December 23, we had a repeat visit from one of our favorite groups, the Sunday School Class fellowship out of New Market Baptist Church.  It was a smaller group this go 'round, but fun nonetheless.  And while the temps were cold, the chili was hot, hot, hot!!

Thanksgiving day, our own family congregated up at the pavilion for a traditional turkey dinner.  We had family in from out-of-town, as well, and it was nice to have all the picnic seating we needed.  By then, we'd made sure the tarp 'walls' were up and kept a fire roaring in the fire place, so it was a cozy meal together.

In December, we got rained out for another work day.  Which was really a shame, the wood supply in the stacks has gotten low.  Hopefully we'll be able to get a crew up here to chop and stack wood before our spring campers start coming in.  

The weekend of December 13 and 14th was bitter cold, so when the guys from Troop 7084 showed up, they immediately pitched tents until the pavilion, taking advantage of the tarp walls.  

They also made good use of the fire place, and quickly put their Dutch ovens to work with a hot and hearty dinner and dessert.

Ever resourceful, the Boy Scouts figured out a way to enjoy their camp time in spite of the very low temps!

Our last group of the year lucked out with much milder temps.  It's amazing how one weekend in December it can be well below freezing, but by the next weekend, temps have reached the 60s!  

The manly-man group from Asbury United Methodist lucked out which such a weekend.

They pitched their tents and roughed it for their stay.  

The smell of steaks cooking over an open campfire was certainly tantalizing.

And that wrapped up the camping activity for 2013.  We're already booking for 2014 and the weekends in March are already filled!

A very *busy* weekend!

This past weekend was very busy for the camp, with three back-to-back events, each with fifty participants or more!  Luckily the weather was fabulous for all three events, spanning four days.

The first event to kick off the weekend was the Martin/Blair wedding.  They got it started on Thursday, getting the pavilion all set up for the festivities.  The bride wanted a rustic, country look, complete with hay bales!

From the seating, to the table arrangements, the lighting, the gift "table" and even the cake stand, the bride definitely succeeded in pulling off the look she was going for.  

It all made for a lovely and fun Friday evening wedding and reception and even included a post-ceremony hay ride around the camp and hot dog and marshmallow roasting over the bonfire!

We wish Mr. and Mrs. Blair a happy and God-blessed life together!

The next event -- on Saturday -- was a family reunion ... one that's taken place up at the camp every year we've been hosts, and who knows how long before that!  This was the Jack's family reunion and it turns out that this year they had the greatest participation they'd had in a while, with fifty family members showing up!

As always, the food was plentiful and they were gracious enough to share with the camp hosts, so I can say with authority, it was good!

They had a good time and enjoyed each others company into the afternoon.

Finally, Sunday afternoon, the camp hosted the third event of the weekend, Lakewood Baptist Church's annual church picnic!

They had a terrific crowd -- one hundred members turned out to enjoy the food, fun, and festivities!  They even set up a sound system for music and a time of worship/devotion after the meal.

While we ran into quite a few members who had been up here before, there were also a few who were seeing the camp for the first time.  It never fails to impress, especially since our rainy, cool summer and lovely fall temps have really kept the camp looking green and pretty.  Brother Terrell Boyd, Lakewood's pastor, has been a good friend to the camp and we always enjoy hosting their church picnic!

Weekends are thoroughly packed with events through the end of November -- this past weekend was a terrific reminder of how much of a blessing this camp is to so many people, in such a variety of ways!

Bevil's Chapel - Church Picnic

A nice group from Bevil's Chapel made it up to the camp for an afternoon of fishing, fun and food!  The weather was gorgeous -- hard to believe it was the middle of July!

Their first order of business was definitely to head down to the ponds and see what they could get to bite. I don't think the fish were nibbling that afternoon ... a lot of good effort, though!

The young folks that came with them were excited to have some roaming space and were particularly intrigued by Crawdad Creek! After a good bit of exploration, though, hunger set in and they made their way back to the pavilion for some burgers and dogs.

After the meal, one of their members shared a terrific time of devotion. 

Interestingly enough, he'd just been up to the camp in the week prior -- checking the meters!  Small world, isn't it?