Work Day!

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day for a scheduled work day!  It's always rather iffy in February -- snow, sleet, rain, and painfully cold temps have all plagued scheduled days in the past -- but this year we had clear skies and temperatures that were just about perfect.

We opened the day at 8:00 a.m. with prayer and instructions under the pavilion.

We had right at 50 volunteers on hand that morning!  That's really exciting to see.

The work day was scheduled primarily to take care of the downed trees from Disaster Relief's Chainsaw Training in the fall.

That wood was hauled by tractors . . .

. . . to one of two locations and teams split and stacked (and restocked our firewood supply). 

We had one team at the pavilion and one in the main campground.

Other teams cleared brush and hauled it up to the field for burning.

Pavers were laid at the bottom of the deck steps. Don't they look great?!

Limbs were trimmed from the roadways, to make it easier for trucks and RVs to travel through easily.

The flag pole was cleaned up and repainted.

Cornhole boards were painted and sealed.

And a new sign was painted and readied for installing.

Lunch was provided at noon, and workers gathered and fellowshipped over hotdogs and chili.

Soon it was three o'clock and time to wrap things up.

We managed to stock about seven or eight cords of firewood!  We know that the groups who camp up here in the next ten months will *really* appreciate that effort.

We really appreciate all the hard work and time that each volunteer gifted to the camp that day!

Alabama Campers on Mission

Do you know what a blessing it is to have a group of campers come out for the sole purpose of doing ministry? We sure do! During the first two weeks of May, Camp MACOBA experienced that blessing first hand, thanks to a group from the Alabama Campers on Mission, led by volunteer Wilton Whigam.

The campground filled up with all types of RVs -- more than we've ever hosted at one time -- as the volunteers came in and set up camp. What a joy!  

On Monday the work started in earnest.  The first big project?  Building a 16' by 70' deck onto the back of the pavilion, complete with rails, steps, and flood lights. You know how "they" say it's going to get worse before it gets better?

Yikes. But "they" are so right . . .

Isn't it beautiful? And here it is after dark . . .

What a fabulous addition this will be to the functionality of the camp in general and the pavilion, specifically!

The deck was the major project for the two weeks, but there were LOTS of things accomplished over that period of time.  This group works harder than any construction team we've ever seen! They finished up the bathhouse in the main campground, including adding steps and under-pinning:

They built a beautiful free-standing counter for the pavilion area:

The craftsmanship on this piece is just beautiful.  What an asset!

They built walls on either side of the 'kitchen' area at the pavilion:

We know that the new walls will be much appreciated by all 'camp cooks' who are up here in windy and/or stormy weather.

They shored up the main support beams all around the pavilion:

They built brand new benches to rest along the railing of the deck:

They built the frame for a storage area at the far end of the pavilion (for chairs, stands, other equipment, etc.):

I believe they got walls up on it, too, before they left -- we just haven't gotten a picture of it yet.

They finished the remodeling work in men's bathroom (off the back of the pavilion):

They built some awesome backdrops for the activity stations (archery, blow darts, hatchet throwing, etc.):

Not to mention all grass-cutting, trail-clearing, floor-and-wall-and-deck-painting, stove-cleaning, storeroom-clearing and flower planting that took place. There may not be any way to list *all* the things this group accomplished -- this is one handy, talented group! And I'd just like to mention that the average age of these twenty or so men and women is, according to them, 70. SEVENTY. WOW!!

During the week, we had seven churches who volunteered to bring lunch up for the workers. The workers were well fed and the volunteers bringing food were well-impressed with all the positive changes! 

Lunchtime was followed by a short time of devotions, the sharing of prayer concerns, prayer time, and a song.  What sweet fellowship!

On the Saturday between the work weeks, we had a fish fry and watched a Dennis Swan DVD under the pavilion, on the 'big screen'.  That was a fun time of good food and laughter!

During the week, we had an opportunity to spend some time around the campfire with them.

It was fascinating to hear stories about where they'd served in the past and the different ways they've ministered. It was also nice to have 'community' in the camp for a season, too.

This Alabama Campers on Mission group was a blessing in so many ways -- to so many people: families, church groups, Scout groups, etc. who will visit the camp in the coming years! We're so excited to share all that they did.  And we are already looking forward to having them back again, in May of 2017!

Obstacle Course Progress!

It finally dried up enough that the pea gravel was able to be delivered for the Obstacle Course.  After another week or so of waiting out the subsequent rain, I spent another week trying to line up someone to move it from being "Gravel Mountain" to its intended purpose of lining the course. 

Phone calls had not produced a taker so I was prepared to go and rent a bobcat and do this myself when Wells Johnson gave me a call. "You still need someone to help with the gravel?" he asked. I told him, yes sir, I do. He responded that he and Gordan Rainey were willing to come up on Wednesday morning and help.

They arrived around 9:00 on Wednesday morning--both with tractors with buckets--and were ready to go. I spent several hours the day before, raking out the leaves and clearing sticks and rocks from the course.  Needless to say I was a little sore but when you are working with volunteers I have learned you have to be able to move when they can come!

This part of the project would prove to be a little bigger than I thought. They brought the gravel in with the heavy equipment and I spread it with a rake. I managed to keep up for about, oh ... 30 minutes. 

Before it was all said and done they spent most of the day up here and finished at about 3:00. They did an excellent job and have been so helpful to me up here at the camp.

I must say that with the gravel down, the Obstacle Course is really looking good. The only think left now is to tighten up a couple of braces and hang the ropes. I believe this thing can be finished and ready to go before May gets here!