Boy Scout Weekend

Well the holiday weekend was originally scheduled for Willowbrook Baptist Church and a weekend family camp out, but that kind of fell apart about a week ago. Instead, Chris Wilson scheduled it for Boy Scout Troop 757.

I hung out with them for a while, learned a thing or two, and took a few pictures. Several, well actually, most of the boys up for this trip were new . . . this was their first official outing. I think the word 'tenderfoot' was used.

One of the leaders, Ken Boyd, explained the three pot system they had going here.

The first pot was hot boiling water, the second one was water with Clorox, and the last was just cold water. Wash, sanitize, and rinse.

There was plenty of food and activities were going on as well. When everyone first arrived, the pulled up into the upper campground and the rain began to fall. They dropped back to Plan B, which was to camp out near the Pavilion. They were certainly prepared, as the camp trailer was packed.

I think it was Saturday morning when I could finally get back up there and I heard quite a commotion going on about something. As I got closer it was clear there was a contest going on. A standing jump contest I guess it would be called. Instructors were standing by with tape measures.

Everyone seemed to have a great time and I'm sure much was learned by all!

Family Reunion at MACOBA

The Kimbrough family reunion reminded me of the early years of my life when MaMa was still around we had a family reunion every year in August at her house. She had seven kids of which my dad was the youngest. Those were some good memories filled with plenty of food and always meeting a cousin or two I had never seen before. The men would end up pitching horseshoes, telling hunting stories, and discussing where the fish were biting. The women would be in a big group filled with laughter one minute and almost a hush of silence the next. Dad always said they were sharing prayer concerns during those quieter times while other men referred to it as something different. One of the sad things about my grandmother's death was the reunions also seemed to die out as well. Oh they tried to all get together a time or two after that but other things always seemed to come up.

I spent a little while with the Kimbrough family and they seem to be such good folks. I have known Wayne (Pastor of Five Points Baptist) for several years now. He and his wife are such servants of our Lord. I also spent some time talking with Eddie, Wayne's son. Eddie and I share a lot of the same thoughts and beliefs when it comes to the church and ministry. It was good to see a family these days and times to make it a point to get together on a regular basis so as not to lose touch. I hope to see them again.

Pastor's Conference

The last Pastor's Conference before summer break was held Tuesday at Camp MACOBA. This was also the fish fry. The best I could determine there were about forty folks present for this event, including all the staff. Chris Wilson and Sam Kelly also made it up. I noticed Bobby Gordan, pastor of Legacy Baptist Church, was there and I spoke with Don Shultz of New Market Baptist.

The food was great and there were no leftovers...except maybe a few hushpuppies. The weather was not too hot and everyone seemed to have a good time of fellowship. Brother Jones and I talked for a bit about ministry and various things. I am at a loss for his first name but I know his son (Steve) real well, as he is Captain at the Huntsville Fire department.

When everything was all cleaned up and people left there were three of us who stayed and talked for about another hour. Tom Parker and Josh Harris, both youth guys from Wall Highway, and I had a good conversation. I had heard good things about these guys from my daughter and son-in-law. They seem to really have a good head on their shoulders.

Christian Archers' Event

Bethlehem Fishing Outing

I am getting a little behind on this blog....things have been busy! On Saturday, May 8, we had a great bunch of folks from Bethlehem Baptist in Hazel Green. I was very specific there because we have two Bethlehem Baptists in our association. The other one is located in Lacey Spring.

Anyway the week before, much of this same group came up and cut the grass at the camp and did an outstanding job trimming around the upper pond. One of the guys cooking was Ron Glass. I knew his son Ron from Flint River. They had the grill going and things smelling good.

My wife and I walked around the pond taking a few pictures and talking with some of the folks who came up. It wasn't long before one of the younger guys who came along landed a bass that was close to two pounds.

Bethlehem has been up here before and we really appreciate their help in keeping the camp up. Their Pastor Lon was helping one of the kids in his search for a nice sized fish. Talking with one of the gentlemen fishing on the bank he said that Lon could very easy be a guide if he wanted to.....but then again isn't that a mark of a good pastor? Well it wasn't long before the boy landed a good shellcracker.

I would have to say this one was just shy of a pound. The weather was very nice and never really did get hot. It seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves and we certainly loved having them up here.

Whistle while you work . . .

All the weathermen were calling for the weekend to be a wash-out. I guess that is why they call it a prediction. We had a group come in from Betheleham Baptist last Thursday and did an outstanding job at the camp. Karen from the church called me the week before to reserve the camp for a fishing event on Saturday May 8th. This group of men brought their own mowers and had the grass looking good; especially the upper field as it looked like new carpet had just been put down. It is my understanding that the Pastor suited up in his waders and got in the water to give the upper pond a good trimming back. I have been told this group came up here last year and did the same thing. I did not get to meet any of these guys but hope to in the future. I want to send out a special thanks to the following for such a fine job: Lon Ostrzycki, Alan Ostrzycki, Dean Hamaker, Phillip Eady, Bob Milner, Jack Phillips, Billy Medlock, Dale Finley, Ron Glass, and Greg Culver

Saturday was a great workday and much was accomplished. Not sure if the threat of weather kept anyone away but we had a great group of guys. Andy Dobbs brought a crew from Locust Grove and they spent most of their time working on the equipment shed.

He had heavy equipment going this way and that, and even had a mishap or two, but no one was hurt (beyond a pinched finger) in the ordeal. It appears that the shed is close to half-way finished which is a major accomplishment. One of the guys in Andy's crew (Todd Gipson) really knew his way around a tractor/front-end loader. I guess when you do that for a living it helps.

Gipson's son was overheard saying, "A ninety pound boy carrying an eighty pound chain!" That's about the size of it all right!

Dueling tractors!

Clearing the debris from the site where the new shed is going . . .

Putting the sections together . . .

Watch out for your fingers!

Sam Kelly was all over the place and involved in every project. He was up there with the guys putting the shed together one minute and then down splitting a cord of wood the next. Now I have seen a lot of fires but the one Sam had going was ...remember the movie Towering Inferno?! I don't think there is anything he can't do.

Rob Peavy was there and brought along some help as well. He is another one who is always involved. President Reagan was called "the great communicator" but Rob just might give him a run for his money and Rob's pretty handy with a chainsaw as well. John Prince, the guy that came with Rob, was a great help as he assisted me in loading and unloading three huge piles of brush. I was thinking the whole time he was riding with me.....you sure you ain't kin to Rob?

Chairman of the Camp MACOBA committee Chris Wilson was on the scene and did some mighty fine work on the grill as there was almost no food left over!

Oh yeah and Chris certainly has the heart of a servant as he was cleaning the camp bathrooms earlier in the day.

My lovely wife Denise was such a help with many things, especially serving up lunch and then taking care of the clean-up. Only for about ten minutes out of the whole day did we head for cover because of the weather.

Everyone enjoys a break for lunch!

Let's see many of the guys brought their kids with them as I believe the total was 18. The adults were: Rob Peavy, Sam Kelly, Chris Wilson, Andy Dobbs, John Prince, Todd Gipson, Tom Brink, Dewayne Hall, Jonathan Dobbs and me and my wife.

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs . . .

New trail signs went up this past week:

Marching forward.

Back on Tuesday of this past week we had our first "official" Camp MACOBA committee meeting. Present were Chris Wilson (Chair), Rob Peavy, Sam Kelly, Andy Dobbs and myself. It lasted a couple of hours and we covered several issues. The main goal of this meeting was to set up priorities for the work day coming up on Saturday May 1st. Also several questions were addressed that have come from over a period of several months of people asking. We made some decisions on a few of them and others were tabled until the full committee is able to come together. It was a productive meeting which accomplished the main goal, with everyone making substantial contributions. It is going to be such a blessing working with such a great group of men with a heart for the Camp.

On Thursday progress was made on clearing out the main road coming into the camp. Three large trailer loads were hauled to the burn pile as the road was cleared out all the way up to the gate. Speaking of the gate, we are currently trying to raise enough money to replace the current gate with a more secure and user-friendly one. Preparations were made for the group from Whitesburg that was scheduled to come in on Friday afternoon but the weather caused a cancellation.

Providentially the campground avoided being hit by any of the severe weather that came through the county on Saturday, though there were some limbs that had to be cleared off of the roads. Wayne Miller and his group from Disaster Relief came in on Saturday morning to cut down three dead trees. These guys really knew what they were doing and made quick work of this project. Bobby Smith and Bob Gordan, who are from Southside Baptist, were also there as part of the Disaster Relief Team with Wayne. The crew finished up at about 9:45 and no sooner had they loaded up then the rain began to fall.




Sunday a group came in for a Sunday service and fellowship. The Pastor's name is Paul Little and the information sheet he filled out says the group is called Faith Community Fellowship. We had already left for church when they arrived, but they were still there when we returned so some time was spent talking with Pastor Paul and a few others who were still present. They reported there were 55 present for worship; they had a beautiful morning to hold outside services.

This week will be spent (among other things) preparing for the workday on Saturday. We are hoping for a good turnout and lunch will be provided....plans are to even cook up some fish to go along with the hamburger and hot dogs!

Campers everywhere!

Whitesburg brought a group to the camp this past weekend led by Tim Lawrence. I believe it was the 7th - 12th grade boys group part of Royal Ambassadors, called the "Challengers". At around 5:00 I came out of the RV and there was a van in the campground and I could hear a couple of guys down the hill in the vicinity of the old wooden bridge. They were the first to arrive with the rest showing up about a half hour later or so. This group knew what they were doing and quickly went about setting things up.

Now some of the sleeping quarters were a little different than previous groups as we had some tree sleepers.

It seems that this was a simple set-up with a hammock tied between two trees and a tarp as covering.

Some of the guys were walking down the trails and a few were throwing a football around in the upper field. I met Richard Silar who was the contact person for the group and a leader as well. He is a great guy and we had several conversations throughout the evening. I asked Tim how long he had been involved with this ministry and he said 18 years. Like many of us, he began when his kids were involved and has continued because of his love for young folks and being involved in their lives. We need more men like Tim and Richard.

Tim had said that this was not really a structured event but was more of a reward for all the hard work these guys had put in. He did say that after dinner there would be a time for devotion but other than that it was pretty much free time. I was in and out and trying to meet everyone as the evening progressed.

On the dinner agenda was "Hobo's" with everyone responsible for their own plate. Tim said a prayer, followed by directions on putting the hobo together and then the guys went to work.

Let's see I met of course Tim Lawrence and Richard Silar, then there was David Tritt, Rick James, Eddie Richardson, Kyle Ellison and George O'Boyle. They couldn't have picked a better evening for this outing. The winds were calm and the temps were in the upper 70's right here before dark. A clear night was ahead, but not too cold. As I wandered around talking to folks I noticed Tim was working on something kind of off to the side. After doing some inquiring he let me in on the surprise desert for the evening...peach cobbler.

The dutch oven was heating up by the fire while he was getting the old family recipe mixed up just right. The pot was smoking when the batter was poured over in the pot and then strategically placed into the coals. He then heaped a few of the coals on top of the lid. Like I said earlier these guys knew what they were doing.

Certainly there is an art to this type of cooking as he checked it two or three times to make sure it was coming along nicely. I went away for awhile to take care of some things and returned close to 9:00. Just so happens there were a few bites of the cobbler left and when offered I did have a little. Personally I love cobbler, well most desserts for that matter, and I will have to say it was pretty good. They were all gathered around the campfire as I retired for the evening.

When I left for work the next morning, just before 6:00 a.m., there was no activity to be found around the campground. Later I came to find out that it had been a late night for all and breakfast did not come early.