TGIF

At camp we appreciate the value of a minute. Our “ship” runs like a clock, especially in the first week of camp when we are adjusting to our new schedule. Bugles and Bells define our day in a predictable progression that becomes a part of our internal clock.

Why do I mention this strange fact? Because today is Sleep Late Friday! We blew Reveille at 8:30 instead of the normal 7:30, giving us an extra hour of sleep and a really cool “breakfast in bed” start of the day. We LOVE this amended camp schedule, it is a BIG HIT at Main Camp (a camp full of teen age girls who generally love to sleep late). Breakfast is bought to the cabin in a nice little Greystone Tote bag (cereal, milk, juice and sausage biscuits) and the girls eat while they clean up the cabin. By 9:15 we are back on schedule. One hour REALLY impacts our day!

A quick word about last nights “Senior Hunt” EP, a huge success. This is a very active EP that involved cabins in home made “team shirts” running around camp in an effort to get the most “stickers”. They get a sticker each time they solve a clue, do an activity, or find a Senior Camper (who are hiding around camp). When they get a sticker, they are also sprayed with colored water (theoretically coloring their team shirts with “badges” of honor). After an hour, we gather on the soccer field to celebrate the close of the program… the Senior girls are introduced to the camp and tell everyone where they were hiding then we have a HUGE “Color Dance Party”. Everyone grabs fists of powdered color (powdered dye mixed with corn starch and four) and on cue throws it into the air. Spectacular!

We have to be thankful for the weather, for this event is not nearly as fun if the weather is not good. Last night was perfect: the billowing clouds providing a spectacular sunset. The dance party on the soccer field with the entire horizon painted pink provided the most beautiful moment of the summer. Everyone was laughing and hugging and wanting their picture to be taken. We had a blast.

Today will be another “normal” June day of sunshine and rain. 40% chance of rain, AGAIN! For context: June 2013 is officially the wettest June in Asheville’s recorded history, by a long shot! The rain comes routinely and in large quantities… then moves out! We have not really noticed it in our classes, but the mulch around camp is becoming like quick sand! The next 7 days stay in this same pattern, I really wonder if July is going to be a very dry month (these things tend to even out over time).

I am picking up fireworks today in anticipation of next week’s Fourth of July celebration. This little detail is a fun part of my summer routine and the campers enjoy my delight in a good fireworks show. I am a licensed pyro-technician, have a federally approved explosives magazine, and am set up to shoot the big stuff (same size as the big shows you will have in major metropolitan centers)… but I choose to shoot smaller stuff now due to the intense regulations that rightly accompany big fireworks displays. So our show is a lot like what you did in your back yard as children.

I drive down to a little fireworks stand in South Carolina owned by a 2nd generation fireworks family and run by a guy I call “Jimmy Three Fingers” (he has all fingers, but it makes me laugh). Whenever I arrive I “Make His Day” with a big purchase. We buy so much, it takes a literal trailer to bring it back to camp! It is a genuine “Kid in a candy store” situation. I go a bit crazy… starting with those really cool Chinese floating lamps (colored paper balls that fly due to the little wick of flame suspended inside the lamp) and ending with the big finale box fireworks. It is actually a pretty impressive display and Neil (my roadside fireworks buddy) does a great job picking out the best of what is out there. He literally hugs me when I arrive… it is a “hallelujah” moment for “Jimmy Three Fingers”.

Thank you very much for faithfully reading the blog and for caring about what we are doing at camp. It is kind of hard to understand the impact of camp outside of this little “bubble”, your taking the time to try and understand is well worth the effort.

Tonight we will have our “Opening Vespers” EP, where the girls hear the old story of “The Light of Love” (a true story of a pioneer family who kept a fire going for over 180 years in honor of the patriarch’s love for his wife). Each cabin recites a simple verse of Scripture on Light and Love that they have memorized. The EP ends with the entire camp lighting their candles in a beautiful moment display of unity and individual commitment to keeping the Light of Love alive in their hearts. The whole program provides a wonderful memory that will be brought to conclusion at Closing Vespers at the end of camp. This ceremony remains unchanged from that which was first instituted by Dr. Sevier in 1920 and it is a memorable moment. Four weeks from now I predict that you will hear of it with tears of deep emotion..

Have a GREAT DAY

Jimboy

THE JOKE: As there was no Breakfast Club, this is a freebie for you to use on the Golf Course this weekend.

Jesus, Moses, and an old man are playing golf. They step up to a par 3. Jesus is up first. He drives the ball short, into the water trap in front of the green. So Jesus, being Jesus, walks on the water, chips the ball onto the green and putts for par. Moses is next. He drives the ball into the same water trap. So Moses, being Moses, parts the water, chips the ball onto the green, and putts for par. The old man is up. He drives the ball and it’s heading for the water trap. Before the ball lands in the water, a fish jumps out and catches the ball in its mouth. Before the fish lands back in the water, a bird swoops down, snags the fish, and begins to fly away. As it’s circling over the green, a bolt of lighting strikes the bird, causing it to drop the fish onto the green. The ball pops out of the fish’s mouth, and rolls into the hole for a hole-in-one. Jesus turns to the old man and says, “Dad, if you don’t stop fooling around we’re not gonna bring you next time.”