What We Did in Canada

I've been home a week.  We jumped back into "real life" with both feet...came home to school and car problems and all the real stuff that we don't deal with much in Canada.  But I wanted to let you know what we did while we were there.  Phil did some hunting and fishing, and we both enjoyed lots of beautiful scenery, but we also did some real work.

One of Phil's projects is making bowls for the benefit of the camp.  He has made some for Johnny and Becky to give as gifts to people they want to acknowledge.  He's also working on bowls that he can give to people who agree to give monthly support to Camp of the Woods.  Here's some of his work from our trip.

Learning to use woodburning

Moose bowl

Branching out

Teaching Becky to turn

Phil turned wood with several people while we were there the past few weeks.  He is a good teacher and it gives him a chance to have some one-on-one time with so many different people.  They seek him out, and if he weren't turning wood, I'm not sure that they would.  It has given him many opportunities for conversation and for him to be an encouragement.

We spent the first week getting ready to host a family day at camp which was quite successful even though the weather wasn't great.  Phil helped get a tent for outside and set it up along with some inflatables that were rented.  I just helped with the general set up of the lodge and any details that needed to be attended to.

This was a game I ran called Seek and Find.

Phil and Kaleigh ran the cotton candy machine.

The other two weeks I spent time helping with the home schooling, cooking some of the meals and we both spent time doing lots of reading and thinking.  The quiet time is always valuable even though it looks like you're not accomplishing much.  I also spent time on a year-long project, sending birthday cards to all the campers including a picture of them from camp.  

Another thing that can't be underestimated as far as its value goes is just the time spent in conversation and building relationships with those at camp.  I'm so glad we keep getting chances to encourage and help our friends who are there in Canada full time and dealing with all the responsibilities of the ministry.

While I was there I was also able to skype with my eighth grade students during their class and show them some pictures of the area and what it's like to be there.  That was fun.  And since I've returned I was able to show pictures of what I do as a missionary to the kids in Kids Club on Wednesday night.

So there it is...what we accomplished, and yet we left things undone and unsaid.  We left wishing we were staying, with thoughts of what we might do in the future and some plans to make them happen.  It is exciting and it makes us both very happy.