COTW 2019 Week 1

I have decided to take a lesson from my good friend Bea and write an update every week of the summer for those of you back home.  To begin with, it was great to be back with Phil after such a long time apart.  It was also so good to spend the week with our son Will.  Will had spent a summer here back in 2011and has several friends here so it was good to keep up those connections.  Even though Will only lives about five minutes from us in Dunlap, we don't always get to spend the extended time together that leads to lots of good conversations.  When he left for home I felt tears come to my eyes and that surprised me.

Part of my week has been spent unpacking, deep cleaning the Loon's Nest (our cabin), and just generally getting settled back into the routine of camp.  I have helped out in the kitchen some, and been involved in some of the staff training that has been taking place this week for the young people who have come to be our summer staff.  It is a large group of nearly thirty young adults and teens, and I am excited to be able to work with them this summer.

Special dinner with staff topped off our week of training.

This special dinner was a true gift from the kitchen staff and leadership team.
I appreciated their thoughtfulness so much.

The thing that has struck me the most this week has been the relationships that have been begun or are being reestablished.  Let me just give you a snapshot of my Wednesday evening.

After chapel Will and I went to the Kanes' house (our friends who are here full time).  We spent about half an hour just talking about life.  I had noticed how content Billie seems to be here now, and she got to talk about how God was building patience into her life.  After that Will went and spent some time with their 19-year-old son, Alex, who is autistic.  I went to the lodge where I had a conversation about my mom's surgery with Seth, and then got to hear from a young man who is here as an intern about the difficulties of leaving his very tight-knit family.  Will ended up in a game of Aggravation so I went back to the cabin.  I ran into Shelby, who spent a couple of summers as our head life guard, and was just back for the evening to visit friends.  She brought Haley with her and these to girls visited with us for about thirty minutes, talking about what they are doing and what they hope to do in the future.

All these connections, all this time for talking and investing in each other is what makes my time at Camp of the Woods so special.  The connections here run deep and span a lot of time.  My life is so much richer because of all the relationships I have built during the past ten years of ministry at COTW.

Staff returning from outdoor chapel at Beartrack Lake.  Canoeing at
sunset is spectacular.

Prayer requests:

Please remember my mother who is having surgery on her nose on Monday to remove some skin cancer.  She has already had substantial work on her nose in the past and it has not been easy.

Pray for me as my biggest job this week will be to tell Bible stories on the morning hike.  Pray that I will have a clear message of how Jesus makes all difference in our lives and that following Him is the best path for your life.

Our key verse for the summer