We arrived in the dark and set up with a bit of rain falling on our heads. Nothing too serious. It took about 1 hour to get everyone settled into their tents. Then it was time for a campfire with hot dogs. 
We sat around and talked, and I shared some modern day parables with the group. We also got to know each other better using some Q & A's. Around 11 pm the rain began to fall fast, so it was off to bed. It rained most of the night.
In the morning, we awoke to some fog, but it was warm. Here you see our main cooking place. I hate sleeping in a tent, so I took my trailer. Makusi, and Chris and Sarah were glad I did. : )
Seems that one tent experienced a bit of a flood during the evening rain, so some minor tarp adjustments were made.
It was soon time for breakfast. Pancakes (sorry John, but it was the "just add water" kind).
The cooking was done by adults, but the dishes were the responsibility of everyone.
After breakfast it was time for our hike to the cave. The day was shaping up very nice. Clouds were burning off and the sun was beginning to shine. We took our vehicles to the camp store and then hiked the 3 KM's to the caves. It looks like Annette doesn't really want to make the walk.
Norman showed us his ability to walk backwards periodically. Apparently that's supposed to be good for you. You learn something new every day! : )
We arrived at the caves, and about 1/2 of us decided to go in (NOT ME!!!) Here Kevin shows off his peek id skin.
The caves have a couple of places where you can see people walking through. Here Chris is imitating spider man I think. Careful on those wet rocks son!
Some arrive at the 1/2 way point. They look cold!
Be careful of those rocks Hannah. Some can be sharp.
Sarah is at the end of the cave peering in where the group will come out.
Emma was the first one to come out. She lost her shoe in that cave, but eventually found it.
Chris came out too. Whew. He looks blue!Hey, that all rhymes : )
Hannah, always smiling.
Rosalynn decided to go only 1/2 way, I think. She's beginning to get sick about now.
It was a long hike and Ethan was getting quite tired. Dad helped him out and Ethan is rewarding him with a head hug. How cute!
They look pretty tired after the hike.
At least the sun was shining. A beautiful day.
After the hike it was time for lunch. Chicken Noodle soup, or Chicken Corn Chowder. MMMMM Good.
It seems that the wasps were out in GREAT numbers on Saturday. Kevin decided to save the day and kill them all. He didn't even make a dent.
After lunch I was hoping the group would go and take a nap, but no, they decided to play games instead. Go figure. Here is a game of Red Rover going on. I don't think Megan made it through......
Jonathan had no problem. I think the girls were scared they would hurt their arms.
I learned a new game on Saturday. Called Prom Date. 
Here George and Kevin duke it out. Pretty evenly matched. I decided to play eventually, but I was no match for Kevin, and George and I could have stayed matched the whole game if I didn't let him get to the middle on purpose.
In addition to those games, there was horseshoes and boccie ball to play. Here Makusi and Norman have a go at horseshoes.
Seems that Chad and Norman stayed in the viewing gallery for our games. No guts, no glory!
In the midst of the hustle and bustle, someone took the camera and grabbed some beautiful shots of the changing leaves. Take a moment and drink in the unique way God paints the leaves in the fall.
Jacob, the thinker!
More games by some on the group.
Eventually it was time for dinner. KD......
......now lest you think I only feed your children junk food in youth ministry, take a look at all those vegetables I also fed them for dinner. They ate them all too.....with a bit of coaxing. : )
Annette and George talking serious while dinner was being prepared.
Leah and Hannah wanted to prepare dinner. Who am I to refuse : )
Chris is our resident KD preparer at home, and he wanted to help too.
Rosalynn was getting more sick, though she didn't let me know about it. My clue was her being so bundled up when the weather was still pretty warm out.
After supper a spontaneous game of, "Honey, will you smile for me" broke out. Comical to watch.
Soon the dark of night enveloped us. We gathered around the camp fire once again.
In the moments between the serious stuff we did, it seems that my son began learning how to braid hair. This youth group is doing some strange things to that boy!
The rain began at about 11 pm. Perfect timing for everyone to go to bed. A brief lighting show and about 20 minutes of hard rain. Seems that 1/2 the group didn't even hear the rain, even though it began about 11:15 pm. They must have had a good day, being so tired and all.
Hannah, always smiling.
Rosalynn decided to go only 1/2 way, I think. She's beginning to get sick about now.
It was a long hike and Ethan was getting quite tired. Dad helped him out and Ethan is rewarding him with a head hug. How cute!
They look pretty tired after the hike.
At least the sun was shining. A beautiful day.
After the hike it was time for lunch. Chicken Noodle soup, or Chicken Corn Chowder. MMMMM Good.
It seems that the wasps were out in GREAT numbers on Saturday. Kevin decided to save the day and kill them all. He didn't even make a dent.
After lunch I was hoping the group would go and take a nap, but no, they decided to play games instead. Go figure. Here is a game of Red Rover going on. I don't think Megan made it through......
Jonathan had no problem. I think the girls were scared they would hurt their arms.
I learned a new game on Saturday. Called Prom Date. For those of us who are older, you could call it Wink.
Some one's in the middle and winks at the person sitting in the inner circle. The person in the outer circle must look only at the person in the inner circle and if they move, they must prevent that person from getting to the middle in a 10 second count.
It was LOTS of fun. We played it for about 2.5 hours. Here Kevin is preventing Ben from getting to the middle. Ben put up a pretty good fight.
It was LOTS of fun. We played it for about 2.5 hours. Here Kevin is preventing Ben from getting to the middle. Ben put up a pretty good fight.
Here George and Kevin duke it out. Pretty evenly matched. I decided to play eventually, but I was no match for Kevin, and George and I could have stayed matched the whole game if I didn't let him get to the middle on purpose.
In addition to those games, there was horseshoes and boccie ball to play. Here Makusi and Norman have a go at horseshoes.
Seems that Chad and Norman stayed in the viewing gallery for our games. No guts, no glory!
In the midst of the hustle and bustle, someone took the camera and grabbed some beautiful shots of the changing leaves. Take a moment and drink in the unique way God paints the leaves in the fall.
Jacob, the thinker!
More games by some on the group.
Eventually it was time for dinner. KD......
......now lest you think I only feed your children junk food in youth ministry, take a look at all those vegetables I also fed them for dinner. They ate them all too.....with a bit of coaxing. : )
Annette and George talking serious while dinner was being prepared.
Leah and Hannah wanted to prepare dinner. Who am I to refuse : )
Chris is our resident KD preparer at home, and he wanted to help too.
Rosalynn was getting more sick, though she didn't let me know about it. My clue was her being so bundled up when the weather was still pretty warm out.
After supper a spontaneous game of, "Honey, will you smile for me" broke out. Comical to watch.
Soon the dark of night enveloped us. We gathered around the camp fire once again. 
In the moments between the serious stuff we did, it seems that my son began learning how to braid hair. This youth group is doing some strange things to that boy!
The rain began at about 11 pm. Perfect timing for everyone to go to bed. A brief lighting show and about 20 minutes of hard rain. Seems that 1/2 the group didn't even hear the rain, even though it began about 11:15 pm. They must have had a good day, being so tired and all. Before we knew it, it was morning. Another foggy and wet morning.
Chris didn't want to get up. It was even foggy in our trailer.
For breakfast it was eggs, oatmeal, bread and OJ.
Megan waits somewhat patiently for her eggs.
Chris didn't want to get up. It was even foggy in our trailer.
For breakfast it was eggs, oatmeal, bread and OJ. Chad did a masterful job of making the eggs.
I handled the oatmeal....meaning boiling water : )
Megan waits somewhat patiently for her eggs. Made to order.
It seems that Jacobs overeasy eggs decided to jump from his plate to his sweatshirt : (
Everyone enjoying fellowship around the table.
Every morning I made the adults flavoured coffee (gotta keep them coming back you know!). Annette made some sort of espresso coffee with an espresso maker for the propane stove. Apparently, John, you need to give her lessons again..........
More great pictures of the surrounding countryside.
Ethan (the youngest member of our youth group) had a hoot all weekend. Lots of attention given to him. It reminds me of when my kids were younger and they came with me on events.
After breakfast it was time for church. We had some wood left so Kevin got the wood burning. He needed a LITTLE help this time. These flames are wood and lamp oil burning together.
Kevin was also our resident fire fanner. He did a marvelous job.
Annette and I having another of our MANY "conversations" : )
Ben, you look tired man!
Church Time. Jacob used his harmonica to help us with some singing. Chad, our resident deacon took the collection (I think all he got was pocket lint). I regailded the group with a 3 minute sermon.
After church we packed everything up. Just as we were about to leave, we discovered that Norman's van wouldn't start. We tried and tried, but to no avail. Good thing Norman's a member of CAA. We left camp at noon and were home by 2 ish. Norman didn't get home until 7:30 pm and the trip proved expensive. : (
It seems that Jacobs overeasy eggs decided to jump from his plate to his sweatshirt : (
Everyone enjoying fellowship around the table. 
Every morning I made the adults flavoured coffee (gotta keep them coming back you know!). Annette made some sort of espresso coffee with an espresso maker for the propane stove. Apparently, John, you need to give her lessons again..........
More great pictures of the surrounding countryside.
Ethan (the youngest member of our youth group) had a hoot all weekend. Lots of attention given to him. It reminds me of when my kids were younger and they came with me on events.
After breakfast it was time for church. We had some wood left so Kevin got the wood burning. He needed a LITTLE help this time. These flames are wood and lamp oil burning together.
Kevin was also our resident fire fanner. He did a marvelous job.
Annette and I having another of our MANY "conversations" : ) 
Ben, you look tired man!
Church Time. Jacob used his harmonica to help us with some singing. Chad, our resident deacon took the collection (I think all he got was pocket lint). I regailded the group with a 3 minute sermon.
After church we packed everything up. Just as we were about to leave, we discovered that Norman's van wouldn't start. We tried and tried, but to no avail. Good thing Norman's a member of CAA. We left camp at noon and were home by 2 ish. Norman didn't get home until 7:30 pm and the trip proved expensive. : ( And so ends our camping weekend. It was good to go. I'm glad we didn't cancel due to suspected weather. I got to know these young people better, and they are a good group of kids. I look forward to a good year in ministry with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment