Camp Part II

Camp wasn't all hard work. It was mostly hard work but there was a little fun and a few games.

This camp is home to a hovercraft, a 100 foot water slide and a blob. I neglected to take a picture of the blob tower and waterslide that was constructed while I was there but I did manage to capture the hovercraft in use. Here Bill is taking it out for a test drive to make sure it's safe for the kids to operate.

This is part of the dock that the boys thought would be fun to use as a raft on the pond here at camp. From left, Josiah, Joel and David.


On my last day at Camp I was given the task of securing electrical outlets to the marquees. It was fun and it took a bit longer because I was working by myself but I just sang some worship songs and enjoyed myself and Holy Spirit as I was working. When I finished I went to find out what everyone else was doing. They were working on the water slide and the blob tower. It was drizzly and raining today so we were all a bit soggy and cold but we kept on working because heck, it was Wales and when it Wales you work in the rain. It was amusing to me that I ended up getting a mild sunburn the first two days at camp and I didn't even realize I was getting so much exposure because it was windy and cool.

Round about 1 p.m. we took a break and went to town for a hot meal. It was a good time being inside with the whole crew as someone else cooked for us. When we got back we had to construct another marquee, this time medium sized.

Here is the marquee in the beginning stages.

A bit more progress.

Looking good.

 A guy from town, named Alex, that we just met a couple days before showed up after work to give us a hand and it was a grand time.

Here is Alex the Muscle, as we affectionately called him, standing in for a tent pole, sorry, marquee pole, while we were in early stages of construction.

Now time for a bit of comic relief.

We had planned to cook out that evening and when we finally got the marquee constructed and couldn't find all the pieces to the second one we were supposed to build we settled in for some burgers that Alex the Lion had cooked. It tasted so good and not only because we were so hungry but because Alex the Lion is a pretty good griller.

Following the food I asked the group to pray for me as I was departing early the next morning and knew after supper we wouldn't all be together again. It was really nice and I felt super blessed to have been a part of all this. It felt weird to be leaving them all because it felt as though I had known all of them forever and it had only been two days for some of them. Bill said as much as we drove back to the prayer house. He said, "it doesn't feel like we just met four days ago. It feels like there wasn't a time when I didn't know you." I heartily agreed.

Me and my new besty Joel.

I was sad to be leaving them all but also excited to be going to back to Ireland. It felt like I was going home. If I wasn't so excited to get back to Ireland I might have cried as I left the group.

I threw some laundry in the washer/dryer and headed to my room to pack up. Poor Ebbi was exhausted but we talked for another hour again as I packed up my things. When I finally decided I had it contained enough I bid Ebbi a good night and put on Odyessey. I left to go to the bathroom and in the minute while I was gone Ebbi was out and snoring poor kid. I didn't fall asleep as quickly and having to be up at 5 a.m. I didn't sleep very much in the 4 hours I had.

As I tried to fall asleep that night I reflected on the past 4 days and how fast and furious they had been. At the amazing friendships I had forged and could feel building excitement for the future events that would come out of the contacts I'd made here. It was amazing the sense of destiny I had over this stop in my trip and how God's hand had worked to bring me here. Although my walk recently has been almost devoid of hearing God's voice, feeling this sense of destiny for the past four days was incredible and knowing God was with me even when I don't hear His voice like I'm used to it made me pay more attention to the other ways He speaks in my life. It's hard to put it all into words. Suffice to say that I learned a lot, even though it wasn't how I would have anticipated learning and truly God is in control. I also reflected on the fact that I managed to make it out of the whole ordeal with only a cut under my thumbnail and a strain in my hand. Nettle stings and breathing issues don't count because they only last a day. All in all, pretty good I'd say.

FYI: It is a weird thing the all-in-one washer/dryer. And although it isn't as efficient when you have to do multiple loads of laundry in a limited amount of time it is pretty sweet to put in a load of laundry and go to bed knowing it will be dry in the morning and you don't have to get up to change it over.