Wednesday, July 8th, 2015 - Summer Youth Camp - "Finishing Touches"

     Good evening everyone!  As you might imagine, we have had another packed day as we were putting the finishing touches on several projects before camp starts tomorrow.  We started our day with quiet time with the Lord and then headed to the dining area for breakfast.  Scrambled eggs, sausage and journey cakes were waiting for us this morning.  Following breakfast, the team split off in several directions.

     Sarah went with Alice and ran all over Belmopan purchasing food for camp, placing orders and running a few other errands.  While they were out and about, they even had the opportunity to have lunch at a wonderful restaurant in town called the Blue Moon.  It was reported to be a fabulous meal. Meanwhile, Rebecca and Emily went out to serve some additional medical needs in the community.  They were successful in helping several people that had a need and could not afford treatment at the hospital.  What a blessing to have both of them on our team.  They even prepared proper first aid kits for the camps and bought additional supplies to have on hand in case they were ever needed.

     The remaining ladies on the team traveled to EQC to tackle this cleaning project one last time.  The kitchen was cleaned thoroughly and organized so that it is now a functional space.  The classrooms were cleaned and the children's areas were also swept and mopped late this morning.  The ladies did such a wonderful job, you could almost see your reflection in the floor.  The children at EQC will be surprised when they return to church.  

     Brandon and Mike returned to EQC where they worked to install numerous fluorescent lights in the building.  The prior lights were not very bright and were poorly located throughout the classroom area.  About 7 lights were installed this morning and it has made an incredible difference.  Great job guys.

     Jay and Matt stayed back at camp and worked on a makeshift gaga ball ring.  In an effort to keep costs down, we constructed this ring out of scrap lumber that we were able to obtain from a local outfit.  It proved to be a challenge at times because we did not use a tape measure and our lumber was  just scrap wood.  Also, we used a hand saw to trim the boards to size.  We worked until lunch time and then took a break for a bit to cool off with some waters and enjoy a little shade.  Lunch was a quick meal of sandwiches, chips, cookies, and cake.  After lunch, we all returned to our projects.  

     Jay and Matt were joined by Ethan Gallardo, Pastor German's son, in the construction of the gaga ball ring.  He is a very bright young man he offered some additional suggestions to improve our work.  We did complete the gaga ball ring just as a storm was rolling into Belmopan.  It rained pretty hard this afternoon for about 15 minutes or so and then we had off and on rain showers throughout the afternoon and into this evening.  The rain brought with it much cooler temperatures.  

     Jay, Matt and Ethan were then joined by Joy and Laura.  They worked to finish up some other small tasks at Blue Thumb which included sweeping the chapel, putting away tables and setting up chairs.  Mike and Brandon eventually returned and reported that their installation was a success.  The rest of the crew met up with us and then it was nearing time for dinner.  

   

 Our dinner was special because our counselors for camp ate with us and that provided an opportunity to get to know them better.  Dinner comprised of soup, corn bread muffins and tortilla strips.  After dinner, we enjoyed ice cream and brownies for dessert.  Then we all headed into the chapel where we reviewed the camp schedule and games with the counselors.  We had a great time while explaining the games and even doing a few of them.  At the conclusion of our short training session, we prayed as a group and then everyone headed out in different directions once more.  Mike, Jay, Brandon and Matt returned to EQC to check out the new lights at night.  They worked great.  The ladies headed off towards their cabins where they likely crashed.

     We are nearing the end of this blog post, but I did want to mention that we were not able to upload everyone's photos this evening.  I will work tomorrow to get some more photos from today and I will be sure to include lots of photos from camp.  

     Just to give you an idea of our schedule for tomorrow...

     We will be shuffling supplies around in the morning and swapping rooms as well.  Our campers will start to arrive between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM.  After a brief introduction and explanation of the camp rules, we kick off our summer camp with a round of ice breaker activities before hitting the sports field.  We will also have an evening worship tomorrow.  

Good night everybody!