As promised here's a more substantial update! When last we saw our hero the tail end of VBS was in sight. He was optimistic about the upcoming archery event and was filled with idle daydreams where tiny robin hood esqe children fired bows with extreme accuracy and glee. Sadly this was not the reality that greeted him. The day dawned bright as the two before, slightly warm but not uncomfortably so. But this day (wednesday) was not like his two older brothers, for wednesday possessed the gift of a cool northwesterly wind. And Wednesday did so enjoy using his gift upon the unprepared children who were chilly and in danger of being miserable at the archery range. But never fear! Our hero leapt to the challenge and through a combination of charisma and raw brute strength succeeded in entertaining the children by giving them rides on his back and racing them across the open field to keep them warm and happy.
Thursday was a day of training... training, and more training. and that afternoon we conducted our annual rite of passage to walk out to the cross and sign our names. (one of my favorite "new" traditions) And that was the easy part... from there we hiked (blindfolded) in partners for what seemed like quite a while, played 4-team tug-of-war and then hiked for another few miles to our eventual campsite for the night. As always the "adventure" of assembling our tents was a challenge and after adding some para-cord to one of the tents it was in good shape. The other tent sadly was missing a few of its posts so we made it into an impromptu A-frame by re-purposing four of the pole sections into large stakes and tying off the corners with another length of para cord. (I was really glad I remembered to bring a bundle of that stuff).
Many hot dogs were consumed, and in the morning even more bacon. Probably the best breakfast I've ever had at camp this year (if not ever) was eaten and thankfully we only had to hike to the top of a nearby hill to catch a ride back to camp.
Today we cleaned... and cleaned, and cleaned, and generally put the finishing touches on the camp in preparation for our big open-house tomorrow. The place looks great and it'll be fun to share it with everyone. We even hung the banners in the main hall straight! Which involved me scampering up a 20 foot ladder to hammer them into place... it was a terrifying process but they do look good (if I do say so myself).
And on that note... I need to make my sleeping quarters presentable to the public tomorrow, and perhaps help with a lil kitchen prep. So I should hit the hay.
Thanks to everyone that texted, emailed, and commented over the last few days wondering what was going on and extending prayers and encouragement. It was greatly appreciated and made a few days of growth into something good.
-Nick
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