Another of Carl’s riddles: How are Superman, Moses and Cabbage Patch Kids the same? (Answer is at the end.)
We are having trouble coping. We know it’s not Chick and Dolly, because they are very good at finding a need and filling it. Our basic problem is that we just don’t have enough kids to feed. There are only 60 kids to feed this week, and we’re used to feeding 160. As a result, we’re coasting this week. (That’s probably something we shouldn’t be telling anybody.) As a result, we have been able to very easily prepare for the next meal each time, (i.e., after breakfast we have dinner well underway.) There’s a big difference between preparing 100 pieces of French toast compared to 300 pieces. But, overall, it has been very enjoyable because of that.
As a result, we have had time during the day to pursue some of our interests, and today Chick, Dolly, Quintin and I (Carl) went to the Thurmond area which is now a national park that has preserved a railroad center. We took Halley who is a native of the area, and as we entered the road to Thurmond, he said, “Why don’t we park here and ride our bikes. It’s all downhill from here.” And it was--5.7 miles without pedaling. (You’ll be glad to know Pat drove our truck to the bottom, so we could ride back up. We’re not dummies!)
At the bottom, the national park has restored an old railroad terminal. The road we were coming down was one of the branches. When we got down there we got to talking with the guy who owns the railroad branch so he gave us a complete history of railroading in the area.
While riding down the hill(s) and through the “hollers” Quintin, as he observed the obvious poverty of the area said, “The kids should be working down here.” He had the option to return home with Mary and Millie last Saturday, but he was having so much fun, he elected to stay. He’s a “stick-to-it” kid who has carried his own weight with all the work that needs to be done. He can’t wait until he’s old enough to work with the teams of kids who are painting, roofing, etc. (We noticed that he picked up a few girl friends while here, but of course they will go their separate ways at the end of the week.)
Tomorrow, because it’s Wed. and we only do breakfast, we are going to take an all day rafting trip (starting after breakfast, of course.)
Tuesday is meatloaf night. We also serve mashed potatoes, peas and the usual salad bar and soup. Dessert is strawberry shortcake. One of the kids said, “It just keeps getting better and better!” The kids work really hard during the day and are really hungry for supper. When one of the girls heard “Tonight’s treat is ice cream and pizza, she said, “Tonight’s sleeping!” But our guess is that she’ll partake before turning in.
Dolly baked cinnamon rolls Monday, and tonight baked chocolate chip and sugar cookies for lunches. Covenant’s team does a lot of little extra, homemade things that the kids seem to enjoy, and the adults appreciate the extra touches, too.
PACE has a mascot—a big Gumby, and when the kids arrive, they see a video about Gumby which tells them to have fun like Gumby, clean up after themselves like Gumby, use the right bathroom like Gumby, etc. The tradition is that someone has to kidnap Gumby. Last night someone kidnapped Gumby and left a ransom note on the stage. “Give us more ice cream, and we will return Gumby!” The administration down here (all tongue in cheek) act very upset when something happens to Gumby. Last week they found him at the top of the flagpole. They brought him into the kitchen where he was put into the storage room. It’s one of the fun things that provides comic relief from the really hard work everyone does.
The Covenant team always stays for the video and Jesus sightings after dinner. (Yesterday’s posting explains these events.) It gives them insight into what the kids are doing during the day and how they are being impacted spiritually by the mission team experience.
There’s been a lot of hard work, especially last week, but also a lot of fun. My philosophy is, “You don’t have to suffer to serve.”
---------
Because of the difficulty in getting news for the blog to PA, we won’t have another posting until Carl and Pat return home Sunday. Monday (or maybe even Tuesday) night there will be a final wrapup, and by then there should be pictures of the West Virginia adventure.
(Answer to the riddle: Superman, Moses and Cabbage Patch Kids were all adopted.)
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Final Notes from the First Week
In order to e-mail a report for the blog, Carl goes to the local library, the only place in town with public access to the internet. He planned to go there today, but discovered the library is closed through Monday. He called and made the following report Saturday evening, July 2.
I (Carl) make up riddles and post them every day. Today’s riddle: How do you spell the word candy with just two letters?
Answer: C and Y. (Put it all together and you have CandY.) Someone suggested the popular candy M & M’s, but Carl had an even better idea: Covenant’s M & M’s, namely Covenant mission team members Millie and Mary.
Millie has a painful knee for which treatment can’t be given until she returns. She struggled through the week without complaint and handled our salad bar along with Pat. She took care of all the special little needs of many of the kids who were there. Things like ice water or setting something aside for somebody, something for breakfast or dessert. And she chopped many a tomato, onion and stalk of celery. And of course she made many trips back and forth to the kitchen.
The second M stands for Mary whose last name should be Dynamo or (Dori lives!) Mary runs about doing absolutely everything from cooking to dishwashing and everything in between. The only problem is that she makes the rest of us tired.
The two M’s left this morning (Sat.) about 9 o’clock to head home and it was a darn good thing they were with us. It takes a lot of teamwork and hard work on the part of all. Covenant team member, Quintin, age 10, made major contributions. He handled the soups at night, opening the cans, mixing them, heating and ladling it out. In the morning he built sandwiches (as we all did!). 190 every day.
As of today, Saturday, only Pat, Quintin and I are left until Chick and Dolly arrive Sunday. We went to Fayetteville’s festival. Fayetteville, WV (not the Fayetteville you breeze by on Route 95) is the county seat for Fayette County which is about the size of Chester County. The town has two traffic lights and one business block on one side of which stands the court house. Across the street are several businesses. At 5:30 we’ll watch the 4th of July parade.
In case you’ve been wondering about the mechanics of having all the supplies needed for the youth to paint, patch, replace damaged wallboard, etc., PACE sends lay people with construction experience to come on Thursday to lay groundwork for the next week. They establish what materials are needed and do the ordering.
Friday night was the last one for the kids. As part of the praise service, there are announcements, Jesus sightings, music (singers and a band from Covenant Pres in Bucks Co.) and a message by a speaker who knows teen-talk.
Jesus Sightings are reports of experiences youth or leaders have while working during the week. They stand up and discuss things they have learned or experienced.
One of the leaders told of seeing a sweatshirt that was on the ground at one of the worksites. All week, no one picked up the sweatshirt. He assumed it didn’t belong to anyone in the work group, but when they finished Friday and were ready to leave he asked, “Does that sweatshirt belong to anyone in our group?” A girl in the back seat said, “Oh, yeah! It’s mine.” The leader was not too pleased, but he got out of the car, went back to the house and picked up the sweatshirt. Underneath it was a carpenter’s square he had brought along that had belonged to his grandfather and which he thought had been lost.
During the week, kids’ and leaders’ names are posted along a hallway attached to an envelope. Paper is nearby, and everyone is encouraged to write a positive note to one or more people they have worked with during the week. Fri. night they are taken down and given to leaders to give to the kids who read them on the way home. It’s a very moving experience for all!
One of the men told Carl his son wanted him to write a note to Carl. He said he didn’t get around to it, but his son wanted Carl to know how much he liked the food. Another man told Carl this morning about a co-worker's comment. “Ken always goes where you go, and with the food you serve, I can see why!” Annette, the executive director announced that one of the reasons the food was so good was because extra money had been donated for the weeks Covenant’s teams were here: $200 from Covenant and $500 from a Rotary club. With the extra money Covenant teams are able to serve such foods as breakfast meat and delicious frozen cookies and cinnamon rolls that only need baking. Carl also plans menus that use a minimum of ingredients that are used in a variety of ways. Left over salad ingredients and extra tomato soup not used up earlier in the week become tomato-based vegetable soup. A couple of cans of corn mixed with extra chicken soup become chicken corn soup. Left over pineapple upside down cake makes a good breakfast coffee cake. (Maybe you’ll volunteer to go next year just for the food!)
The ultimate compliment--when a kid says, “You never served a meal I didn’t like,” (Someone added, “Even their mothers don’t do that!”)
Chick and Dolly will arrive Sunday and will work with Carl, Pat and Quintin to serve the 60 youths who will arrive Sunday night to work next week. The load will be lighter, and there will be more time for the team to interact with the kids.
The next post to the blog may not be made until Tuesday, so in the meantime pray for safe travel and another great week of service.
I (Carl) make up riddles and post them every day. Today’s riddle: How do you spell the word candy with just two letters?
Answer: C and Y. (Put it all together and you have CandY.) Someone suggested the popular candy M & M’s, but Carl had an even better idea: Covenant’s M & M’s, namely Covenant mission team members Millie and Mary.
Millie has a painful knee for which treatment can’t be given until she returns. She struggled through the week without complaint and handled our salad bar along with Pat. She took care of all the special little needs of many of the kids who were there. Things like ice water or setting something aside for somebody, something for breakfast or dessert. And she chopped many a tomato, onion and stalk of celery. And of course she made many trips back and forth to the kitchen.
The second M stands for Mary whose last name should be Dynamo or (Dori lives!) Mary runs about doing absolutely everything from cooking to dishwashing and everything in between. The only problem is that she makes the rest of us tired.
The two M’s left this morning (Sat.) about 9 o’clock to head home and it was a darn good thing they were with us. It takes a lot of teamwork and hard work on the part of all. Covenant team member, Quintin, age 10, made major contributions. He handled the soups at night, opening the cans, mixing them, heating and ladling it out. In the morning he built sandwiches (as we all did!). 190 every day.
As of today, Saturday, only Pat, Quintin and I are left until Chick and Dolly arrive Sunday. We went to Fayetteville’s festival. Fayetteville, WV (not the Fayetteville you breeze by on Route 95) is the county seat for Fayette County which is about the size of Chester County. The town has two traffic lights and one business block on one side of which stands the court house. Across the street are several businesses. At 5:30 we’ll watch the 4th of July parade.
In case you’ve been wondering about the mechanics of having all the supplies needed for the youth to paint, patch, replace damaged wallboard, etc., PACE sends lay people with construction experience to come on Thursday to lay groundwork for the next week. They establish what materials are needed and do the ordering.
Friday night was the last one for the kids. As part of the praise service, there are announcements, Jesus sightings, music (singers and a band from Covenant Pres in Bucks Co.) and a message by a speaker who knows teen-talk.
Jesus Sightings are reports of experiences youth or leaders have while working during the week. They stand up and discuss things they have learned or experienced.
One of the leaders told of seeing a sweatshirt that was on the ground at one of the worksites. All week, no one picked up the sweatshirt. He assumed it didn’t belong to anyone in the work group, but when they finished Friday and were ready to leave he asked, “Does that sweatshirt belong to anyone in our group?” A girl in the back seat said, “Oh, yeah! It’s mine.” The leader was not too pleased, but he got out of the car, went back to the house and picked up the sweatshirt. Underneath it was a carpenter’s square he had brought along that had belonged to his grandfather and which he thought had been lost.
During the week, kids’ and leaders’ names are posted along a hallway attached to an envelope. Paper is nearby, and everyone is encouraged to write a positive note to one or more people they have worked with during the week. Fri. night they are taken down and given to leaders to give to the kids who read them on the way home. It’s a very moving experience for all!
One of the men told Carl his son wanted him to write a note to Carl. He said he didn’t get around to it, but his son wanted Carl to know how much he liked the food. Another man told Carl this morning about a co-worker's comment. “Ken always goes where you go, and with the food you serve, I can see why!” Annette, the executive director announced that one of the reasons the food was so good was because extra money had been donated for the weeks Covenant’s teams were here: $200 from Covenant and $500 from a Rotary club. With the extra money Covenant teams are able to serve such foods as breakfast meat and delicious frozen cookies and cinnamon rolls that only need baking. Carl also plans menus that use a minimum of ingredients that are used in a variety of ways. Left over salad ingredients and extra tomato soup not used up earlier in the week become tomato-based vegetable soup. A couple of cans of corn mixed with extra chicken soup become chicken corn soup. Left over pineapple upside down cake makes a good breakfast coffee cake. (Maybe you’ll volunteer to go next year just for the food!)
The ultimate compliment--when a kid says, “You never served a meal I didn’t like,” (Someone added, “Even their mothers don’t do that!”)
Chick and Dolly will arrive Sunday and will work with Carl, Pat and Quintin to serve the 60 youths who will arrive Sunday night to work next week. The load will be lighter, and there will be more time for the team to interact with the kids.
The next post to the blog may not be made until Tuesday, so in the meantime pray for safe travel and another great week of service.
Friday, July 01, 2005
No News Is Good News?
Didn't hear from Carl Thursday. Probably worn out with the afternoon of white water rafting, etc.
While you're here, why not experiment with Comments? Carl will be able to read them and will share them with the others. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you!
1. At the bottom of the most recent entry, click comment.
2. You'll see the comments already posted. (Last time I looked, there were two for yesterday's Fun, Food, Fellowship entry.)
3. If you want, in the "Leave your comment" box, type your comment.
4. Click one of the options listed below.
5. Click the first one if you're already a registered blogger and your name is printed as you want it to appear.
6. Click the second option to type in your name (and your web page if you have one; otherwise leave that box blank.)
7. Click Anonymous if you don't want your name to appear.
8. Click Post Comment and your comment will appear on the blog. Usually you have to refresh the page before it shows up. (If you can't figure out how to refresh the page, close out the blog, then reopen it.)
Also, keep in mind that Covenant's web page has a link to CAMT's blog.
While you're here, why not experiment with Comments? Carl will be able to read them and will share them with the others. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you!
1. At the bottom of the most recent entry, click comment.
2. You'll see the comments already posted. (Last time I looked, there were two for yesterday's Fun, Food, Fellowship entry.)
3. If you want, in the "Leave your comment" box, type your comment.
4. Click one of the options listed below.
5. Click the first one if you're already a registered blogger and your name is printed as you want it to appear.
6. Click the second option to type in your name (and your web page if you have one; otherwise leave that box blank.)
7. Click Anonymous if you don't want your name to appear.
8. Click Post Comment and your comment will appear on the blog. Usually you have to refresh the page before it shows up. (If you can't figure out how to refresh the page, close out the blog, then reopen it.)
Also, keep in mind that Covenant's web page has a link to CAMT's blog.
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