Week 1

Week one of campers has come and gone. As most of you know, i was roofing this week. My crew consisted of 16 campers, three being adult chaperones. most everyone hadnt roofed before. All four of the Mt. Vernon kids i had had roofed before, and one of the other kids' dad was a roofing contractor so he had seen plenty of roofs as well.
Monday was so slow. We hardly got anything done, i was so frustrated with how i was motivating the kids and getting things done. Granted, this was the second time i had ever been on a roof, I was by myself, and had several 12 year old girls who were hard to motivate and keep working, and had to be constantly monitored to make sure nothing was messed up. We barely managed to start laying shingles on one side of the roof, we break the roof into sections, and finish that part before moving on to the next generally, we didnt even finish tar papering that side, but that was due to having to wait on a board in order to patch a hole that in the roof. Tuesday went better, we finished tar papering, tore off one short side of the roof, and then started shingling that side. Still not the most work accomplished, but definitely an improvement none the less. Wednesday we had a half day, and had to be back by 12. Our goal was to finish shingling both the sides before we got back to campus, we did manage to do this, but it did mean that I and three of the MTV kids had to stay behind for about 20 or 30 minutes in order to finish shingling. Thursday we finished tearing off the roof, and tar papered the whole roof, and chalk lined one long side of the roof, only to find out that we did them wrong. this was a good amount of work to be accomplished, especially considering we had to replace almost half of one side of wood in order to keep the roof stable. It was almost funny, looking for weak boards. It seemed like every time i hit a board, the roofing shovel i was using went straight through the roof. Friday morning, we were visited by the shingle faries who helped us lay a few shingles before we got there, while its frustrating that i needed the faries, it certainly helped and was a blessing.
Aside from the frustrations of the slow roof, this week was amazing and i know God touched many lives this week. Friday afternoon before dinner i was talking with one kid who was there, he was a pretty quiet kid, but just by talking to him i could tell he had an amazing time, he even got tears in his eyes talking about how much he had enjoyed this week. It was amazing to see his reaction to the week. MTV even had three people get saved!!! The worship was amazing, and i am loving being here.
i found out that ill be roofing again next week. this roof is a bit bigger than the one i did this week, but ive got a little more experience, and a returning staffer to help me. i dont think shes done many roofs before either, but it still be a big help. Even though im exhausted, im really looking forward to having kids come again and working some more.