with the end of this week brought then end of camp for the summer. im so happy, but sad too. this has been an amazing summer, but an exhausting one, and im glad for a break, and i cant wait to see everyone again. This was an incredibly had week to get through, for all of our staff. first of all, we were all tired, and we all struggled being motivated. this was our sixth time through the camp schedule, and it can get a little monotonous. Monday morning was probably the hardest (imagine that). Britney was my assistant this week, which was kinda fun. It was especially good to have her there monday and tuesday for moral support for each other, we were both very unmotivated and it was good for both of us to have someone else there to help encourage each other.
i mentioned that this was an especially hard week for the staff to get through. This was especially true for brittney and erica. Saturday night, erica had a really bad athsma attack, completely out of the blue, and couldnt really get it under control and had to go home. she had to get all kinds of drugs and steroids and fun stuff like that, which cant be any fun. next was brittany, shes been dealing with some health issues all summer, and is actually having surgery in a couple of weeks. Tuesday afternoon she was feeling so bad, and couldnt take any of her meds to help her, that she had to quit working and take a nap in the van. she didnt work wedensday either, and then her mom came and picked her up on thursday because she was feeling so bad and needed someone there who was able to take care of her better than we were. It was sad to see both of them go, but they needed to. erica was able to come back for worship on friday and is feeling fine now, but brittany came a couple of days ago and picked up all of her things.
I had a pretty good sized roof this week, but nothing to crazy, it was 20 square. i had a pretty small crew, and most of them were very young, but worked suprisingly well. i also had mostly girls, i only had two guys, other than an adult chaperone. i was very fortunate that basically everyone in my crew was a really hard worker. All summer alot of the kho staff had been talking about how much harder of workers their girls were than their guys. that happened to me this week, i think mainly because i had so few guys, but the girls on my crew were especially hard workers. the weather this week did not cooperate with us at all for the beginning of this week. There was a good chance of rain monday tuesday and wednesday. this chance meant that i couldnt leave much of the roof under tar paper. generally, when the weather is cooperating, ill have my crew tear off an entire side, and then tar paper everything that we tore off, even though theres no chance of shingling it all back that day. because of the chance of rain, we could only tear off what we could shingle back in one day, which is a much slower process, and a more frustrating one. this put us a little behind, and by the end of the week we needed a little help from the shingle fairies again, but that happens. This roof was just a standard roof, no valleys or hips or anything. we did have a chimney to work around, but that wasnt very difficult, and dwight happened to be on my site by the time we worked up to it, so he did the chimney for me, which was definitly awesome. i was ok with dwight having to think and not me! our homeowner was a really nice lady, and her son bought us pizza on friday for lunch which was amazing! she also showed us an article in the newspaper about a tornado they had a few months ago, caused alot of damage and really hurt the area. the article was about angel figurines. it was written by a lady who was visiting a grave site of a family member, and noticed that thoughout the entire cemetery, among all the blown down trees and other damage, not a single angel had been harmed. even though they werent weighted down or sturdy at all, no angels were harmed, or even turned over. it was really interesting to hear about.
since brian left, weve had a different camp pastor for the past two weeks, this week our pastors name was and woods. he worked for KHO up until this past year and is now a youth minister at a church in ky and had brought his youth group up for the week. even though weve missed brian, its been kind of nice to hear some different sermons on jonah, rather than the same 4 each week. this week, andy really challenged the kids to change their lives. he called them out on sins that arent generally brought up, be cause the cut so close to home (and heaven forbid that someones toes get stepped on). his messages really seemed to work on the kids, and i think some major decisions were made this week. i certainly hope they last!
its hard to believe that camp is already over, even though its seemed like it would never end. im ready for a relaxing week back at campbellsville to relax and hang out with the staff for a few days before i head on back to boone, but i am oh so ready to see everyone back at home. and its so soon too!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
One More In The Kingdom
Week 5 of 6 is over. this was an incredible week. we had a great group of campers, got alot of work done, and had an amazing time this week. i had a surprisingly easy roof this week. the main part of the roof was only 8 square, and another square over a front porch they had. the front porch was very, very rotten (a girl had fallen through the week before while painting) and every rafter had to be re supported. I had a really great crew and we all had alot of fun together. Whitney and i crew chiefed together this week, which we always manage to have a good time together.
First of all, my homeowner this week prayed to recieve Christ!! this was definitly the most amazing part of the week. countless prayers had been prayed for this man. he is single and lives by himself, although his family and some friends are almost always there. he lost a leg and is restricted to crutches. it was incredible to see how well he moved around on his crutches and refused to let himself be inhibited by his circumstances. last week two crews were at his house, one painting, the other building a handicapped ramp for him, and ofcourse this week we were putting a new roof on his house, we were also able to do a ton of yardwork around his house. He was increidlby moved by the work that had been done around his house. wednesday morning, marcia, one of the adult chaperones on my crew went inside and talked with him, im not entirely sure of their conversation, but all i know is he prayed to receive Christ. thursday night, we also had another homeowner accept Christ, it was an amazing week! i also recieved a huge compliment from todd, while he was at my house, helping me restructure the rafters, he pulled me aside and pointed out the work God has been doing through me, and talked about how i was definitly suposed to be here this summer. i certainly took it as a complement, wether it was meant as one or not. is certainly is amazing to be where God wants you to be!
Going into this week, i thought we were going to have a bear of a roof, i knew we had a two or three layer tear off, which can make life incredibly difficult, and i also expected to have to resheet the entire roof as well due to rotten boards. As we began tearing off, we were able to get under the ridgecaps easily, and then tear all three layers of shingles off at the same time, making life much easier than expected. generally, we have to replace alot of the sheeting, this week, we had one board on each side of the roof to replace. it was an amazing blessing. we had to replace the bottom board of the sheeting because drip edge had not been installed and the wood was rotting, that was it. it was amzing not having to feel rushed to try and complete the roof, being able to spend extra time on his yard, and being able to relax a little while shingling. the entire back side of the house was also pretty much completely covered in shade which was amazing. in addition to an easy roof, i also had two capers, one an adult and another a camper who i let shingle the entire front side, minus two short valleys. they did a great job and i think the roof looks great. the camper, who i thought was in college and was here as an adult chaperone turned out to be only 16, which was quite a surprise, considering that i felt comfortable leaving him in charge of the roof. i had a very large crew this week, and wasnt able to keep everyone busy on the roof because it was so small, so we were able to do a ton of yardwork in his yard. his yard had not been kept up well, for obvious reasons. Marcia, the adult chaperone who led the homeowner to Christ, i gave free reign over the yard work, they cut crass, weed-eated, trimmed trees, cleaned up trash, cleaned up the road a little bit, and were even able to cut one of the neighbors yards who has cancer. it was amazing seeing the difference from when we got there to when we left, that place looked much, much better. i was also able to earn my 'man badge' this week. during training someone decided that you could earn your man badge by carrying up two loads of shingles (about 160 lbs) up on the roof at a time, and i was able to do that this week. while it may not have been the smartest thing ive ever done, it was pretty cool to say you could carry it up the ladder.
First of all, my homeowner this week prayed to recieve Christ!! this was definitly the most amazing part of the week. countless prayers had been prayed for this man. he is single and lives by himself, although his family and some friends are almost always there. he lost a leg and is restricted to crutches. it was incredible to see how well he moved around on his crutches and refused to let himself be inhibited by his circumstances. last week two crews were at his house, one painting, the other building a handicapped ramp for him, and ofcourse this week we were putting a new roof on his house, we were also able to do a ton of yardwork around his house. He was increidlby moved by the work that had been done around his house. wednesday morning, marcia, one of the adult chaperones on my crew went inside and talked with him, im not entirely sure of their conversation, but all i know is he prayed to receive Christ. thursday night, we also had another homeowner accept Christ, it was an amazing week! i also recieved a huge compliment from todd, while he was at my house, helping me restructure the rafters, he pulled me aside and pointed out the work God has been doing through me, and talked about how i was definitly suposed to be here this summer. i certainly took it as a complement, wether it was meant as one or not. is certainly is amazing to be where God wants you to be!
Going into this week, i thought we were going to have a bear of a roof, i knew we had a two or three layer tear off, which can make life incredibly difficult, and i also expected to have to resheet the entire roof as well due to rotten boards. As we began tearing off, we were able to get under the ridgecaps easily, and then tear all three layers of shingles off at the same time, making life much easier than expected. generally, we have to replace alot of the sheeting, this week, we had one board on each side of the roof to replace. it was an amazing blessing. we had to replace the bottom board of the sheeting because drip edge had not been installed and the wood was rotting, that was it. it was amzing not having to feel rushed to try and complete the roof, being able to spend extra time on his yard, and being able to relax a little while shingling. the entire back side of the house was also pretty much completely covered in shade which was amazing. in addition to an easy roof, i also had two capers, one an adult and another a camper who i let shingle the entire front side, minus two short valleys. they did a great job and i think the roof looks great. the camper, who i thought was in college and was here as an adult chaperone turned out to be only 16, which was quite a surprise, considering that i felt comfortable leaving him in charge of the roof. i had a very large crew this week, and wasnt able to keep everyone busy on the roof because it was so small, so we were able to do a ton of yardwork in his yard. his yard had not been kept up well, for obvious reasons. Marcia, the adult chaperone who led the homeowner to Christ, i gave free reign over the yard work, they cut crass, weed-eated, trimmed trees, cleaned up trash, cleaned up the road a little bit, and were even able to cut one of the neighbors yards who has cancer. it was amazing seeing the difference from when we got there to when we left, that place looked much, much better. i was also able to earn my 'man badge' this week. during training someone decided that you could earn your man badge by carrying up two loads of shingles (about 160 lbs) up on the roof at a time, and i was able to do that this week. while it may not have been the smartest thing ive ever done, it was pretty cool to say you could carry it up the ladder.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
nail guns are fun
Week 4 of the summer, and week 1 of Bowling Green is down, 2 more camp weeks. Going into this week i was nervous. we were expecting about 180 kids, which is alot. roofing sites would have atleast 20 kids, which is a bit ridiculous. with that many kids, its hard to keep an eye on all of them and make sure they dont break anything, much less keep them busy roofing. luckily on my week off, i talked to whitney, and the told me that a youth group canceled, leaving us with about 140 kids. while 140 is still alot, its much, much more manageable than 180.
This weeks roof was the biggest roof ive had all summer, 22 square. While its not a huge roof, its still a good sized roof. I had 15 campers, 5 of them which were not allowed on the roof. This left me with a bit smaller crew than i would have liked to have, but still worked. I had a very hard time finding jobs for my ground crew (the 5 kids that werent allowed on the roof). typically, when there wasnt any work to do, the ground crew would start cleaning up the yard, and doing any work around the house that needed to be done. our homeowner, a korean guy with three kids, living by himself, kept a spotless yard, they definitly had some down time. The roof was a typical project, had many boards that needed to be replaced, but nothing too crazy, Todd did give me a hard time about always having to call him and tell him that i needed more wood. It was a hip roof, which adds a little bit of difficulty to the roof, but not too much. My kids were great, they all pretty much worked really hard, and did a great job. i was very pleased. we did encounter one hiccup this week. wednesday we got rained out. it rained all morning on wednesday, which means we cant do any work on the roof. this was really bad, especially considering three of our roofing sites were behind. one site was having nail trouble, the roofing nails were staying in the boards, while the nails securing the sheeting kept on pulling up, which the exact opposite of whats suposed to happen. another site had some very serious structural issues. the sheeting was incredibly weak & the front porch actually started to fall off the house, the porch had to be resupported which took precious time. the third site was the worst, they had a 7 layer tear off, meaning there were 7 layers of shingles that had to be torn off of the roof, and under that, there were cedar shingles, there was no sheeting under the cedar shingles, so the roof required a complete resheeting. it quickly turned into a two week project. thursday morning the shingle fairies came to my site so we could get ahead and then help another site out. we were finished by lunchtime friday, and then went to Melissa's site to help her finish. her site was the one that had the porch almost collapse. my crew jumped right on it when we got there, and helped to finish their site in a couple of hours. after that i went and picked up a few trailers so they could be dropped off for next weeks assignments. then i went to hatfields roof. hers was the one with nail issues. here, i got use my first nail gun, and man are they fun. it was almost 4 by the time i got to her site (my crew stayed at the church and hung out) todd and i hooked up the airhoses and the guns, and got to shooting. we had three nail guns going (a kho staff running each one), while the kids passed out and lined up shingles. it was so fast! its amazing how much faster shooting a roof is that nailing it. not to mention how much more fun it is to shoot than nail :) friday was definitly a long, busy day, but a fun one none the less.
we had atleast 5 professions of faith this week, all 5 of those from one church, so theres no telling how many there were in other churches. its an incredible blessing to see the Lord working in youths lives, i just hope it lasts and its not just a camp thing. it was also a tremendous blessing to see how apprecitative my crew, especially the chaperones, were of what the staff was doing, and especially my homeowner this week. everyday we worked, he either cooked or bought us lunch, it was an increidlbe change from the usual ham and cheese sandwich. in regard to my homeowner this week, the most amazing blessing of all was the fact that hes going to start going to church, possibly join the church we are staying at, i was also able to buy him a bible, which i hope he appreciated. another cool story, wednesday, about half the staff went to steak and shake for lunch, when we got there, there was a man in military uniform, i cant remember which branch, eating by himself. i just felt like i should buy his lunch, i dont have a clue why i felt like that, just felt like itd be good to show some appreciation. it was good to see how a small gesture really meant alot. bottom line ive really gotten my socks blessed off this week in so many ways. its awesome being here and seeing how God is working.
only two more camp weeks, and then one closing week. even though i love everything thats going on here, im ready to see everyone again.
weve already seen the packets for our jobs next week and mines going to be a fun one. its a really small roof (only 8 square) but its a 5 or 6 layer tear off, and then it will most likey have to be completely resheeted, always a fun time.
im really looking forward to next week, but im not too pumped about only getting only a half day off today, also brian, our camp pastor was let go today. definitly bummed out the staff. they didnt really explain why they let him go, just that they needed to. other than that, its been a great birthday, but its really sad to see him go.
This weeks roof was the biggest roof ive had all summer, 22 square. While its not a huge roof, its still a good sized roof. I had 15 campers, 5 of them which were not allowed on the roof. This left me with a bit smaller crew than i would have liked to have, but still worked. I had a very hard time finding jobs for my ground crew (the 5 kids that werent allowed on the roof). typically, when there wasnt any work to do, the ground crew would start cleaning up the yard, and doing any work around the house that needed to be done. our homeowner, a korean guy with three kids, living by himself, kept a spotless yard, they definitly had some down time. The roof was a typical project, had many boards that needed to be replaced, but nothing too crazy, Todd did give me a hard time about always having to call him and tell him that i needed more wood. It was a hip roof, which adds a little bit of difficulty to the roof, but not too much. My kids were great, they all pretty much worked really hard, and did a great job. i was very pleased. we did encounter one hiccup this week. wednesday we got rained out. it rained all morning on wednesday, which means we cant do any work on the roof. this was really bad, especially considering three of our roofing sites were behind. one site was having nail trouble, the roofing nails were staying in the boards, while the nails securing the sheeting kept on pulling up, which the exact opposite of whats suposed to happen. another site had some very serious structural issues. the sheeting was incredibly weak & the front porch actually started to fall off the house, the porch had to be resupported which took precious time. the third site was the worst, they had a 7 layer tear off, meaning there were 7 layers of shingles that had to be torn off of the roof, and under that, there were cedar shingles, there was no sheeting under the cedar shingles, so the roof required a complete resheeting. it quickly turned into a two week project. thursday morning the shingle fairies came to my site so we could get ahead and then help another site out. we were finished by lunchtime friday, and then went to Melissa's site to help her finish. her site was the one that had the porch almost collapse. my crew jumped right on it when we got there, and helped to finish their site in a couple of hours. after that i went and picked up a few trailers so they could be dropped off for next weeks assignments. then i went to hatfields roof. hers was the one with nail issues. here, i got use my first nail gun, and man are they fun. it was almost 4 by the time i got to her site (my crew stayed at the church and hung out) todd and i hooked up the airhoses and the guns, and got to shooting. we had three nail guns going (a kho staff running each one), while the kids passed out and lined up shingles. it was so fast! its amazing how much faster shooting a roof is that nailing it. not to mention how much more fun it is to shoot than nail :) friday was definitly a long, busy day, but a fun one none the less.
we had atleast 5 professions of faith this week, all 5 of those from one church, so theres no telling how many there were in other churches. its an incredible blessing to see the Lord working in youths lives, i just hope it lasts and its not just a camp thing. it was also a tremendous blessing to see how apprecitative my crew, especially the chaperones, were of what the staff was doing, and especially my homeowner this week. everyday we worked, he either cooked or bought us lunch, it was an increidlbe change from the usual ham and cheese sandwich. in regard to my homeowner this week, the most amazing blessing of all was the fact that hes going to start going to church, possibly join the church we are staying at, i was also able to buy him a bible, which i hope he appreciated. another cool story, wednesday, about half the staff went to steak and shake for lunch, when we got there, there was a man in military uniform, i cant remember which branch, eating by himself. i just felt like i should buy his lunch, i dont have a clue why i felt like that, just felt like itd be good to show some appreciation. it was good to see how a small gesture really meant alot. bottom line ive really gotten my socks blessed off this week in so many ways. its awesome being here and seeing how God is working.
only two more camp weeks, and then one closing week. even though i love everything thats going on here, im ready to see everyone again.
weve already seen the packets for our jobs next week and mines going to be a fun one. its a really small roof (only 8 square) but its a 5 or 6 layer tear off, and then it will most likey have to be completely resheeted, always a fun time.
im really looking forward to next week, but im not too pumped about only getting only a half day off today, also brian, our camp pastor was let go today. definitly bummed out the staff. they didnt really explain why they let him go, just that they needed to. other than that, its been a great birthday, but its really sad to see him go.
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