Pine Cove, Second Time Around

Bob and I spent this past weekend at Pine Cove with about 78 high school kids and some other adults. Though the weather was absolutely horrible in that it rained hard the entire Saturday, it turned out to be a wonderful weekend. And it was a No Agenda weekend. But I have to say, that both of us had our doubts about going that Friday. We knew the weather was not going to be great. There were talks of ice storms for the weekend in the Dallas area. It seemed like it would be so much easier to just stay home, keep a fire going in the house, and just be comfortable. Rest, relax, maybe get something done around the house. You know...

We were trying to figure out the last time we had gone to Pine Cove with the high schoolers. It has been quite a few years. Becca was in high school then, maybe even Pam. We stayed in what was the old Shores camp (now called The Bluffs). At the time, that camp was the newest and the cabins were much better than any cabins at Pine Cove. The new Shores camp, where we stayed this weekend, was under construction and almost completed. It looked to us then that it would be a beautiful camp right on the shores of Lake Palestine. And it turned out to be just that. A huge, long dock with an upper deck, nice dining hall, bigger gym with more equipment, sand volleyball court, a tennis court, huge pool and great two-story cabins with porches. Great place. Great setting. So when it started to pour Friday night and last all day and through till Sunday morning, outside activities were curtailed. There was, however, a mud/sand football game in the sand volleyball court Saturday night that some kids couldn't resist. Wet, muddy clothes give off a wonderful odor in a warm cabin.

Choosing a cabin is the first major activity when you get to camp and something that could affect the whole "tone" of the weekend. Cabins are never assigned. The kids get to choose when they get off the bus. The second floor rooms, with a nice view of the lake, are always a favorite. I thought it would be fun too, except I learned real fast that it wasn't much fun to have to drag a heavy dufflebag up all the steps. What was I thinking? Mish and I had talked earlier, and we thought we'd room together with whatever girls came into the cabin. So I unloaded my stuff and started making up my bunk. I put up my towels and toiletries in the bathroom. I quickly made myself at home. Then I went downstairs to see what was happening next. Well, it turns out that we had more girls and another cabin had to be opened up and they needed an adult in the room. I accepted. I went back upstairs, collected all my things, went back downstairs and then up the stairs again to another cabin. It turned out to be a cabin of sophomore girls. My girls from bible study. I knew this was where I was supposed to be. God knew as usual.

The weekend weather turned out to be a blessing. Cold, hard rain kept us all together. Either in the dining hall playing games (our domino game and Steve and Mish's Dutch Blitz card games were hits) or in the gym playing hockey. (Bob's a little sore after that game.) We couldn't really scatter. So what happened this weekend was what should have happened...kids of all grade levels playing together, talking together, fellowshipping together. We got to know some kids we didn't know before. I got to talk more with my sophomore girls. Some of the girls actually planned early morning bible studies. About six or seven girls got up Saturday and Sunday at 5:30 to get together before breakfast to study the Bible and talk. I have to say that it was really hard to pull myself out of bed at that time after only having gone to bed four hours earlier, but it was so worth it. It was a student-led study and I loved it. I'm glad I didn't miss it. I really admired their dedication to learning God's word. They even had another study later on Saturday right before dinner. It was great.

Though the ice storm didn't hit the Pine Cove area in East Texas, apparently the Dallas area got some icy weather. Because of the potentially bad driving conditions in Dallas, the weekend was cut short a bit. Instead of the planned departure time of 9:00 pm on Sunday, the buses left around 2:30 that day. Bob, Becca and I left camp at 10:15 am. Becca needed to get back on the road to head up to Arkansas. The roads in Dallas turned out to be just wet. It wasn't below freezing, so there wasn't any ice on the roads. Becca left for school at 1:45 and though she hit ice up through Oklahoma, she made it safely to Fayetteville in great time. Praise God.

So the No Agenda weekend turned out great. Bob and I were glad we went and got to spend the time with our family (Steve, Mish and Becca) and a bunch of our church family. New and old friends. Steve shared the leader responsibilities with our youth pastor, Brent. I watched and admired Steve this weekend as I saw again and again the gift he has with working with kids. He and Mish make a great duo. Together, I know they will reach alot of students for Christ. It's so much fun to watch and be a part of that at this time in our lives.

So today's a holiday, and I'm off from school. Bob's work had a delayed opening due to the ice that accumulated on the roads overnight. The trees are bending over with the weight of the icicles, but the sun is out and hopefully it will warm up.

Oh, how I wish it were a No Agenda week!