So this week it was MEETINGS! All a part of getting used to my home also being CTM headquarters!
No Day Camps meetings, but first the CTM Board meeting, Tuesday, preceded by giving our President a tutorial on “making your own tortillas”, (see RECIPE below), followed by yesterday’s Senior Youth Camp Staff meeting, and invasion of the Directors and their 2 year old son, William, who is my Godson ( I mention this important fact at every possible opportunity)
On the Day Camp front the week has been quite productive. The editors of Program Manual chapters seem to be waking up to the fact that their chapters are now one month overdue so 2 chapters have come in this week-“Lamb” & “Games”. … now if only the other 4 would materialise we would really be in business!
We also received 2 actual hardcopy Application Forms from host Churches, one with a real honest to goodness deposit cheque, which will, no doubt, please our Treasurer.
I have almost hammered out the Menus for the Retreat Week and have put in a lot of work on the Schedule. I then sent the draft off to 3 key Retreat staff from 2011, in order to glean some feedback.
The Team crosses, which I plan to make have been designed. Every year each Team Leader and Member receives a special, program-themed cross or medallion at the time of their commissioning. Now I need to track down the right colours of polymer clay and get started on production.
We have also heard of downtown church which plans to host a Day Camp and I will be meeting with their Curate ( a former Team Leader) who will take on the role of Coordinator.
So all in all, things are ratcheting up a notch as we come to the end of January.
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| Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate |
The Meetings, involved much Coffee ,Tea and Hot Chocolate making and cookie plate filling. The Board Meeting might have been easier to host if we had not been dealing with a plumbing crisis, but that was sort of fixed on Friday, just in time for the Senior Youth Camp crowd.
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| William’s Cardigan |
I am always entertained by the arrival (from Ottawa ) of Victoria, Timothy and William. Although they were only coming for the afternoon the visit seemed to involve enough paraphernalia for at least a month and poor Timothy made many trips in from the car loaded down with boxes and bags!. We had a nice lunch and brief visit before the staff meeting and I was very happy to see William wearing the cardigan I knit him for Christmas.
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| Baking Afternoon-Fairy Buns |
I amused my self with a “baking afternoon” while the Staff meeting went on in the living room, with periodic dashes in to retrieve Wil who, as usual was wreaking havoc, knocking over things, including William!!!
….….. and Thus “Meeting Week” has drawn to a close.
At Church, this morning, we were continuing with our journey through the Book of Acts We have been working through the whole story of the formation of the early Church, as an opportunity for exploring what “Church” means and what sort of shape our Church should be taking in this 21st century.
We were reading from Chapter 13 today and the post-sermon conversation was about how we, as Christians, take (or avoid!) opportunities to witness with others in our everyday lives and how this interaction plays out in our post- Christian world.
I was reflecting on the fact that, in working for a Mission Ministry, most of those with whom I come in contact are already believers, so where does that leave me in this process?
Do I get to cop out ? No, I still try to grab at every opening to talk with people in my neighbourhood.(Miss Rodgers??)
I have had some very interesting discussions with the staff at the COOP and local Organic Grocer, both of which places I frequent on an almost daily basis.
Plus, I do think it an immense privilege to be involved in the equipping of young adults who give their summers to serve on the front lines of Mission Ministry as they take the Gospel in to Church communities and Minister to all those they meet in those many different places.
So I feel that I am called to encourage as well as equip them. To be willing to listen to them, to pray for and with them, to recognise the challenges they face in their daily lives when they are not “doing Day Camps” and to also offer them some encouragement in that aspect of their lives.
All in all quite a busy week. “God Busyness”-the best and most fruitful kind!!
Now for……
Tortillas 101
- 2 cups flour- unbleached, whole wheat or a combination of both
- 4 Tbsps. margarine or butter
- 2/3 cup warm water
- 1 tsp. salt
Place flour in a large bowl and cut in the margarine with a pastry blender or your fingers. Dissolve salt in warm water. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the saltwater. Mix until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth. Divide into 8 or 12 equal- sized pieces and roll each into a smooth ball. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 30 mins.
Once the tortillas are rolled out, place one in a preheated dry skillet and cook just until the underside is flecked with brown and small bubbles form on the surface. DO NOT OVERCOOK or tortillas will be crisp instead of flexible. Flip and cook second side. The whole cooking process should not take more than 2 minutes per tortilla. As the tortillas cook, keep them warm, wrapped in a clean tea towel.
If you are not going to eat them immediately, allow them to cool (still wrapped in the teal towel) and then pack in ziploc freezer bag and refrigerate or freeze for future use.
Makes 8-10in. or 12- 6in. Tortillas