I’m late making a start on this post because I wanted to share with you all about the first Kick-off Event of Day Camps 2017.The alarm was set for 6am this morning to allow for a few chores, Wil Walk and feeding my friend’s cats before arrive at Isaiah 40 for 815am.
Yesterday afternoon I had dropped off the snack supplies and made a couple of jugs of cold orange infusion but this morning the coffee and tea needed to be started, especially since it was really cold and gloomy outside instead of the usually sunny June day we had expected.Soon several helpers arrived and I was caught up on the wave of “organised chaos” that heralds a Day Camps summer!
As people began to arrive Randy was still trying to figure out how to set up his camera tripod while Anna was rapidly typing in some song lyrics, as her husband arranged a circle of chairs and her youngest boy was helping a teddy bear to “play” the piano!! I was scurrying around hanging up crafts samples, running to answer the doorbell and trying to lay out name tags and agendas as Wil w bounded around the hall barking happily. Ah Day Camps!!
Anna had done a fine job refreshing the morning’s agenda but I think the highlight was watching the newly minted On Fire! Slideshow (the Day 2 Story) that included our amazing newly arranged DayCamp jingle.Tim Blais had agreed to make a fresh arrangement of this piece, which was originally composed, for us by Erica Phare as part of the new program we launched for the millennium year celebrations and although it is iconic amongst Day Camp aficionados, it was in need of an update.
EVERYONE, young and old LOVES this new version and while listening to it and watching the lovely new slideshow video my eyes filled with tears as I thought of all the people who care about this ministry and give hours of volunteer time to help produce such a wonderful program. Surely it is not possible that we will be forced to cancel some Day Camps due to the low number of Team applicants. Surely all this goodness will be shared with hundreds of campers, teens and adults in the 31 host communities who are already busily preparing for Day Camp week.
Anna gave me time to make my plea to everyone for help in finding those missing recruits. I handed out our promotional bookmarks and challenged everyone there to be proactive in encouraging young people in their churches, among family and friends and in their schools to consider applying NOW. There is no time to waste since the next deadline is only 10 days away. On June 13th I will be meeting with the Training Team Leaders and a few of the committee to discuss the allocations for the Training Teams but also to configure the 4 Teams for whom airline tickets need to be purchased.
As of today there just aren’t enough people to form those 4 Teams so a LOT of prayers and a lot of encouraging needs to be done.Hopefully this morning’s audience was fired up to go and look for more “labourers for the vineyard”!Not having had any lunch today and having spent over 3 hours this afternoon mowing the lawns, I think it is high time to wrap up this post and to prep some dinner 😊.
No time to comment on some of today’s photos, the first clump comes from this morning’s Kick-off and the rest are a mishmash of the week’s “extra” activities- sewing some summer gifts, garden work and of course feeding the usual troupe of people who pass through these doors.Which brings me to this week’s recipe-
Niçoise Pasta
- 12 oz. whole-wheat spaghetti
- 2 cups fresh or frozen green beans, halved
- 2 tins organic tuna
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten with salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 4 Tbsps. lemon juice
- 2 Tbsps. olive oil
- ¼ cup black olives
- 2 Tbsps. chopped chives
Cooked the pasta until al dente, adding beans for final 2 minutes, then drain reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Meanwhile heat the oil in a small skillet and sauté the garlic for 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, bring to a boil and remove from heat. Whisk mixture into beaten eggs then whisk in reserved cooking liquid. Place the pasta in a large serving bowl and toss with the egg sauce. Add the olives, tuna, gently fold together and sprinkle with chives. Serves 4