Maine: One night...

As we gathered for our big group time one evening, Randy started something when he came across the room to sit next to his mom. "Aww!" cried the group, and a photo was taken. Then Griffin freed up a seat next to him so his mom could take it. Another photo. The room shuffled and reshuffled to produce family and sibling groupings, and LOTS of photos!

Maine: Special Needs Building Project

Over the course of four days, four different teams of FUMC youth and counselors contributed to this building project. It is pretty satisfying to see the progress!

Zeba 2014 - Friday

Friday was a fun day!

We started out early with a hot breakfast at Camp Alberta (amazing food all week). Packing up and cleaning up went very smoothly and we were all in the vans heading for St. Ignace.

The JackVan (ask your kids) stopped in Marquette to buy groceries and we all had a picnic lunch at the Seney Wildlife Refuge shelter.  Natural beauty, good friends, good food - what's not to like?

We would have made the 3:00 boat for Mackinac Island, but... there is a "Classic Car" show in town and the last mile took us 20 minutes.  Oh, well.  We were on the 3:30 boat and everyone had a great time on the island.  We rode bikes, ate dinner, bought fudge, and shopped for trinkets.  A group of intrepid explorers even went up the hill through the woods to visit the "Crack in the Island" and Fort Holmes at the very top of the island.

Coming back from the island, we regrouped at the St. Ignace United Methodist Church for the night.  Before bedtime, the 8th graders presented paper plate awards and small groups met for affirmation circles. It was very rewarding to see the kids really come together and offer sincere appreciation and admiration for each other.

A great trip overall.  Thank you for sharing your kids with us.

Maine: Heading Home

More pictures and stories to come, but we have just pulled away from camp for our long drive back to Ann Arbor. Sending the staff of Camp Mechuwana our thanks and prayers!

Maine Day 4: Lean-to project part 2

Once the solar panels were removed, we used MATH skills to set our plan for setting posts! The really strenuous activity began as we dug holes for the posts. Seven holes, each approximately 4' deep, were dug by an enthusiastic crew!

Zeba 2014 - Thursday

The weather keeps getting better and better. On Thursday morning, the sun was shining and the sky was so clear and blue you could see forever.

Out at the campground, the ground was drying and the mosquitoes were buzzing - it was perfect. The kids were enthusiastic and energetic as we sang, played games, made crafts, watched skits, and ate cookies.  We even had the rare opportunity to take a group photo - something we don't get to do most years.  As usual, the photo frame craft was the favorite. On Monday, we took pictures of all the kids with their little buddies and today they were able to put that picture in a frame and decorate it.

After VBS, the L'Anse and Zeba congregations bought us lunch at Subway. Thank You!  We ate in shifts and while one half of our group was eating, the other half was using the car wash and vacuum cleaner across the street.  Getting the mud from the campground off of the vans and the accumulated dirt of a week's living out of the carpet felt pretty good.

Once we were all clean and shiny, we went back to Alberta and changed into swim gear before heading out to another swimming opportunity.  There was too much water in the Sturgeon River and so we couldn't do the "cliff jumping" swim. Instead we went to another set of cascades where the kids could climb and swim in the river.

After dinner, we built a bonfire and roasted marshmallows. Yum! As we sat around the fire, an impromptu talent show broke out with guitar solos, very impressive ballet moves, and some slapstick ballroom dancing.

Small group discussions and a hearfelt conversation in the large group ended the evening. Everyone went to bed tired in the body but warmed in the heart.

Maine: Day 4 lean-to project part 1

One project that was tackled at camp was to add a lean-to structure to the maintenance building. This involved removing 30-year old passive solar panels.

Maine: Day 3 Church

We finished the church kitchen and recreation room today so it is ready to serve food to the needy this weekend.

The Monmouth church was founded by Francis Asbury, who was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States.  As a circuit rider, Francis traveled on horseback thousands of miles to those living on the frontier.  The Asbury Room in our church in Ann Arbor is named after Francis in recognition of his contributions in spreading the faith.

Zeba 2014 - Wednesday

Wednesday dawned much nicer than Tuesday. The temperatures were still chilly, but there was no rain - even though the sky was overcast.  Toward evening, it even got to be rather pleasant and sunny.

VBS was at the campground, which was a much more comfortable situation. As is usual, we had even more kids than on the previous two days. There were silly songs to sing, drama, and lots of fun at games playing "red light - green light" and "keep it up". At crafts, we decorated pillowcases and made lizards out of craft sticks and pipe cleaners.  There were lots of smiling faces at pick up time.

We ate our sack lunches at the campground and headed off to the Indian Cemetery.  As the kids walked among the graves and looked at the headstones and the spirit houses, they spontaneously formed a discussion group among themselves where they could talk about the people in their lives that they've loved and lost. Many of them reported later that this was a highlight of their day.

When we got back to camp, we engaged in an afternoon of creative silliness with the first (and quite possibly last) quadrennial run for the coveted Zeba Cup. There was a "Two Minute Marathon", 3-legged soccer, the back-to-back balloon relay, and of course - the water balloon toss.  Team Blue clinched the trophy with a strong 1st and 2nd place finish in that event.