What I have Learned...

I have completed my first full week here at the camp and look back with excitement and awe at what we have been able to accomplish. With only a skeleton crew, but with a lot of determination and elbow grease we were able to accomplish a lot of work. We successfully cleaned the main dining lodge and chapel as well as six separate cabins that will house couples and individuals as they come through this summer. When I say "we" I am referring to the group of young ladies that were here for the week who did the heavy lifting on the cleaning. While all of us pitched in and helped with it, the bulk of the load was carried by them. When I say "cleaning" I an referring to genuine, bona fide cleaning. None of this cleaning we did as kids when mom asked us to dust a room and we hit the high spots. The spring cleaning that goes on here entails removing lights fixtures and cleaning the insides, if it is wood it gets wiped down with Murphy's Oil (including the ceilings thanks to the summer staff guys!), other surfaces get the Mr. Clean treatment, cabinets wiped inside and out, everything gets dusted and wiped down, swept, vacumed, and mopped, windows cleaned inside and out. Lots of work. In addition to the cleaning we had to get the water and gas turned on to several of the cabins which led to a few plumbing issues. A lot of other smaller "projects" were completed this week as well which will ensure smooth operation of the ministry throughout the summer.

At the end of the week this is what I have learned:

1. We have it easy in the 21st century.
I am reading a book by Frank and Marie Drown titled "Mission To The Headhunters." This couple served as missionaries in the eastern part of Ecuador for years ministering to the Shuara people. I had to drive 3 1/2 hours from an airport to get to the camp here. The area where the Drown's worked was accessible by traveling one day by train, one day on a crowded bus, several days on horseback. In addition the other missions outposts were only accessible by walking sometimes several days through the jungle. When MAF and Wycliffe (now JAARS) entered the area with missionary aviation it cut down the travel time drastically, but these early pioneer missionaries still had to live a very primitive lifestyle. Early on the highlight of their week was the weekly radio traffic on Fridays. It was so important to them they would ration their gasoline during the week so that they could run their generator long enough to catch up with the other missionaries in their part of Ecuador. Frank would later lead the search party and be one of the first to discover the fate of the five martyred missionaries at the hands of the Auca Indians.

2. There is a generation of youth still willing to serve God.
It has been awesome this week to work with some of the summer staffers here at COTW. These are individuals in their late teens and early twenties who have given up their summer so that they can impact the youth of this area for Christ. During all of the cleaning and jobs that were done this week there wasn't heard a single disparaging comment or complaint. It's not glamorous to wipe down an entire bathroom with Mr. Clean, or spend your day on a ladder wiping Murphy's Oil on the ceiling. But they did it and did it with the right attitude. Glamour trophies aren't given out for these kinds of jobs, but in my book these summer staffers and others that pitched in deserve one.

3. Anyone can help on the mission field.
We have a gentleman here at the camp for a few weeks from Tennessee. He comes up every year for several weeks for two specific things, help out at the camp and fish! I have enjoyed getting to know this guy over the past several days and swapping war stories with him. As a Vietnam Veteran he spent two tours of duty in Vietnam. After getting out he later re-enlisted in the Air National Guard where he recently retired. What an awesome testimony this man has of God's faithfulness through the years, and what an awesome example to others. Every year for the past eight years he has driven the 2 1/2 days to the camp. Once here he sets out to accomplish whatever tasks he is given. In the evenings he travels north a few miles to fish. Not for himself, but so the camp staff can enjoy a fish fry of fresh Walleye later on. Everything he does is about others.

4. Plastic water pipes + -40F temps = problems.
As the winter weather approaches later all of the cabins that are not lived in will be winterized. One aspect of this is draining the water from the house/cabin, blowing out the lines with air, and filling the traps with an antifreeze of sorts. When this is not accomplished properly havoc ensues! Imagine our surprise when turning on the water in a cabin came spraying out from underneath the sink in the bathroom. After repairing the shattered pipes we turned on the water again and more came spewing out from underneath the bathtub. More plastic that had busted. This time we had to wait until someone could run into town and pick up more plastic fittings to make the repair.

5. Bears can smell fish through bed covers on pickups.
This morning our friend from Tennessee showed us muddy paw prints from a bear on the bed cover on his truck. Apparently during the night a bear smelled fish through the bed cover and made a very rudimentary attempt to get them.

Thats it from the north for this time! Pray for this next week as we make more preparations for upcoming camp weeks!