Feel free to be startled by the dates on this email: I was up in the Redwoods for a LONG time. I used to think, as a child attending Redwood Camp Meeting, that the ten days I was there as a camper every year constituted a long trip, but going to Spain and back put that into perspective. Still, two weeks is a long time to be without phone or email contact with the rest of the world. In a way, that was quite liberating.
After helping another pastor set up their site, I was free to get settled into the borrowed trailer I would sleep in for most of the campmeeting. The next morning, all the pastors and volunteers ate together before we got started on the day's work. On that first day, the youth pastors and I raked out the clearing for the Youth division, dug a trench for the sound equipment (with the help of Kramer, an awesome dog), put together the stage, and took chairs over to the Spanish division. Tuesday's tasks involved the infamous Port-a-Potty run. Few things amuse me quite like standing on the back of a truck with a group of pastors I've known over the years and deeply respect. . . and Port-a-Potties. It was great conversation time, though, and once again, Kramer came along and helped.
By Wednesday, campers started to arrive in greater numbers and our work in the Youth division was getting more specific. This was when we started digging holes in the ground for posts and stretching the canvas around them. A few Youth started to trickle in and send their greetings as our youth helper, Eli, finished painting our backdrop, which sported the word, "Impact," our theme. By Thursday, we were working primarily on sound, lights, and programming. Our first meeting went very well, and it was a joy to see many of the kids I've come to love from Pleasant Hill, Yountville, and Napa afterward as I mannhttps://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#drafts/12a39c50796e36d4ed the hot chocolate. We actually call that the Choco Pit--if I'm not mistaken, my brother may have been the one to give it that name. Weird.
This kicked off the first weekend. Our division was absolutely packed on Friday--we were using every chair we had. Afterwards, my former Pathfinder unit and I were talking, and through this I discovered that I was related to half my unit by some very distant marriage ties. Who knew we really were family? They always felt like family to me, anyway. I read them a bedtime story, like I used to when they were little Pathfinders--but now they are young women, old enough to be LITs themselves. For old time's sake, though, I read a story to them almost every night at Redwood. Some nights, this meant being up quite late, while still waking up early for the pastors' meetings. However, it was worth it to reestablish some of those connections.
As the week progressed, the youth started up a service project for the Fortuna Food Bank, in order to make a good impact (our theme) on the world. I was actually really impressed with the kids as they showed up in great numbers to pass out bags, gather canned food and nonperishable items, and even make dinner for the homeless. I remember doing these things when I was in high school, but I don't remember so many people my own age being so dedicated to service. I may have done several of the announcements for it in Pepperwood Pavilion, but it was truly a high school student victory.
On Wednesday night, I got to speak in the Youth division. I talked about being an every day Superman by way of Ruth. It was one of my weirder, more circuitous worship thoughts, but the kids seemed to like it--especially the idea that we're all really capable of being everyday superheroes. I had a hard time taking my own advice, though. All the chair wrangling, running of slides, and running of hot chocolate I was doing there didn't seem like much to me. I wasn't doing the exciting things; just boring little logistical details. I had to force myself to remember that my boring logistical details were important, just like Clark Kent's honest reporting.
The last weekend was a blur. There was so much going on at once, and right after the last meeting, we had to take everything down. What had taken three days to set up, we took down in a night and a day. The volunteers who helped us were very dedicated, and made it possible for us all to leave on Sunday at a reasonable time. When I got back to Napa, I slept like a baby; I hadn't had a day off in three weeks.
Right now, I'm enjoying the second of my days off and loving it. I would like to thank a smattering of people for making the last three weeks possible for me. I don't think I ever thanked the VBS praise band properly: job well done. You worked hard, and thank goodness, none of us will ever have to play the song "One True God" again. Chris Estay, thank you for the ride to Redwood. Sherilyn O'Ffill, thank you for lending your trailer, giving me a ride back, and continuing to be an awesome supervising pastor. Anderson and Snyder families, thank you for all the good food you fed me while I was over there--I loved both the food and the company. Youth division volunteers, you were awesome. You made it so we wouldn't have to be there all night several times.
Now that everyone's properly thanked, rest up! School is creeping up on many of us. I can't believe how fast the summer has flown. Enjoy your last few weeks (or days, if you're a teacher) of freedom before school starts up again.
