SSP 2008 Work Day 1

It’s been a truly spectacular SSP day…which means no one was on the roof…no one got hurt and it wasn’t 100 degrees. The Table Bluff Reservation where we are serving this year is located on a bluff overlooking Humboldt Bay and it is a truly beautiful site. It is a small reservation on which 8 of the 9 work sites are within site of each other. The ninth site is a few miles up the road in Arcata. We find ourselves doing a lot of handicap ramps this year, which means today there was a lot of digging and tomorrow there will be a lot of concrete being mixed. Wednesday will see a lot of nails driven and probably a few black and blue thumbs.

We are here this year with the Loomis UMC, the Campbell UMC and the Lafayette UMC. This is a great bunch of campers and counselors and we are really meshing well at this point.

Back to the weather…I don’t think it got above 65 all day and the sun didn’t come out until about 1:30 pm. It doesn’t seem like its going to be out for much longer.

There is an extraordinary thing happening this year. The Wiyot people (that’s pronounced WEE’ yot) are cooking us both breakfast and lunch. In 17 years of SSP this has never happened. I’m completely blown away by this gesture.

Now a few kid moments. This was Rachel’s first time on the trip and she is on one of the teams that are doing ramps. When I talked to her today about how it went and what the favorite part of her work day was she talked about how great it was that everyone on her team was pitching in. There was no one on her team that just sat around while others worked. I’m very glad that she had a good first day. For Alex, also a first timer, the demolition that needed to happen before the ramp construction begins was the favorite part of his day.

It’s almost time for evening program, so I’ll cut this short…you can be very proud of this SSP work team. Under Mandy’s leadership the leadership and spiritual maturity of our youth is making a difference in this community. It is a blessing and privilege to share this time with a group of kids that are eager to grow in their discipleship and in their relationship with God through helping other people. While I know that my being here puts a great deal of strain others who pick up my load when I am gone, please know my heartfelt gratitude for all that you do to make it possible for me to be part of this spiritual journey with our youth just as I continue to be challenged in my own.

Until tomorrow…