ice skating!

As you may know, Camp Evergreen is hosting its first ever Three-on-Three Pond Hockey Tournament on January 9. Huzzah! It's going to be very, very, very fun. And we still have space for a couple more teams, if you're interested (call me, Kerry, at 403-638-4230, if you want more information).

We're working on the three ice surfaces we'll be using for the Tournament. I was starting to worry that it would never get cold enough to make good ice, but God has provided us with wonderfully freezing weather and the ice is underway! Dave, Emily, Colter and Erin have been flooding the "upstairs" rink, and yesterday, some of us broke in the ice. Wanna pretend you were there?



[I will add more videos shortly ... our internet is the slowest!]

cabin fever!, pt. 3

I know! You're dying to know where we're at with building the first cabin!

The first layer of the roof is in place and the cabin has been wrapped in Tyvec. (I'm learning all sorts of things, like what Tyvec is.) The tin for the roof is on order and willing arriving late next week and the windows are awaiting pick up at Wild's Home Hardware. We won't be doing the final layer of siding (which will match the outdoor bathrooms) till the spring: we'll do all the cabins at once.

We're planning to get the tin on the roof next week, before the Christmas banquet. I'm excited about that step! The green tin is so pretty, I think. (If you've been here, it's on the lodge, Cabin 15, the outside of the Activity Centre and the roof of the Welcome Centre.)

Top Left: Kevin and Richard survey the cabin, before getting started for the day.
Top Right: Erin and Emily are wildly excited to spend the day with the building crew.
Bottom Right: Richard peeks out over the corner of the cabin.

Left: Emily and Kevin bring out the first truss.
Right: The first truss waits.
Bottom: Night falls, with trusses in place.







But trusses are not enough! The sheeting must go on!

And, another time lapse photo series:

cake is better than pie.

In October, a debate raged about the virtues of pie versus cake. Cake won.

On the left, Allison is pleased to be crowned winner while Chad sorrowfully contemplates his loss.
On the right, proof is in the pudding, by which I mean cake.

snow is falling! (christmas banquet is coming!)

We woke up to a light cover of snow today; I was so excited. As much as I appreciate the slippery-free roads, it just feels to wrong to be without snow in November. (Plus, I've been listening to Christmas music, on and off, since late October ...)

Anyway, the actual point of this post is to tell you that Julia and Colleen are prepping for our Christmas Banquet at this very minute! Colleen's office is turning into a miniature winter wonderland, sprinkled with gigantically oversized snowflakes.

Now that we're talking Christmas, my uncontestably favourite Christmas album of all time is A Christmas Album by Amy Grant. I love it. And I just found this gem on YouTube (apologies for the poor sound):

cabin fever!, pt. 2

Cabin building is continuing -- the guys will be out tomorrow again to work on the sheeting. I thought I'd share a little "three days of progress" video with you.

the uprising - november 6-8, 2009

Troy Taylor. BCBU. Simon Hoskyn. Dutch Blitz, trail rides, inductive Bible Study, cinnamon buns, new tee-shirts, new friends, old friends.

The Uprising is our College & Careers retreat -- we had about 40 retreaters and volunteerers and musicalplayers here for two nights and it was great fun!

Troy Taylor, our speaker, is the IVCF staff at the University of Lethbridge. He spoke about what it means to stand for Christ, using Paul's conversations with the people of Athens in Acts 17, as a model. We talked about providing an applicable and appropriate response to others' questions and situations; we talked about trustiworthiness (note to self - telling Courtney that rugby isn't a real sport is a quick way to lose her trust); we talked about what it means to be compelling by believing what we say and drawing people into the next step; and about giving honour to where people are at. Stand up!

"Find places where your great joy intersects with the world's great need."
- James Penner, talking about vocation, as quoted by Troy.

Ben, Joe, Spencer and David (aka, the Bethany College Beat Unit / BCBU) drove all the way out from Hepburn, Saskatchewan to lead us in worship-through-music, and they were fantastic. (And of course, we miss Ben, so it was great to have him back for a weekend!)

Simon Hoskyn, a ridiculously amazing singer-songwriter from Edmonton, came out and did a show on Saturday night. To explain how great Simon is, I will tell you a little story. I (Kerry) primarily listen to music that would be categorized as folk, indie, indie rock, folk rock, Amy Grant and various other permuations of the folk/indie/rock genres; Erin prefers to listen primarily to genres opposing my favourites, all while making fun of me for my music tastes. So, when I said, "hey, this really great singer-songwriter named Simon is going to do a show at the Uprising", Erin's response was more than skeptical (something along the lines of, "ew, you're wrong; I hate folk music"). HOWEVER, defying the odds, even Erin was completely won over by Simon's songs and voice and guitar. He freely admitted to me that he was wrong and that Simon was great. I believe the cliche is "eating crow"? Anyway, it was great show. Listen to Simon, y'all.

And now, a photo essay.

It's Session Time!
Left: Troy Taylor, Right: Spencer, Joe and David getting ready to lead worship through music.


BCBU Bassist Joe leaps, just because he can.



It's the Challenge Course!




The barn was a popular locale for the paparazzi.
Top Left: Kim, Elishia, and Julia are ready to wrangle, Top Right: David, Spencer, Trenton and Joe are soooo excited to ride.
Centre: Spencer says "hi" to a horse.
Bottom Left: Trailriders are instructed for safety, Bottom Right: the line.






Simon.

posted by kerry.

cabin fever!, pt. 1

Huzzah!* The building has commenced! Last Saturday, October 10, Kevin & Jen & kids, Andrew & Lisa & kids, Matt and Richard joined Dave in the RV sites to begin work on Cabin 1! Actually, it'll probably be Cabin 12-14 or 16, because those puppies will be the first to go.

Kevin, Andrew, Richard, Matt and Dave made a good start on the cabin. Lisa, Jen and I cooked ... deliciously pre-cooked food (thanks Ken!). Andrew managed to find time to take some photos as they built, so check it out!

Left: The build site, with just the skids on the ground.
Right: Skids.



Right: Hammer time.*
Left: Land of many drills.



Left: Kevin and Richard weren't cold at all (it was only -15 with the windchill, after all).
Right: Fortunately, to offset the cold, a coffee break!



Left: Richard and Jesse measuring.
Right: The first wall is up!



The second wall is up!



Left: Frame of the back wall.
Right: Our handsome building crew.

* "Huzzah!" is actually a play on words, because back in the day, Evergreen's Trail Blazer and Ignite (grades 5-6 and grades 7-9) camps were called Huzzah 1 and Huzzah 2.
** Reference to MC Hammer.

posted by kerry.