Memorial Day begins summer

Summer has arrived in Missouri and I have the mosquito bites to prove it. Warm days and lots of grilling out and swimming. Today is Memorial Day and I feel fortunate to have the day off from work. I have been enjoying the weekend with the family. We spent the day at the lake Sunday afternoon. It sure would have been nice to be out on a pontoon boat but we still had a great time at the swim beach. Justin is back home on summer break from college and just started a new job at the local water park. A certified lifeguard, a great job for a college kid.

Shelterwood officially started pre-summer break last Friday. It should be a relatively quiet week to catch up on some paperwork. We wrapped up the chapel season on Thursday morning and will resume in late August with the conclusion of summer and the start of a new Leadtime class. I admit, it will be nice to have a few months off from planning the weekly chapel service. Following pre-summer break, we will begin the summer schedule. Half-days of school Monday through Thursday with various activities throughout the week.

Camp Galilee 2010

We had a great last week at Camp Galilee down in El Dorado Springs. About a 2 and 1/2 hour drive south from campus. You can see some pictures on the Shelterwood Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/Shelterwood?ref=ts

Each morning we worked together serving the campus staff with various work projects such as clearing brush and raking leaves. During the afternoons it was all competition. We were divided into teams for some "friendly" games and competition. The theme this year was the TV show '24.' Team building, relay races and a variety of ways to earn points. I was on team Red this year. Once again, we won the skit competition on the last day and pulled from third place overall to first. Camp champs two years running now. Did I say "friendly" competition?

The evening "club" time (or chapel) included creative videos by our house directors, a message/testimony from one of our big brothers or big sisters and worship time led by myself. I included a few humorous original songs about Shelterwood life along with worship. Surprisingly, the kids did an amazing job engaging and worshipping. Made for a pretty cool week. It was nice to sleep in a real bed last night. I love camp but you can only survive so many nights in a humid cabin on a thin bunk mattress. Overall, it was a great week. I had a chance to spend time with kids and house staff in a personal and unique way.

The Wild Wood

Things have been quiet on the Blog front for a few weeks so you kinda knew stuff was brewing at Doulos. Indeed it was. We just concluded the Spring Parent's Weekend. The weekend schedule included the usual things like parent groups, fancy-meals-that-make-the-parents-think-we-eat- like-this-often, and lots of quality family time. The Kansas City property is amazing. Each of the lodges is furnished with rocking chairs and benches on the porch. A front row seat of the huge "Shelterwood Oak Tree" and the western horizon for sunset. I watched family after family rebuilding relationships on those rocking chairs as I passed in and out of the lodge throughout the weekend.

One event, in particular, that deeply impacted my life was a graduation held on Friday night. I had not yet witnessed a Shelterwood graduation during Parent Weekend. Mostly due to timing but it worked out last weekend. One of the boys that I spent much time with, Michael. One of the main guys on my worship team and young man loaded with talent. Wonderful parents. A heart for Christ. A teacher and role model to other residents. A transformation to a level I have only seen a handful of times. I had the privilege of sharing at Mikey's graduation and I spent hours talking with his sisters, his parents, his grandma, aunt and cousin. All in attendance from Wisconsin. The ripple effect of Mikey's graduation was felt by all the families at Parent Weekend. Hope for the dads who would get few or no words from their sons during this weekend. Hope for moms who desperately miss their daughters and wish them home. Hope. I will miss Mikey.

Next week is Camp Galilee, an annual house trip with both guys and girls, and I will be making the trip. I'll lead worship each night, hang out in the boys cabins and join in the team games. Last year was a blast. On the heels of Galilee will be Pre-summer break at the end of May before we roll into the summer schedule.