into the wilderness

Biff and Betty’s Final Appearance

Betty – Biff! Biff! Where are you?

Biff peaks out from tent

Betty – Biff! Do you know where he is? Biff! Where? In the tent? Biff, what are you doing in there?

Biff – I don’t want to go home!

Betty lifts tent flap

Betty – Biff! Come on, we have to get going. We need to go home.

Biff – I am NOT leaving. I love it here. I love going swimming in the lake, and playing games in the Redwood Forest, and cooking in the Canteen...

Betty – I know Biff, but we have to go home. You had fun this week, right?

Biff – Yes, I had so much fun, and I don’t want it to stop!

Betty – Well, we need to get back and tell everybody about the fun we had. You can’t just stay here forever?
Biff – Yes I can. I’m staying right here. Nobody else needs to know.

Betty – But Biff, we have to tell everybody else, so they can come next time and have fun with us.

Biff – So if I tell them, they can come next time? Well, that would be more fun...

Betty – Of course it would! Then there would be more people to play with, and go to the Tent with, and to cook with in the Canteen.
Biff – That would be better. But I really don’t want to leave right now. Can’t we tell them later?

Betty– Well, Biff, I think there is a story in the Bible about this kind of thing. Maybe it will give you the answer...

Biff – what’s that story?

Betty – Well, let me see.... When Jesus was resurrected, he told the disciples to go and tell all people about Him and the stories that He told. They went out straight away and told everyone.

Biff – They told everyone?

Betty – Yep

Biff – So, do we have to tell everyone?

Betty – Well, not right now. We could start by telling the people here? Would you do that?




This past week has been a whorl win of excitement! Caroline Dyers and I took on Garnerville summer program which they call J-team which is like vacation Bible school in the states. We where filling some very big shoes. Margit McGarvy has run J-team for years and years and is one of the most talented and loving people I have ever met. And I have learned a lot form her this year. But Jenny who is her daughter is getting married in a week so she was a little busy this summer. So Caroline and I took it on.

We took on the project we wrote a crulium than works with in the ideas of multbule intelligences. Each kid would learn the same story but in 5 different ways every day. Trying to reach as many different learning types.

We decide to set the theme of camping for the week so we turned the church in to the wilderness. When you walked in to the church you ran in to a campsite, tent, trees a camp stove, a boat, fishing polls. The kids would sit in the groups. We had the beaver, bears, wolfs, squirrels, eagles. There they would meet up with there trail blazer who stayed with them all day walking them fro class to class and joining in the games and activates. We would have a group opening where we started with engerzers so from the states and some form Belfast. Thoues of you in the states be ready for okay do key karaoke and Mr. cow. Than Biff and Betty would show up and usually they would be in trouble and it was often Biffs fault. Where Biff was stuck in a tent or there was rubbish all over their camp sit. Or Biff went swimming where he was not suppose to, and my personal favourite when they got lost not only hiking but from each other. Typically this ended in sending out the campers and trailblazers to come back and tell them about a story that may help Biff and Betty solve their problem.
The camper and trailblazers would then visit the Park rangers at different cheek points for 15 mins than move to the next. There was the tent where they would lesions to the story, there was the cove where there was an arts and crafts, the camp fire was drama where kids got up and acted story’s out, there was canteen where they had cooking class/a sank that related to the story, and the redwood forest where they played games.

We ended each day by coming back together and sing songs together. Andy another young adult volunteer helped us lead music. The week had so much energy around it and we had people helping from different church’s different countries and yet it felt like one big family working with a conmen goal of giving the 40 kids in the room two hours where they could be kids have fun and hear about gods love. To be hosnt I think they way these kids slaw god this week was not in the music or in the story’s or in the decorated rooms but in the devotion of the leaders and Garnerville church from the women who came in every morning to serve tea and coffee to parents to the young leaders who sang songs and did dances right next to the kids and the teachers who cut fruit help lead skits told story’s and played games. On Friday was had a lunch for all the leaders and we enjoyes just being together and talking about the week. I got to now so many people even better than before I have seen the Garnerville member in action and there is nothing they can’t do.

There was so much love around the week and this was evident in the clouesing services on Sunday J-team took the serves the kids showed off their art and acting some of the skits they made. Sang some of the course and yelled there group cheers. After words there was tea for parents and kids and the whole church got to wander in and out of the rooms and see the places the kids where for the last week. Than with out any complaints it was cleaned but packed away in 5 mins because so many people helped.

During the closing severs Biff and Betty made a final appearances. Biff sat in a tent and screamed I not going home. Now I have to say Caroline wrote the skit but getting to throw that fit as if I was Biff is pretty telling to how I feel right now. Patricia also wants to sit on the flour and throw a tantrum saying I not leaving I am not going I love it hear I am loved hear. The thing is I not really sure when it happened or how it happened but this has become my home. At the same time I know that I am not meant to stay I hope there are things I meant to do when I go. Like Betty’s says I hope there are people who need to hear about the things I have seen and learned the one big differences is it feels like I am leaving home like I am now going in to the wilderness and I am leaving behind what feels safe and familiar.

So I am packing up my year into two suite cases and brief case and a gutter case. I am spending time with the People I love hear going to the museum with the Clarks lunch with the McDowell family. Sleep over with Caroline and going to the movies. Had a girls night with Karen and Jenny and Caroline, Making one last dances with Rachel, and hanging with the other YAVs Rob by the way he has the pox’s so I have made bread and brought over soup.

My Family Gets hear in 9 days that day Jenny gets marred. Than Sunday the 25th is my last Sunday at Garnerville and a goodbye party for the YAVs than a first family vacation since leaving for collage and visiting friends in Scotland who I have not seen in 2 years. Than on a plane to New Jersey for time with Meredith than into the wilderness.