milestone: RV sites

I have found in "the books" that we've been planning to build an RV site at Camp Evergreen for quite sometime: I've seen diagrams that show a planned RV site from I think as far back as about 1988*. Well, I have some big news, faithful readers. The music I'm attempting to listen to as I work is almost completely drowned out by the sound of pounding and tractoring and other such official building noises. Our good friends Harley and Roland are here to finish the electrical hook-ups and pedestal installation. By the end of this week, our nine RV sites will be completely completed and ready for use**. Just in time for our May long weekend Guest Group!


*We didn't actually start building the sites in 1988. That would be rather pathetic, don't you think? It's just something we were apparently thinking about.
**Our RV sites look absolutely nothing like the street on which the amazing half Airstream/half old car pictured above is sitting. It's just an amazing RVish vehicle.

posted by kerry.

evergreen apparel!

Our 2009 tee-shirts and hoodies have arrived! They're designed around the Stand, our summer 2009 theme, which is based on 2 Timothy 1:7:

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

The tee-shirts and hoodies are unpacked and waiting patiently on the tuck shop's shelves for YOU! (Yup, tee-shirts and hoodies can wait, just like people.) Want a preview?

Who are those lovely models, you ask? Jason (in the hoodie), Kristy (in the red camper tee-shirt) and Erin (in the charcoal staff tee-shirt) are our all-around-amazing seasonal staff who do everything from leading activities to building bunkbeds to serving food to cleaning bootrooms.

posted by kerry.

easter sunday!

Good Friday is not the end of the story! It's Easter Sunday and we're celebrating that Jesus is alive (read about it in John 20 or Luke 24 or Mark 16 or Matthew 28).

I have another song, "Saviour King". It's not reallyreally upbeat, which one might expect in a celebration song, but I like it.

posted by kerry.

good friday

I have a Good Friday song, "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded", to share with you all:



When I was in high school, I was in an Easter production called Love According to John. I was one member of a troop of about five street musicians (I played flute, although I was a fairly terrible flautist). In John 19, Pilate hands Jesus over to be crucified. Verse 17 simply says, "Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha)." In the play, the street musicians are part of a crowd that jeers and mocks and yells at Jesus as he drags his cross across the stage, walking to his death, having just been beaten and flogged. While this is going on, "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" plays.

I remember being at a Good Friday service at the Myer Horowitz theatre in Edmonton and being overcome with emotion when we sang "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" as part of the service. The jeering and mocking that I was acting out on stage suddenly aligned with the sins in my day-to-day life and I was left staring at the hugeness of Jesus' sacrifice and the wholeness of his love for me. I left the service and sat in the foyer on a couch and wept with sorrow and with gratitude.

So, now, more than a decade later, I listen to "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" on Good Fridays, reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made for me (and for you!) and how I'm honouring (or not honouring) that sacrifice in my life.

(For the full lyrics, go here.)

posted by kerry.

ladies' retreat: the review

Ladies' Retreat was amazing! I have to admit that I was bit nervous beforehand: we had seventy ladies out -- usually, we have closer to 35. But, since I've just finished reading the evals, I can tell you that they had just as much fun as we did, hosting them! It was a great weekend and here's why ...

First of all, and most excitingly, we're celebrating along with the five women who accepted Jesus this weekend: if you're reading this, ladies, we're praying for you!

Donna Carter shared her story us, as well as some of the smart things women can do as we seek to live in relationship with God.

We had the zipline open for a couple of hours and it appears that it's just as popular among adults as it is among kids ... although I think the ladies are bigger screamers than most of the kids who take the jump! Here are some of the Dalhousie ladies:




Colleen (our Office Manager) and Lennie took some time to enjoy the hot tub. (And apparently my mom joined them later on and told embarrassing stories about me -- thanks, Mom!)


The ladies who were lucky enough to secure a spot in Ken's cooking class made the most delicious pita bread, guacamole, hummus and bruschetta (okay, so I don't know that the bruschetta was delicious: I'm anti-tomato and therefore didn't give it a try but the rest of it? Delicious!).



Naomi from Servants Anonymous joined us for most of Saturday afternoon, with tables of beautiful jewellery, scarves, toques and shoulder bags made by Nepalese women who have escaped sexual slavery. Handcrafts are an economic alternative to slavery for these women and purchasing their work allows it to be a viable alternative. And, as Naomi said, we can pray for the women every time we see or wear the pieces we purchased.

Finally, I must include my nepotism shot, so called because it features the ladies of River West, which is my home church. Say hello to Linda, Gillian, Sabina, Leslie (aka Mom) and Joan:

posted by kerry.