Tuesday is here, and every cabin has returned safely and happily from their various trips.  This session our staff seemed inclined to include water in each of their trips as two of our cabin groups went on canoe trips with only Penobscot going on a regular overland hike.  Not to be outdone, Penobscot hiked to a waterfall and played in the cascading water. 

Tonight here at camp we will be running one of our signature activities.  It’s Mud Night!  Campers will ride down our 30-foot slip-n-slide, then play in mud past their ankles for a few sloppy games.  Finally, we’ll all jump in the lake, clean off, and head for some warm showers.  There will be lots of mud, and lots of white smiles shining past dirty faces!

The Lord has given us another day to be together.  We are grateful for it, and we hope to honor him with every hour of it – in our work, our play, and our praise.  

Its guys night tonight in camp, since all the girls are spending the evening on Attean Lake as part of their mid-session canoe trip.  Saco and Kennebec are back from their three-day canoe trip, and are resting up today for another week of full-tilt action.  As the oldest boys in camp, they drew the privilege of canoeing the Moose River Bow.  Along the way they got to experience some white water canoeing, and got to camp out for two consecutive nights.  This evening our girls are getting some of the best weather of the session for their trip – the sun has been shining all day and there has been very little wind.  It’s perfect for canoeing.  We all look forward to hearing their stories when they return.

For those in camp tonight, there is plenty to look forward to:  The guys will be grilling steak, playing greased watermelon football, and tubing behind the boat.  It should be a great opportunity to eat well and play hard.

Tomorrow our final hike leaves as Penobscot hits the trail headed for Slidedown Falls.  It’s a beautiful spot where the waterfalls carve out perfect places to play in the falling water or slide with the flow of the river.  The trip should be good, and having seen the menu of food they are bringing along, I know the meals will be a highlight as well.

Today was a rainy Thursday, but as usual, it did not affect our pace here at camp.  Our staff got us started on the right foot by singing a rousing (and frankly a little rowdy) rendition of “This is the Day That the Lord Has Made” at breakfast.  Activities went on relatively unhindered – our wake boarders certainly did not mind the rain.  The outdoor cooking activity group simply took their recipe du jour to the nearest indoor fireplace.  As for our skeet-shooting group, their timing was perfect.  They fit their session into a one-hour window of blue sky and dry weather. 

We are excited today for our WILD (Wilderness Intensive Leadership Development) campers. Our first year WILD group is getting their last rest tonight before tomorrow morning’s 23-mile mountain bike ride.  The bike ride is only the beginning of their final trip together for the summer.  After reaching a trailhead on bikes, they will pick up backpacks and complete a four-day Appalachian Trail trip together.  We are proud of their development and confident that they will continue to succeed as a team. 

Until next time, we’ll be here dancing between the rain drops and enjoying God’s Creation for all its worth.  

An overcast day did not slow down the action here at MRO today.  We did have a sprinkling of rain, but not enough to affect our activities.  The main event today turned out to be moose-watching, as our friend the moose showed up again.  We hadn’t seen him in nearly two weeks, but today he came out for all to see and crossed through camp in the middle of lunch.  Nearly every camper was able to see him as he made his rounds.  Its only Tuesday, but campers seem to be very comfortable already.  Even as I write, there are shouts of “FREEEEEEEDOM!” coming from our front lawn as campers enjoy a wild game of Trench Dodge Ball (they can explain the nuances of the game to you when they return home).  Judging by the volume, few campers are feeling inhibited in their enjoyment of camp activities at this point in the session.    

In this morning’s Bible study we looked at the first chapter of James and discussed the pitfalls of uncontrolled anger.  What I love about Bible study here at MRO is that questions — even the hard ones — are not only accepted, but are welcomed.  Only the introductory phase of the study takes place with the whole camp in one place.  As campers process each topic, they get to participate with their cabin mates and counselors in small group study, get answers to questions they have, and hopefully take more away for having dictated much of the content themselves.  

The sun is sinking behind us now here at Heald Pond, but every indication is that we are witnessing the dawning of another great two weeks here at MRO.    

Sunday is here, and so will be a full group of new campers, each of them ready to enjoy the beauty and adventure of this place.   Few things are more inspiring than experiencing this place for the first time.  Today our staff will learn that watching 30 campers experience it for the fist time is even better.  I love to look around and see that things are in order here.  Today our staff will be in their fresh, clean, uniforms and all around us the buildings and grounds will be at their best – a showcase of the many blessings God has given this place.  It will not be complete though, until cars begin rolling down our long driveway and campers begin pouring through the doors of each cabin.  This place is as beautiful as God’s purpose for it.  The campers who are even now loading into cars or packing a toothbrush represent that purpose, and so we eagerly await their arrival.  

It’s hard to believe, but this will be my final post for our first session of camp.  All our hikes have returned safely, and all our campers are beginning to reach for the back corners of their suitcases to find clean clothes.  Yesterday’s white-water rafting trip was as fun as it was wet.  It was a perfect day to be on the Kennebec.  The sun was shining, and the cold, river waters felt great during and after a hard paddle.  Many of our campers showed some apprehensiveness as they approached the river, but after the first section of rapids we were all laughing, paddling, and laughing like we were raft guides ourselves.  The bus ride back to camp was quiet as we all enjoyed the chance to sit after such an action-packed day. 

Its always this time of the session that we begin to reflect on all that we have done and seen.  I hope that every camper here has done something they have never done before or learned something they can take with them long after camp is just a fuzzy memory.  If nothing else, I know each of us has appreciated God’s creation in all its beauty and breathtaking magnitude.  It is a blessing for us to be together, and it is an irreplaceable life experience to be together in this place.  

            Week two is here and the last of our mid-session hikes returns today!  The girls from Penobscot and Androscoggin have all returned safely with stories, tired legs, and some wet gear.  When the girls reached the summit of Boundary Bald Mountain, they arrived to see what all hikers hate to see at the top of a mountain.  They were completely engulfed in clouds on all sides with no visibility whatsoever.  Not to be undone, the girls simply noted how special it was to be so high up as to actually be inside a cloud.  Once that novelty wore off, something really special happened:  The clouds split apart right in front of them, revealing near perfect visibility for miles with views of camp to the south and Canada to the north!  The view was so clear that the girls could easily see the camp ski boat circling the lake.  Kennebec summits Boundary Bald today, and all indications are that their view will be just as majestic. 

            The end of our hikes does not signal the end of adventure however, since our rafting day is tomorrow.  Each cabin will rise early tomorrow morning, eat a hearty breakfast, and ride a bus off to the Kennebec River, where every camper will get to ride the rapids in guided raft.  Rafting day is always a highlight, and so the excitement is already building here among campers and staff alike.  Otherwise, its business as usual here at camp:  As long as that business includes waterskiing, rock climbing, outdoor cooking, and paintball!

Its hard to believe that we have already reached the halfway point of our session, but the numerous memories we have already created together stand by as proof of the passing of time.  Saco has now returned triumphant from their canoe trip around the Moose River Bow.  They brought with them stories, suntans, and an extra canoe!  Along their way, one of the trip leaders spotted a green canoe jammed in the rapids.  With a little teamwork, they got it clear, and towed it home! 

Despite some scattered rain showers throughout the day here, our girls cabins left today with full hearts and full packs for an overnight at Boundary Bald mountain.  We hope they return with stories of good times and with the bragging rights of having scaled the mountain that overshadows camp from across Heald Pond.

There are, of course, things happening on camp as well today!  With the girls out of camp, they guys are running the show – grilled steaks and beach games are the order of the evening.  This is only fair after the girls had their special night on Friday with gourmet finger foods and a spa night.  The session is unfolding well, and if the second week is anything like the first, this will be a summer we all remember fondly for a long time.  

After a brief stint of rain last night, our week continues with beautiful weather.  Despite the rain, we were able to fit in our Amazing Race last night.  Throughout the event campers swim, kayak, mountain bike, make beaded necklaces, hit wiffle-balls, and compete in other crazy events as fast as they can in a huge, MRO-sized relay race.  Much to the chagrin of your faithful blogger, the race ended with the first team to successfully soak their Camp Director with a bucket of cold water.   

This morning the boys from the Saco cabin left on their 3-day canoe trip. The boys will generate community and life-long memories as they work together to paddle and camp along the length of the Moose River Bow.  Having helped them load their food and gear, I can attest to the fact that they will certainly not go hungry!  I saw ingredients for french toast, grilled pizzas, and more get packed along with their canoes and paddles. 

Here in camp, Marcus Corey spoke this morning about the pitfalls of greed, and the importance of contentment.  After taking some time together to think about the many blessings we have, I think each of us were surprised by the sum of our possessions.  As 1 Timothy 6:6 tells us, godliness with contentment is great gain.  It is my prayer that the benefits of contented discipleship will become more and more evident to each of us as we spend time here in this simple, but enthralling place.  

         The Iron Moose Club, breakfast lineup, activity signups, and the other daily operations of camp are now becoming routine and campers have settled in well.  Meanwhile, the adventures that we engage in here on a daily basis are anything but routine. Even as I write, campers are building their skills in wakeboarding, skeet shooting, rock climbing, paintballing, and mountain biking, many of them for the first time. Last night ended well with our first all-camp game: A Photo Scavenger Hunt. Unique group challenges met every cabin along the way, and each camper was greeted with a bowl of rich Gifford’s ice cream in our camp store when they finished. Tommorow brings even greater excitement as we approach our first trip day. Campers will pack a lunch and spend an entire day using the skills they have learned by rock climbing, hiking, swimming in mountain streams, and mountain biking as they enjoy a handful of beautiful spots in the surrounding area. More to come on Thursday, when our first group of campers will already be out on a canoe trip!