st. james’ youth group’s workcamp trip 2008
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St. James’ Youth Group’s Workcamp Trip 2008. Silver Lake Dunes Workcamp Shelby, Michigan (Oceana County, Western Michigan). June 21 – 30, 2008. The St. James’ Workcampers. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
St. James’ Youth Group’s Workcamp Trip 2008
Silver Lake Dunes WorkcampShelby, Michigan
(Oceana County, Western Michigan)
June 21 – 30, 2008
The St. James’ Workcampers
Theme: Love Out Loud
The daily devotions and evening programs built on the overall theme "Love Out
Loud", based on the scripture in 1 John 3:18:
"Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions."
Making a cross to take to the camp
The finished cross
Reflecting the workcamp theme “Love Out Loud”, our cross was covered with sheet music of Christian praise songs used in workcamp. Over that we pasted hearts with our names in them. Two wooden hearts had miniature speakers with recorded greetings and songs; we cut them out of store-bought greeting cards.
Oceana County• Land area 540 sq mi, population 26,873 (49.7 per sq mi)• Grew during the lumber era, which came to a halt
• * Link to video about the county’s asparagus woes in 2006: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5524001554892548822&q=asparagus
• ** US Census Bureau QuickFacts, (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/26/26127.html)
• Now agricultural: – second largest fruit tree acreage in the
state (cherries, peaches, apples); rich fruit belt especially known for apples
– Asparagus (“Asparagus Capital of the World”) competing with South America*
– Strawberries• Migrant workers settling there; Latinos
growing in numbers, 14.4% in 2006** • median household income $35,307
Harvesting asparagus
The finished crossThe school we stayed in
Our sleeping arrangements, on the floor of a classroom
First meeting in the school gym
Presenting our cross at the beginning of the week
Some Sites St. James’ People worked on . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Some Sites St. James’ People Worked On . . .
Shelby Workcamp Stats
• number of youth participants: 280 • number of adult participants: 61• number of youth groups attending: 17• from 11 states (Ind., Ill., Ky., Md., Mich., Minn.,
Neb., N.C., O., Pa., Wisc.)• number of worksites : 33 homes• volunteer hours of service (30 hrs x 341
participants) = 10,230 combined hours!
Lunch and worksite devotions
One Site in Depth . . .
One Site in Depth . . .
We built a small deck with stairs here,
and a large deck with stairs here . . .
One Site in Depth . . .
. . . painted the chicken-coop,
. . . and re-painted this deck.
. . . painted all ceilings inside,
One Site in Depth . . .
Painting ceilings
One Site in Depth . . .
Painting the existing deck
One Site in Depth . . .
Now, that stands out!
One Site in Depth . . .
Preparing post-holes for the new large (10’ x 10’) deck
One Site in Depth . . .
Large deck half done
One Site in Depth . . .
Large deck completed – great for a table!
One Site in Depth . . .
Smaller deck (5’ x 5’) completed
One Site in Depth . . .
What they had at each door before we built the two decks
One Site in Depth . . .
Chickens livin’ in style!
One Site in Depth . . .
Lunch for the double-crew
One Site in Depth . . .
Noon-day Bible study
Things We Remember from our Trip“Footprints in our Minds”
- our residents- becoming closer to our youth group- the sand dunes - Thursday night program - eaten alive by mosquitos - the long drive - excitement on the residents' faces when they saw the finished work
(These memories were written by our
workcampers at the end of the trip)
More Memories . . .
- midnight run to the woods - creamers in the cafeteria (main food source?)- time with our crews - hurrying to eat in the restaurant by the dunes - a calf chewing on my pants - GET DOWN -- the energetic intro to the evening programs- connecting with God - the swings at Cedar Point on the way back to Maryland
More Memories . . .
- trying to slide down the dune on cardboard and wiping out - sign seen in Shelby: "There are only two things we can offer our children: roots and wings"
- "wanna buy a duck?" game - foot washing in an evening program - people we met (inviting and generous)
More Memories . . .
- ultimate frisbee- playing in the championship game - so many animals on the work site - playing with the heifers - building a cool cross together as a youth group to take to camp - seeing the Harbor Springs group again
More Memories . . .
- building a great deck - the roller coasters at Cedar Point - our resident's children - baby cows - songs - the classroom we slept in - Frisbee skills? - the lesson on forgiveness - swimming at the dunes
More Memories . . .
- beating the boys in football - ultimate frisbee team - "It's a Cinnapretzel!" - chicken noises in the night - "Really? Really?" - Country Farm Dairy (tour and ice cream) - clothes/trash pile in the guys' room - The Quest (sand dunes) - good love
More Memories . . .
- chilling with the bros - triple crew - whipped - meeting my crew - hearing real-life experiences of God in our lives - the group devotions
Additional Information:
Group Workcamps, Inc.
http://www.groupworkcamps.com/
More Pics
are on the St. James’ Youth Group website
http://www.stjamespotomac.org/youth
(click on “Workcamps 2000-”)