Karoline didn’t actually say that to me, but she challenged me to think about Day Camp at Ft. Blakemore in new ways.

Karoline Burg, outdoor educator, middle school teacher, mom, friend, and so much more, will direct Day Camp this July 16-20.  It will be a brand new experience for all of us!

Children will be divided into family groups of eight to ten.  This will allow each child to have significant interaction with one adult and one older youth.  They will study the Bible, take hikes, do crafts, and learn about the camp in these groups.  Later in the day they will join their age group to swim and do other recreational activities. 

Change comes with some bumps and anxiety. How will this all work?  We’ve never done it that way before!  Yes, I hear those voices in my head.  I need the leadership of others to move me through them and into a new, exciting place.   

If you live in Southwestern Virginia, or want to come see me in July, and would like to help with camp, let me know.  If you’d like to contribute so we can continue to offer camp free to participants, send a check to Church and Community Renewal, 101 Gilley Ave East; Big Stone Gap VA 24219.  Please pray for us as we move through these wonderful changes.

Koni

Building community, that’s what my work is all about. 

The other day, during the Shepherd’s Staff Cooking Class, I shared lunch with several people who live in public housing, plus the University of Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent, plus the pastor and volunteers from the local United Methodist Church.  That morning we learned how to prepare pork chops with rice and vegetables, and a Lazy-Dazie Oatmeal Cake.    As we ate, we visited.  Jeannie, the extension agent, talked about growing our own basil and oregano.   Someone else mentioned that she grows vegetables in flower pots.  Yet another person commented: “I wish we had a community garden here.” 

My ears picked up!  I have dreamed of community gardens.  The joke, of course, is that I have never been a very successful gardener of any kind.  But I have had the vision, and have hoped that someone else would catch it as well. Now, suddenly, here they were: the volunteer mentioning that she and another church member have talked about a community garden.

The goals: 

• Put community into the garden.  
• Provide a place for people to raise their own vegetables.  
• Provide a sense of community where little exists. 

We pray that Christ can help us make an island of community  in a place where people are afraid to go out because there are so many drugs.  A  refuge of hope.  A sanctuary of fellowship.  All in a garden, where life can bloom and bear fruit.

Starting small.