The Wow Wall

It was a beautiful sunny day today, temperatures around 70 but a little windy.  It was great weather for outdoor work other than the dust that blew around and in the face.  Since all of our work is outdoors, it makes for some good working weather.

We have several projects in the air right now.  Finishing up the play structure from yesterday, we moved on to the shooting range at the back end of the property.  The poles holding the targets were so pocked up by bullets that they were very weak and in danger of falling over.  Our task was to rebuild them.  Unfortunately, the auger on the skid-steer for drilling new post holes blew a hydraulic hose, putting that project on hold.

Then it was on to a small bridge in front of the pool.  The whole thing needed to be replaced.  So we did our deconstruction, pulled the poles out with the backhoe, and then left it as we didn’t have materials to build a new bridge.

Next was building some frames to contain trash cans.  The frames fit in with the motif of the camp and also keep the critters (and the kids) from knocking the cans over.  We got most of the first one built by quitting time.  We did some standing around between these projects as Josh, the volunteer coordinator, was busy trying to keep several  groups of volunteers busy.  But those times allow us to talk with each other and get to know each other better, so, even though we may not have accomplished a lot today, we did trade some stories and experiences.

We are still the newbies for the most part as this is only our seventh project.  Others number in the thirties or even fifties and have served at this particular camp several times.  At an average of two projects a year, it will take us a while to get to that level.

The women continued to paint.  More and more of the porch of that building is becoming haint blue, but it will be a while yet.  

After dinner we had a game night. Most of us gathered in the meeting room and played five crowns for a couple hours.  Part of the attention is paid to the game, the rest is just talking and trading more stories.  It’s a good way to see our new friends in a context other than work. 

This morning, the executive director of the camp gave the devotions and talked a bit about the mission and vision of Tejas.  The word Tejas comes from the Caddo Native American language and means “friend” or “ally”, and this is also how the state of Texas eventually got its name.  Tejas is a camp that has also evolved into a retreat center, having both bunkhouse-style housing for the camp-centric groups, and smaller, private cottage-style housing for adult retreat-centered groups.  They also host families during times when camps (summer) or retreats (fall/winter) are not in progress.  Their vision is Setting the Stage for Jesus to Transform Lives.  The facilities that the volunteers work hard at is part of that setting the stage.

Before going to the games, we walked around camp for a while and poked our heads into a couple of the cabins and lodges.  Each one is decorated differently and many of them have a “Wow wall”, accented with some form of recycled stuff, but done so very tastefully.  If you are into the recycled stuff and need some ideas, this would be a great place to get some.