Making Office Errands Interesting

Like all good stories, it started with me and a dame. The dame was Traci, and they call me the Fox. We’d worked together before, but never on a job this gritty. Normally I don’t like doing dirty work, but a guy’s gotta eat, and sometimes you just have to go where the dough is. We got a call from a lady, a lady named Joye. Unfortunately, the job she had for us was no laughing matter. You see she wanted us to move some counterfeits. Those weren’t the words she used of course, but she was sending us to The Paper Room, and everyone knew what came out of there. It was a place Traci and I had only heard about, never seen. The hardest part was figuring out how to find it. People in our position usually try to avoid the slums, but we had a job to do.
We started out at Al’s. You can usually find out what you need to know around Al’s. There were always people going in and out, and most of them knew more than they needed to. We started asking at the bar, but no one there knew anything about The Paper Room.
Somebody must have overheard because soon we were approached by a big guy who had info to sell. His name was Matt, but he went by Erd. Nobody knew how he got the name, but everybody knew he had earned it. He was one of Big Dan’s boys, and he told us he had the info we needed. Then, there he was. Big Dan himself. He was the toughest gangster in the city, and he had his fingers in every illegal operation that went on. Normally he charged for information like this, but he decided to treat this one as a favour, something he liked to do to ensure kind treatment in the future. He had Erd take us to down to The Paper Room, and when I say down, I mean down.
It was no wonder we had never been able to find it before. The thing was buried in the deepest recesses of the city. Beneath the sewers we repelled down a deep shaft that lead to a large open cavern: The Paper Room. There was no telling how long The Paper Room had been buried or how it had even gotten there, but it was there that we found our shipment. We had it delivered to Joye in an hour, but apparently counterfeits were only the start. Next she had a package for us to deliver.
We didn’t like it. We had already had a long day, and it was turning into a long night. Not to mention we had already had one ride too many on the darker side of town. But money was money, and this job paid. It was no ordinary package we had to deliver, this was a big one, and it was hot, radioactive hot. No one was saying anything, but we had a feeling we had our hands on something explosive. Not only that, but it was going straight to Big Dan. Unfortunately, finding Big Dan isn’t always as easy as it was at Al’s. He never stayed in one place long. We decided to spend as little time as possible with the package, and went right to the source. In the toughest part of town where most working folks are afraid to set foot is the Plant. Any deal with dirt on it went down around the Plant and that was where Big Dan kept his headquarters.
He had a girl that worked for him, covering all the business up front. She was a smart dame, but not even she knew everything Big Dan was up to. Nevertheless, that’s where Traci and I started. The girl called up Big Dan, but he didn’t answer. So she took us to his office, a place we had heard about, but never actually seen. Then, there we were, looking into the office of one of the toughest men in the city. Just like that, the package was gone, and the door was closed. And that was the end of our journey to the underbelly. It was a dark journey, one that still haunts me, but we survived.
Now you might say, that we just went down an elevator to a basement storage room, and the boxes only held course catalogues, and that it was just a banner that we delivered to a Maintenence worker, but things are never just what they seem. Someday maybe I’ll know what I delivered that day, but for now, I’m just another shmo, trying to earn a living, trying to keep my hands clean.

What a week we had at Quaker Haven Camp!  I sang at the top of my lungs, sweated like a madman, moshed, and showed off the awesomeness of the Cottone-Eyed Joe dance; and that was just at the dance party the last night of camp.

That’s right, the Quakers dance. I feel like I learned a lot about Quakers this week. They did not wear wide, flat-brimmed hats or neckerchiefs, but they did serve oatmeal at almost every breakfast. They do not still have the same booming prayers that earned them the name Quakers, but they are still a very alive denomination. I found it interesting to compare them to the Missionary Church. For example, the Missionary Church will support the nation in war and promote politics, but the Quakers are pacifists and do not even vote. Then there is the whole dancing thing. I love the Missionary Church, but maybe if everybody dealt less with politics, and had more dance parties like the one we had at Quaker Haven, we would be less prone to violence because of all the catharsis and exhaustion of dancing like fools.

But I digress.

I had a great time at Quaker Haven Camp. There is really no way to compare it to our first venture at Timber Lakes, but I must say that Quaker Haven had some of the best games I have ever played in my life. I wish there was a way I could explain thrive, angle ball, and four-way kickball, but it would take a very long time, and you are better off just experiencing them. There was also dodgeball, floor hockey, slip-and-slide kickball, flour wars, and power ball, just to name a few. Needless to say (but I will say it anyway) this was a very active camp. That combined with the overbearing heat and humidity left you in a constant state of being damp. I was always either sweating, drying off, or taking a shower. My clothing was highly abused this week. There was also swimming in Dewert Lake where Quaker Haven has a beachfront. I went swimming with my guys four of the days we were there. I cannot say much for the cleanliness of the lake, but it was still a good time.

I have also never been at a camp with food of the quality at Quaker Haven. That is not to say that I dislike food at other camps. Quaker Haven just happens to have an incredible dining staff. They make all the food themselves and it is simply fantastic. Combine that with the fact that my metabolism was going non-stop, and I ate a lot of food. Every meal was like its own little feast.

One of the most significant traits about camp was the wonderful people that were there. The staff was great, and I wish I had gotten to know them better. The other counselors were also wonderful, and they cared so much about their campers. Jordan and I were co-counselors of seven awesome guys. They were all very different, but very cool in there own ways. Getting to know them was fantastic. We had a lot of fun this week, both in the games, and when we were hanging out. As I write this, it is a somber thought to realize that I will be spending this day and probably every day after it without seeing any of them.

Spiritually it was a good camp as well. Someone had told us that Quaker Haven was not a very spiritual camp, which gave us bad expectations, but all signs were to the contrary. There were two chapel sessions every day with awesome worship. Two of the guys in the worship band were also campers in my cabin. There were also separate sessions for guy talks and girl talks. In the midst of all the activity and hectic excitement, God showed up at this camp. The Spirit moved, and the grace of Christ was poured out.  Chapel the last night was awesome, and I got to pray with three of my campers which is simply an incredible experience. Jesus was definitely there.

This week was absolutely exhausting. I sweated more than I ever have in a single week and I was sore all over by the end of it, but the camp was invigorating. I love it when something wonderful comes into my life that I was not expecting. There will always be a place in my heart for Quaker Haven.

It’s been a crazy couple weeks since we got back from Atlanta. My very first week back was production week for the dessert theatre. Which, for any non-theatre people, is code for extra long practices of doom with make-up, costumes, lights, and sound.

I had 3 rehearsals (after missing 2 straight weeks of practice) before opening night. It was a little nerve-racking, but the show really came together. It was so much fun, and we couldn’t have asked for a better cast. We were all already really good friends, so doing the show together just gave us an excuse to hang out. It was wonderful. We had Thursday, Friday, Saturday shows for 2 weeks.

On top of rehearsals and shows, I’ve also had 2 wedding showers to attend for my dear sister. She’s getting married in less than 3 weeks! Wow. Exciting times ahead! Just look at this happy family:

*This is Kyle, Mindy’s fiance, and his two siblings, Mindy, and me!

Luckily, her fiance lives by Bethel, so it was very easy for me to attend the showers since they were in the area. She got lots of presents to make her house homey:-) It’ll be fun to help them move it all in after they’re married.

Not much else is new-we’ve just been working in the office. Kahler, Liz, Chuck, and Robbie were home last week, and the other team is back this week. It’s been so great so see them, but the entire team won’t be in the same place at the same time the whole rest of the summer! Sad day.

Tonight, we had another family dinner. Jordan made us a breakfast casserole (it was amazing), and I made coffee. Good food, good conversation, okay company. Fine, great company:-)

Jen and I leave for Prairie Camp on Friday. We’ll be there until the following Saturday–I’m really starting to look forward to it. I think it will be very different from Camp Adventure, so it’s sure to be a new learning experience. There’s a chance I’ll be with senior highers as well, which would be fun too. I already know we’re going to the water park one day that week, so I’m pretty pumped.

Tomorrow, I’m going to see my first show at Amish Acres. It’s opening night for Carousel. Two of my friends are in it, so it should be a lot of fun (despite the fact that Carousel is, overall, a lame musical…no offense to Rogers and Hammerstein fans!) Anywho, I’m looking forward to that.

Meanwhile, I’m having fun hearing everyone’s camp stories. It sounds like the other teams are having some pretty awesome experiences. They’re also expanding their vocabularies to include “jank” and “legit.” Maybe that’s just Jordan. Neither word is actually essential to anyone’s vocabulary, but oh well. Don’t tell Jordan.

Right now, they’re disputing over whether or not such a thing as glow-in-the-dark sidewalk chalk exists. We have a lot of deep, thought-provoking conversations here at Donaldson house…

Anywho, I’m going to go help Chelsea and Greg pick out a movie. I overheard some of their suggestions and it doesn’t sound too promising… I don’t think I’m in the mood to watch Ella Enchanted or the cartoon version of Robin Hood. More to come later!

Traci:-)

Well, I’ve already written TWO posts about traveling, but have yet to talk about the awesome experiences we’ve had here on campus! I guess I want to start by saying that I feel very blessed to be a part of this team. We truly could not have asked for a better group. It’s been fun getting to know everyone and living in a house of 6 girls! It’s cool to see how different we all are, yet we all bring something special to the group. It’s just a great dynamic.

I think I’m going to steal Chelsea’s idea and do a Top 10 Random Things about Summer Team:

1. It’s good team bonding to play Disney Scene-It

2. We had entire week where we watched a Disney movie every night.

3. We like to match as frequently as possible. Today is bright colored shirts with dress pants day.

4. When we match, we like to have occasional photo shoots. We feel it promotes team bonding.

^This is from our first photo shoot.

This is from our most recent photo shoot^ We like to call it the “Awkward Family Picture” pose.

5. Greg is a Boggle champion. Surprised? I’m not.

6. We’ve discovered the joys of landscaping/manual labor. We got to help make the front of the Admission Office look even more beautiful by planting flowers and shrubs! Some of us acquired sweet farmers’ tans in the process.

7. We’ve had two “family dinners.” When at all possible, we like to make a big dinner and eat together. Why? Because we love each other. Also, it’s hard to cook real food for just yourself.

8. Jen and I are starting to have the same thought processes. Sometimes, we say the same thing at the same time. It’s creepy, but in a good way. I guess it just shows how close we’ve gotten?

9. “Apparel” has become a word regularly used in our vocabularies. For example, “Did you bring Bethel apparel?” or “We got new Bethel apparel.” It’s a good word. I bet Greg would find it in Boggle.

10. It’s just a great team! I love how close the 3 teams are individually and as one big group. God definitely has all of us here for a reason. It’s great to have people you pray for and encourage who you know do the same for you.

This week, Chuck, Robby, Kahler, and Liz are at camp. The rest of us are at the office. More updates on the ever-exciting excursions of Summer Team to come!

Traci :)

Jen and I got the opportunity to go down to Atlanta, Georgia (in case you didn’t know where that was) to help Krista with something called Bible Bowl.  (It’s okay–I didn’t know what it was either!)  Bible Bowl is like a huge national Bible quizzing competition.  Students ranging from late elementary school to freshmen in college migrated from all over the country to take part in this high-intensity extravaganza!

You might be wondering: “Traci, what does a Bible quizzing competition have anything to do with Bethel College?”  I’ll tell you.  When the kids aren’t quizzing, we had a college fair going on in one of the hotel’s large conference rooms.  Bethel was one of about 10 or 15 schools represented–and by far the coolest, but I’m a little biased :)

We had a Hawaiian theme, so we brought a large tiki hut and several colorful decorations with us, hence the 15 passenger van. It was quite a feat getting said hut into such a nice hotel, but we had help from two very nice people from another school. Once it was inside, we got to decorate it with the flowers, lights, and grass-like stuff. We also got to blow up an inflatable palm tree, which, it turns out, is not my spiritual gift.  I just don’t have the lung capacity for that sort of thing.

The colleges all had different forms of entertainment to keep the quizzers occupied in their free time.  Sticking with our theme, we brought hula hoops!  Jen and I led a hula hoop contest–that was a definite highlight of the week. It was entertaining to watch AND we got to use a microphone! Score.

Overall, I feel like it was a great week. We got to talk to a lot of kids about Bethel, several of whom expressed interest in visiting!  We just made some great connections and had fun. Throughout the week, it was cool to see so many kids wearing Bethel t-shirts. Hopefully we’ll see some of them on campus in the future.

And as for the journey back, we obviously made it safely. I was nervous about driving that beast of a van, but I conquered my fear! Honestly, it really wasn’t bad at all. Jen and I had a good trip and got the tiki hut back to campus safely.

-Traci :)

Our group has spent the past 10 days at the Central District Youth Conference (CDYC). This year CDYC would be held on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan. We arrived on Saturday morning, ready to serve where ever needed. The first three days of the conference were junior high. None of us were really sure what our responsibilities were going to be over the next week. As it turns out we had some really fun jobs. Gabi judged piano (she is skilled), Greg judged art, Jordan judged photography, and I got to referee volleyball and one wonderful game of basketball. We each had our different responsibilities throughout the day; however, we all had the opportunity to attend the sessions in the morning and afternoon. During the Jr. high session, they had a band named Attaboy. The Sr. high week had the Mars Hill worship band. I loved the worship, it was an amazing time to relax and wined down from the day. Overall the week was real good. We had the opportunity to serve and to be served. Here are my top 10 from the week:

10. Volleyball refereeing=power. I felt so powerful standing atop my referee stand. I really am not an experienced ref, but standing up there with a clipboard and whistle…I was untouchable! I definitely got my fill of Volleyball those three days!

9. Sweet action card games! We did have a lot of free time when we weren’t judging or refereeing. We decided to fill our time with wonderful card games. We played dutch blitz, spit, Egyptian rat screw, and golf. I can’t say that I am good at any of these games, especially when I am playing with Greg and Gabi. They may deny it; however, I am almost certain that they practice at night…in their free time. They are way too good for their own good.

8. Pass the Pigs. Great game…good times. The one game that I almost did well at. True, there is no skill involved….but still.

7. New friends. We made several new friends while at CDYC. We bonded with staff and with many of the other workers. Everyone was so nice too us, we were truly blessed.

6. NEW worship songs. I love new worship songs. This last week we got to learn a bunch of new ones. We learned the song, You Are and Love Can Change the World by Aaron Niequist. I loved these songs…I got home and downloaded them.

5. Ivanhoes. Between camps we got to take a field trip to Ivanhoes, an ice cream place in the area. Delicious.

4. I got three free t-shirts that week!

3. Live to Serve. During the Sr. High week I had the opportunity to be apart of Live to Serve. This was an outreach project that CDYC organized in the community surrounding IWU. The plan was to go out into the area and clean off graffiti and pick up garbage. The day that I decided to help out was the day that storms and tornadoes decided to rain on our parade! Instead of getting out in the community we got off the buses and were rushed into the city hall until the storm passed. I was a little disappointed; however, God showed all of us in that room that he can work in our lives, rain or shine! We spent thee hour praying and singing worship songs. It was amazing to see all of the students and leaders from different youth groups come together in worship. And in that moment, God was there, I could feel Him. It was amazing.

2. My Best Friend and college roommate was at CDYC with her Jr. High church youth group. I hadn’t seen her for a month or two and missed her so much. It was so fun to spend some quality time with her and to get to meet some of the kids in her youth group. She was a real encouragement to me during the week!

1. God’s word. Throughout the ten days, I struggled at times to understand what God was trying to tell me through the speakers and through the activities that I was participating in. Then, it hit me during the Sr. High week. Bay Forrest (amazing) was talking about how to live a life devoted to Christ. I felt like I had heard this message 100 times before (and I probably have) but that does not mean that God won’t speak to me through these same words. While sitting there in that auditorium, I felt God pushing me. There are things that God wants me to do! It is hard to put into words…all I know is that God is amazing and has an amazingly wonderful, and complex plan for my life. I’m excited.

I love the summer team. It is filled with such wonderful people. Sometimes, I believe that we actually have too much fun together.

For example, Jordan, Chelsea, Gabi, and I once spent an hour in our van having our own impromptu dance party: rocking out to such classics as Mmbop, Bye Bye Bye, and I Want it That Way. Yes, we like boy bands, and we are proud of it. What better way could there be to unwind?

There was also the time at CDYC when we helped set up the inflatable games, and then got to test them. These were impressive inflatables too. They had the standard joust and bungee run, but they also had the most intense obstacle course ever (well, as intense as any inflatable game can be). And the icing on the cake was two enormous inflatable spheres. They were basically human sized hamster balls. I am pretty sure rolling around in that giant orb put me one step closer to self-actualization.

We also manage to have a good time when we are back at Bethel as well. We are really a family together. One week, we had a Disney movie marathon with a broad spectrum of new and old such as Robin Hood, Mulan, Toy Story, Aladdin, and Enchanted. We are all basically kids at heart. We love our animated classics.

Another feature of life for us here at Bethel is group meals. Life is a bit tougher without the Dining Commons open three meals a day. We have to fend for ourselves, so meals are sometimes a bit sparse. Ramen Noodles are a staple in my diet. Needless to say, full meals are something we do not get very often. However, every so often we decide to pool our resources and have a family dinner. We had a taco night that was fantastic. We cooked up four pounds of taco meat and gathered around a big table together. Another week we had a campfire and cooked hot dogs and s’mores (followed by sand volleyball and a trip to Starbucks). Last night we made a huge pot of spaghetti and ate together. We have become such a close group. It is wonderful.

This weekend Bethel is hosting the International Finals for teen Bible quizzing. We’ll see if quizzers can handle this much awesomeness. Being a former quizzer myself, I am really looking forward to this event. It might be weird being there as a representative of Bethel College instead of as a competitor, but it should be fun regardless. Besides, where can you go wrong with Team Greatness on your side?

I’ve been a busy girl, so unfortunately, I haven’t gotten to write all about Camp Adventure yet even though it was about 2 weeks ago already! Camp Adventure was my first camp counseling experience ever. As an elementary education major and former baby-sitter, I’ve had a lot of experience with kids of all ages. I’m also an outdoorsy kind of girl. Therefore, with these two factors in mind, I thought myself completely prepared for this endeavor.

Starting Out…

The very first day, I learned the importance of going with the flow. Even though there is a daily camp schedule, it’s important to keep in mind that sometimes the weather may interfere with plans. During registration, it began to rain. No, rain is an understatement–monsoon is more appropriate. Not only did it rain, but it hailed. Meanwhile, I’m trying to run with my campers and their parents (as we’re all being pelted with hail) to the safety of our cabin in the wilderness. And so the adventure began.

I had a co-counselor, named Courtney, and we had 11 girls in our cabin. Each of them knew at least one other girl in the cabin. I could tell we would have to work hard to unify the cabin since their groups and pairs of best friends were already formed. We started with the name game to learn everyone’s names and a random fact about them. Apparently that’s not cool in junior high…

The first couple days of camp were hard. As a counselor, it’s important to keep up the enthusiasm and get the girls in your cabin involved. It was definitely difficult to keep up my energy when the girls didn’t seem to have any. Even though I couldn’t see it at the time, God was at work in a major way.

Growing Experiences…

Throughout the week, I had many new experiences. I jumped off a high dive, did a high ropes obstacle course, zip-lined, shot a bow-and arrow, went down a giant slip and slide, and watched a hundred junior highers cover themselves and each other in pancake batter and syrup–but don’t worry, it was a game, not a food fight :) . I also got to witness how these activities brought the girls in my cabin closer together. We really grew to become a team who encouraged one another.

Rob (I wish I could remember his last name) was our speaker that week. He talked about friendship. The first night, he discussed the importance of having a friendship with God, which was a new concept for a lot of the campers. The next night, he talked about being friends with yourself–also new. It was a great lesson for junior highers to see themselves the way God sees them–to overlook the doubts and insecurities Satan puts in their minds. Our cabin had a great discussion that night. The rest of the week, Rob stressed the importance of their circle of influence.

In Conclusion…

I could talk forever about that week at camp, but I’ll try to sum things up: Lives were changed. The transformation I saw in each of my girls that week just shocks me. They learned so much and bonded so well with each other and with me! Three of the girls in my cabin accepted Christ as their Savior that week. It still almost makes me cry to think that God wanted me to be even a small part of that. It was one of the most challenging weeks of my life, but I really felt like God was using me for his plan–and that’s what also made it one of the most wonderful weeks of my life.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures from camp at the moment. I do, however, have a picture of the whole Summer Team crew…except Jordan–he’s taking the picture.

As you can tell, being a part of Summer Team is an adventure in itself! More to come on that later!

-Traci:-)

The next stop for our team was CDYC, the Central District Youth Conference, at IWU. Needless to say, this was quite different from any camp. We weren’t in charge of any campers, and our responsibilities were whatever the directors told us to do, which, oddly enough, wasn’t that much. We each ended up serving in areas that suited us. Chelsea reffed volleyball, Gabi judged piano, Jordan judged photography, and apparently I have an obscure set of interests because I ended up judging painting and drawing, group drama, and poetry and short stories.

Gabi and I also ended up creating the 5K course. That was an adventure. We started out just walking around campus trying to figure out where a good course could go. The next day we were going to go out with a measuring roller and figure out the distance. We decided to grab a snack from the hospitality room before we went out and found hundreds of kids sitting in the halls. Apparently there was a severe storm warning we knew nothing about. Around the time the downpour hit is exactly when we would have been in the middle of nowhere, away from any shelter. We ended up measuring the course in the tail end of the storm while it rained on us. We ended up being about a half mile short on our first estimate, so we had to add a whole extra loop to the course. Oh yeah, we had to mark out the course in chalk. Because of the rain we could not mark the course until the next morning, the morning of the race. We were up at 6:30 a.m. running around the campus with chalk trying to get the course drawn. It was a good time.

Our team also got to spend a good amount of time with each other. Conclusion: Jordan loves sleep, Chelsea is not good at card games, but she is pretty good with Pass the Pigs, none of us are good at racquetball, but we like to pretend we are, Ivanhoe’s has great ice cream, and every movie theatre should give you complimentary popcorn with your ticket.

Services were quite different from Timber Lakes. I don’t think any of us necessarily expected to miss Kansas, but thinking back to the intense spiritual atmosphere, even the dynamic speaking at CDYC seemed shallow. It wasn’t, but so much prayer went into every service at Timber Lakes, and it showed. We missed that intense movement of the Spirit. However, having the Mars Hill worship band was awesome. Those guys are great.