If You Don’t Scrub That Kitchen Floor…

It was great to have the opportunity to work together as a family last week. We washed dishes, cleaned shower houses, scrubbed kitchen floors, and a whole lot more, all together. Well, we did have to make one “trade”:). Rosie is a little young yet to be productive on the Work Crew, so she got to spend lots of time with her friend Evelyn, and we had Evelyn’s brother, Ezra, join our family team. It was really good to work together. And then each day we were able to do a little Bible Study together as a group of five, as well.

We were particularly proud of Mabel and Estelle (and also Ezra!) for their hard work. Generally speaking, 14 is the youngest age preferred for Work Crew. But these guys worked hard all the way through to the end of the week. And they learned a lot in the process, as well. It was a lot of fun to see them succeed in their tasks. Mabel and Estelle both also loved spending time with campers, and each made some connections with campers during the week.

A Little Sickness

I shared in our last letter that Rosie had come down with a sickness. She had a rough 24 hours, but as often happens for young kids, she bounced back quickly. However, all the Rosie-snuggles I enjoyed since she arrived caught up with me, and I awoke in the middle of the night on Saturday with a terrible case of the chills. I would spend the next day in bed with a fever. I was able to rejoin on Sunday in limited capacity, since my fever was gone, but I tried to keep my distance from others. We are pretty sure this sickness came home with our girls from their time at Middle School Camp, and we believe it has now run it’s course, in one way or another, through all of us. So hopefully that means we are finished with sickness!

Work Crew from Telkwa Community Church

We really weren’t sure what to expect from the team that came from Telkwa Community Church, but they turned out to be a team full of gems! We loved serving with them and getting to know them. Because the life of a Cabin Leader is non-stop, we only got to know the handful who served as Cabin Leaders a bit, but we had plenty of time to get to know the bunch who served with us on the Work Crew.

While we love working with teenagers, it was also pretty delightful to have a team of folks who know how to work really hard and who are extra motivated to squeeze out every bit of work that they could muster. We had all the regular jobs, plus a running list of extra jobs, and they finished many extra jobs. Truly, if I had to be sick and out of commission for a day, that was going to be the best week for it. By the time Saturday rolled around, they already knew how to do the jobs better than I did, so my absence wasn’t much more than a blip on the radar:).

Word on the Woodpecker

Since Leanne and the family have arrived, the woodpecker has largely been absent. I think he knows that continuing to peck at 5:30 AM was going to be a life-threatening decision. But I did hear him going to town one day when I came back to the house to pick up something I had forgotten. He seems to know, so far, that pecking time is only open when we are all out of the house.

Above is most of the team from Telkwa Community Church that served with us on the Work Crew.

Below is… I think you can guess who that is in the pic below.

Prayer Needs

• Pray for our third completely different iteration of the Work Crew this week (pictured below). They are a great group of teens, and we are really looking forward to the chance to work with them all and disciple them for the week. It’s a mixed group of ages, maturity levels, and experience, and we are hopeful that this will be a fun and joyful week as we all work together.
• Pray, again, that the campers who come would be receptive to the messages in the chapel sessions and through conversations with the staff.
• Pray for endurance for all the Leaders and staff who have been pushing hard. The leaders, in particular, have not been afforded much time off this summer, due to our small team, so pray that we seek the Lord for the strength we need to run through the finish line.

Pic above is our Work Crew bunch for Junior Camp 2.

Back Row (Camp Names): Reese, Toggle, Kuzco, Tucky, Fifa

Front Row (Camp Names): Luna, Tot, Terrier, Nitro

Conclusion

We are thankful for the Lord’s sustaining grace. We trust that your intercession on our behalf is significant in us having the energy we need to give all we’ve got to the work of the ministry at RNR this coming week!

Ryan and Leanne Donovan