Week 6: Trust…
Wow! Only four weeks of camp left. What’s the saying about time flies…? Anyway, it was great to see our youth group and my family down this week. Keep praying not only for me, but also for our teens as they made some great decisions this week. Pray that they would remain faithful to God’s Word for that is the only way that will be able to keep those decisions. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from the Herbster brothers this week - Mark and Matt. They preached a great set of messages. To be honest, I wish I could have heard from Matt as much as I did from Mark, but there’s an odd number of days in the week, so that’s impossible to work out.
The Lord gave me a more challenging cabin this week, which was good for me, as I need to be stretched less I think I can counsel in my own strength. Keep praying for the teens in my cabin too, they have rough road ahead of them unless they make some significant changes in their relationship with the Lord. I did have one guy surrender to full-time ministry which was encouraging, but the majority of my guys had little or no heart for God and no desire to change. One of them was the cousin of one of the counselors and he did make a decision with regards to friends and authority, but it didn’t affect his behavior the rest of the week. I’ll just keep trusting God that he will change them. (thus the title this week). He doesn’t need me. There was another reason for the title this week, but as this note is going to be really long, you can ask me later for that explanation.
Well, as has become my custom, now that our teens have been to camp, I can tell you about one of my favorite parts of the week - Funtime! The theme this year is “Campaign for Sheriff” set in the Old West. The two candidates are Lefty, a notorious outlaw that’s trying to take over the town but has put on a “new face” in order to win the election - played by Rand Hummel (think Patch the Pirate’s Tumbleweed Opera - same character he does for the voice for in that, Wyatt Burp?) The other candidate is Willie the Kid who grew up in the town and know what it stands for. Willie the Kid, of course is played by Willie Partin. The program opens with several political ads by Lefty and Willie in which Lefty tries to show he can be gentle (playing dollies with some little girls, giving horsie rides, etc.), etc. When the commercials end the Fajito Bandito interrupts bearing “geefts” (water balloons) which he throws into the crowd. He reappears randomly throughout the program interacting both with the audience the guys on stage eventually getting a come-uppance at the end. He goes to take a siesta and two cowboys (Scott Ashmore and Matt Taylor) are interrupted in their singing around the campfire by a jail break (complete with flour bomb) by “Boss” (Matt Herbster) and “Squeaky” (Steve Endres). They hop on a wagon with Fajito to make their escape, but the wagon ends up just being an amusement ride (one of those kind that are outside of stores and cost a quarter). Willie appears on the scene and orders them to back in jail but they ignore him because he’s just a deputy and not the sheriff. Willie states that he’s going to be the sheriff which brings Lefty onto the scene, who challenges him to a duel. The shyster quack Dr. Vortex (Ken Collier) and his assistant “Smiley” (Scott Ashmore) break up the duel and sell Willie the Old West Edition of Scrabble for “24 easy payments of $19.95″ which is guaranteed to settle any argument. So Lefty declares that whoever wins the Scrabble game will be the next sheriff of the town. He then plays words like “Zepolay” (a polish poptart), “Qzizcle” (lithuanian nosehair trimmer), and Qiznart (hungarian vegetable) which totals 374 points with all the double and triple letter and word scores to Willie’s “Rue” - 3 points. Just as all hope seems lost, Willie realizes that each word Lefty has played has had at least 1 “Z,” and as everybody knows, “there’s only 1 ‘Z’ in a Scrabble bank!” Foiled in his cheating a name-calling contest begins in which Lefty calls Willie every name he can think of from “A-Z… Airhead, Buffoon, Clown, Dingbat… Upchuck, Varmint, Weasel, X, Yahoo, and Zero!” Willie is at loss but then begins reading the ingredients off his Frosted Flakes box - “You’re nothin’ but milk, corn, sugar,… riboflavin, vitamin B, and preservatives, you big frosted flake!” Lefty gives and rides off with his gang on their stick horses promising to be back. Meanwhile “Boss” and “Squeaky” break out of jail again and go over the details of “The Plan” - which is basically an elaborate method of walking into the Emporium and buying a watch. But “Squeaky” is thinking and asks, “Uh, Boss, how come is doesn’t sound like we’re doing anything illegal?” “Boss” blows up at “Squeaky” forwanting to jeopardize the whole “Plan” which he has spent months working on for the sake of stealing the watch. Willie appears again and unsuccessfully attempts to get the crooks back in jail. Doc Vortex pops up and convinces Willie he needs to take classes in Tai-Kwan-Leap. The lessons begin, but Willie is impatient with all the philosophizing and wants the instructor to teach him “some nifty moves so he can start trashin’ some bozos.” The instructor then painfully introduces Willie to the “Boot to the Head” maneuver, and Willie collapses on the floor. “Squeaky” tries the maneuver on the instructor and also ends up on the floor. Then the entire class gangs up on the instructors and they all end up on the floor while the instructor (”Smiley”) takes their money. Doc Vortex comes out again and peddles his amazing new product - “The Vortex Safety Top Easy-Opening Medicine Bottle” which keeps dangerous medication away from little children (”and also older adults who need it to survive, but we’re working on that”). However the despite the use of a hammer, grinder, chainsaw, and pistol, the top fails to come off the bottle, and Doc Vortex flees amidst a throng of angry would-be investors who have been swindled. Lefty makes another appearance and Willie tells him he doesn’t want to be a lawman anymore. Instead he wants to be a cattle-punchin’ driver (Moooo! *punch*) after singing a song about eatin’ up rawhide, Willie decides he doesn’t want to be a cattle driver either, instead he wants to do “somethin’ different” like be a big game hunter. he pulls out his six-shooter and proceeds to shoot up “Monopoly” and “Old Maid” Lefty explains that a big game hunter doesn’t hunt those things, he hunts “vicious, wild animals.” Willie then explains he wants to hunt the fearsome “gnu” of the wilds of Austrailia. Lefty informs him that there aren’t any left. Willie responds, “Oh well, you know what they say… ‘no gnus is good gnus!’” He then reveals his real wish is to be a classical yodeling cowboy. Lefty doesn’t believe Willie can yodel (because the bylaws of the town state that the next sheriff has to know how to yodel) so Willie begins a classical performance of yodeling which convinces Lefty that he really can yodel. So Lefty gives up and declares Willie the next Sheriff. As sheriff, Willie declares that his first act will be to announce a pizza party for the whole town! But he doesn’t stop there, he announces that the campers can sleep in, there will be no cabin cleanup, and that they will be served breakfast in bed! As the campers head out for the pizza party a “blooper” reel plays on the screens. During the pizza party, “The Wilds Bunch” plays a bunch of western and other silly songs. One of my favorites is called foolish questions. It goes something like this…
Now you’ve all heard foolish questions, and no doubt you’ve wondered why
the person who always asks them expects a sensible reply.
Have you ever taken your girl a box of candy, say right after tea?
Have you noticed how she’ll grab it then say… “Is this for…. me?”
Foolish Questions..
Well you answer if you can,
uh.. no. It’s for your father, or John the hired hand.
I just wanted you to see it, now i’ll take it away.
Now wasn’t that a foolish question, you’ll hear ‘em every day.
There are four verses, here’s another, probably my favorite….
Now you’ve all met the man, who’ll meet you on your way
He’ll ask you where you’re going, and then listen while you say:
“Oh I’m going to the funeral, poor old Uncle Ned…”
Just as soon as you’ve told ‘em this, he’ll say… “Oh? Is Ned dead?”
Foolish Questions…
Well you might as well reply…
Uh… no. He just thought he’d have his funeral now, then later on he’d die
Old Ned was so original, just wanted things that way
Now wasn’t that a foolish question, you’ll hear ‘em every day.
Yes… I have memorized almost all of the funny songs. Still working on a couple, but I should have them before the end of the summer. 
They end with a few patriotic songs and send the camper off to bed, while i try to convince them that they weren’t serious about the sleeping in and breakfast in bed and such It normally works 
I guess I should also say that is a normal funtime. Last week, as most of you know, was not normal as Willie had his appendix taken out Wednesday morning, and thus was unable to play his part in funtime. Instead Matt played the role as “Herbie the Kid” with a slightly different slant. It was still very good. In fact, i’m going to go watch a repeat of it in about 20 mins, since our videographer recorded the whole thing.
Well, last night was our SPP (Summer Prayer Partner) banquet at BJ so all the staff loaded up and traveled down to Greenville for that. It was a great time of testimony, music, fellowship… and food! Then tonight we had a required service. Matt Tracy, one of the head cooks gave a shorter devotional type message on identification in Christ. Then several more of the counselors and op staff shared testimonies. Then as usual after a required service we had a special meal in the dining hall. This time it was pizza. But it wasn’t the common Dominos that we get at the pizza party every week. It was specialty pizza, stuff like supreme, BBQ Chicken, deep-dish bacon, etc. All very yummy.
Well, i think this is the longest one of these notes I’ve written yet. Next week good ‘ole Tom “Double Barrel” Farrell will be back for round three. I’ll still be on Senate shift, and hopefully I’ll actually get a sr. high cabin this week. (Although I was on Senate (sr. high) shift this last week I had all 9th graders except for one 11th grader.) Thanks for your prayers.
