CampMeeting!
Growing up, Campmeeting was a summer tradition. Most of our friends and several of our relatives also attended campmeeting, so it was always a lot of fun. It's been two years since I've been able to attend campmeeting, so I was greatly looking forward to it. It always takes a lot of planning and preparation, but it's always worth it.
My mom and I went a day early because I had a applied for a job in the camp's grocery store, so I had to be there early for the orientation. I worked about 30 hours through out the week and it kept me busy. My cousin also was working in the store and often had similar hours, so it was nice to be able to spend extra time with her. (Although I'm used to being on my feet all day in the classroom, standing at a till for several hours is somehow different! I was always exhausted by the end of my shift.)
It rained a lot through out the week, so it was pretty wet and cold most of the time (and there were only a few minor mishaps involving leaking tents and a flooded motorhome, but for the most part we stayed fairly dry.)
We celebrated my brother's celebrated his 26th birthday on Sabbath (don't ask about the cake!)
Sabbath afternoon, we visited the nearby tunnels (old railroad tunnels). It was really dark and cold in the tunnels, but between each one there was beautiful scenery. We were having a wonderful time until Julie lost her keys and we had to figure out how to get back to camp!
I ran into my friend Nick who I haven't seen since we were both in Hawaii for the mission service orientation 2 years ago. It was so great to see him again!
My cousin Marsha (in the middle) and her cousin Julie (on the left).
Nick had to jump into the river after Julie threw in his zorrie! It was amusing to watch!
Cousins.....but more like sisters who were separated at birth. It was SO good to be together again!
The campgrounds are in a very beautiful place about an hour from the coast (and one of the biggest campmeetings in North America). Here are some pictures of the campground.
Half Ledge (on the way up to 3rd ledge) - overlooking the fire pit.
A typical view of the grounds with the clouds rolling in down the surrounding mountains.
The theme of this year's campmeeting was "Sanctuary". To add to what all the speakers would be talking about, they brought in a life-size model of the Mosaic sanctuary. They had tours going on every day starting every 15 minutes. It was really cool to walk through and learn all the information that the guides had to share.
Our guide was a young man named Oliver who was very intense and spoke so quickly that if you got distracted for just a second, you'd be lost until he took his next breath! But he did a very good job.
The brazen alter
The golden lampstand
The table of shewbread
The Ark of the Covenant with the ten commandments, Aaron's rod, and the manna inside. (Did you know that the 10 commandments were on tablets of blue saphire? The original tablets were cut out of the very thrown of God - which is made of blue saphire - and that's why the priests were told to where blue around the hem and sleves of their garments because it would be a constant reminder of God's law! Cool, eh?)
See all the blue on the priest's robes?
Overall, it was a wonderful campmeeting, filled with spiritual rejuvenation, family, friends, and the great outdoors!
My mom and I went a day early because I had a applied for a job in the camp's grocery store, so I had to be there early for the orientation. I worked about 30 hours through out the week and it kept me busy. My cousin also was working in the store and often had similar hours, so it was nice to be able to spend extra time with her. (Although I'm used to being on my feet all day in the classroom, standing at a till for several hours is somehow different! I was always exhausted by the end of my shift.)
It rained a lot through out the week, so it was pretty wet and cold most of the time (and there were only a few minor mishaps involving leaking tents and a flooded motorhome, but for the most part we stayed fairly dry.)
We celebrated my brother's celebrated his 26th birthday on Sabbath (don't ask about the cake!)
Sabbath afternoon, we visited the nearby tunnels (old railroad tunnels). It was really dark and cold in the tunnels, but between each one there was beautiful scenery. We were having a wonderful time until Julie lost her keys and we had to figure out how to get back to camp!
I ran into my friend Nick who I haven't seen since we were both in Hawaii for the mission service orientation 2 years ago. It was so great to see him again!
My cousin Marsha (in the middle) and her cousin Julie (on the left).
Nick had to jump into the river after Julie threw in his zorrie! It was amusing to watch!
Cousins.....but more like sisters who were separated at birth. It was SO good to be together again!
The campgrounds are in a very beautiful place about an hour from the coast (and one of the biggest campmeetings in North America). Here are some pictures of the campground.
Third ledge - a popular spot to hike to on Sabbath afternoons.
Half Ledge (on the way up to 3rd ledge) - overlooking the fire pit.
A typical view of the grounds with the clouds rolling in down the surrounding mountains.
The theme of this year's campmeeting was "Sanctuary". To add to what all the speakers would be talking about, they brought in a life-size model of the Mosaic sanctuary. They had tours going on every day starting every 15 minutes. It was really cool to walk through and learn all the information that the guides had to share.
Our guide was a young man named Oliver who was very intense and spoke so quickly that if you got distracted for just a second, you'd be lost until he took his next breath! But he did a very good job.
The brazen alter
The golden lampstand
The table of shewbread
The Ark of the Covenant with the ten commandments, Aaron's rod, and the manna inside. (Did you know that the 10 commandments were on tablets of blue saphire? The original tablets were cut out of the very thrown of God - which is made of blue saphire - and that's why the priests were told to where blue around the hem and sleves of their garments because it would be a constant reminder of God's law! Cool, eh?)
See all the blue on the priest's robes?
Overall, it was a wonderful campmeeting, filled with spiritual rejuvenation, family, friends, and the great outdoors!
Comments
I know what you mean about standing for hours at a till. I was always so tired after my shifts working at the grocery store in college.