The
weekend of August 19 – 21
was an exciting weekend for many of the members of Church of The
Master. Twenty six
eager members made the trip to Shannondale. Some came earlier in
the day, most trickled in late into the evening and into the night.
We were all on our own for supper but after that there was plenty
to eat for everyone the whole weekend. Everyone got set up into
their sleeping quarters but the night was still young. The
children played
and the adults caught up with old news and new news. Little by
little, however, everyone got sleepy and retired to their
bunk bed for the
evening.
Early
morning, folks were getting up one by one and dragging themselves
into the meeting room. JT was already up and cooking though.
He was like a busy little beaver, taking everyone’s order
and cooking up delicious servings to help everyone jump start their
day.
This was the day of the big float trip! At 7:00 the skies started
to darken. At 7:30 the skies opened up and it rained like crazy
for about 45 minutes. Many of us were wondering if the float trip
was
going to be a wash. But about 8:30 the rain eased up and then the
skies cleared. Everyone started putting their gear together for
the float trip. About 10:30 the bus showed up. Gear and floaters
piled
into the bus and they were off to Pulltite for their float down
to Round Springs. Herman and I stayed behind to watch the fort.
Eight canoes and three kayaks were carried to the water’s
edge. Gear was loaded and sun tan lotion applied. They were ready
for the
adventure. The water was swift and a few downed trees were enough
to make it a bit of a challenge. Several stops along the route
were made for resting, relaxing and taking a cool dip in the
clear water.
A great time was had by all that floated. Brian and his brother
have the record for most times tipped over but everyone made
it through
the trip with no bad accidents. The floaters returned to the
lodge about 4:30 and it was time for some quick showers and some
play time
for the children.
JT returned to the kitchen and prepared a delicious meal for
all of us. We had chicken breast marinated in Italian Dressing,
asparagus,
potato casserole, biscuits, some other stuff that I can’t
remember and a ton of different desserts.
After dinner, it was time for Minute-To-Win-It with Tiffany
hosting the games and getting volunteers to compete. We played
several
different rounds and everyone had fun. Between the long day
on the river and
the big dinner most preferred to just sit and chill out except
of course for the little ones who kept on playing. As the
evening progressed
into the night, little by little, everyone retired to their
beds for the night.
Sunday morning I got up about 6:30 and wandered into the
meeting room only to see JT hard at work making a 15 course
breakfast
for everyone. There was plenty to eat for everyone and
no one had to
go the route of resorting to a box of pop tarts.
After we ate we started packing our vehicles but we hung
around long enough to go to church service at the chapel
in the morning.
It was
a delightful service. I remember the last time I was
in that church about 25 years ago there was no air conditioning
and
things were
a little bit sticky. The children all got to go to Sunday
School where they learned a little about Christ and had
fun with some
crafts.
Worshipping with us were several exchange students from
African countries who were in Missouri to study at Eden
Seminary.
A couple of them
told their story about life in their home land. They
were all on the float trip the day before and I don’t know how many of
our members realized that at the time. This one young woman, dressed
in her native garb told us they have many rivers in Kenya but they
don’t really float their rivers there. They have animals
in their rivers that want to eat them! They have big challenges
in their
countries preaching Christianity in a land where some people
make it difficult to do. It was a great service with some fellowship
time
afterwards.
Of course we posed for the traditional group picture
on the steps to the chapel.
After church we went across the road where Charlotte
Shelvurne was working at the craft store and we bought
some goods. Then
we went to
the Freschner Nature Center and examined some of the
neat stuff they
had there.
Terry, Cole and I then headed back home with Cole napping
from the Nature Center to St. James. Of course we
had to stop for
lunch at
Dottie’s Truck Stop at the Cuba exit. That place is much
bigger now than I remember it 40 years ago. They still serve
one of the
best buffets anywhere.
All in all this was a great trip with lots of activities
for everyone, lots of great food, good fellowship
a time to catch
up with some
old friends and the opportunity to learn new things
about people that you just don’t pick up in church on a typical Sunday
morning.
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