Things we take for granted

Early Sunday morning, I could hear Carrie in the kitchen preparing for the twins birthday, as Isaac woke me up to crawl in bed. Which was nice, 'cuz I was kind of cold. Little did I know that there were others who were more cold and up even earlier.An overnight snowstorm had dumped 5 inches of snow at the Camp. They had lost power around 4am, and woke up cold. While I chilled in town, with only 3 inches of snow, went to church, ate cake,watched the twins open presents and play with new toys, went to Youth Group and took a warm shower, I missed out on some fun at the Camp: Igloos, bear problems, huddling by the wood stove in the dining hall, flash-lights, candles, brushing teeth in the snow, and a slumber party.

When I arrived at camp Monday morning, I found the D-school huddled on/by the couch in the Lecture Hall. Songs, Quiet time, and Lectures was spent wrapped in hoodies, blankets, and sleeping bags. During break, we joined the Pioneering school in the warm dinning hall, where we toasted bagels on the wood stove...who needs toasters anyway? The back part of the room had been transformed into the Pioneering school's lecture hall, and the front lounge area was still covered in a layer of mattresses, pillows, and blankets, just in case a slumber party was necessary again tonight.
Back in lectures we saw Joe outside shoveling snow...for what, we had no idea. Turns out the meat was thawing, so the guys packed it in snow in the kitchen. Good idea, since we couldn't take the meat outside because of our bear problems...

Life got more interesting when I heard the lawn mower drive past. That's when I was told we had no running water, none-the-less we could still use the bathroom. The guys used the lawn mower and trailer to hull the huge cooler to the stream to get water. Then they drove around to the bathrooms and flushed the toilets. Good work guys! They also brought water to boil for cooking and drinking.

Everyone (even the tow girls who just arrived for Las Vegas Saturday night) survived the weekend quite well and were in good spirits...and it was great prep for India (where at least there won't be snow and coldness). We were all quite happy when the power came back on this afternoon. Lights! Heat! Running water! Hot showers! All the things we take for granted...at least in America...