On the road again

For the first time this year (Roman calendar and volunteer), I have embarked on a new journey. Though unit 291 holds all sorts of special places in my heart - as the largest group i've had, the most brethren, the best scenery, the most serene, and the quirkiest - it is finally time to move on. Hello unit 292!

CCXCII

For the past 16 years, BVS has travelled to Camp Ithiel, a Church of the Brethren camp in Gotha, florida, to hold winter orientation. Callie and I left Illinois on thursday, stopping in Alambama, alamaba, almaba, or alabama, you pick, before arriving in central florida friday night. Camp is nestled in between a cute abandoned subdivision telling of the housing situation in florida, and the turnpike. across the camp's small lake is an enormous white cross, which is lit up at night as a constant reminder that you should be praying about your problems here. Oh, and there are mormons AND jehovah's witnesses in town. The camp is smaller than Camp myrtlewood, and in about as different a location as you can be from myrtle point unless you go to the moon.

Fischer Lake
(c) 2011 Church of the Brethren 

Personal note

I can't speak for the others, but the nature of my job makes it hard to live in any community. Three times a year (plus retreats and annual conference, and the occasional road trip visit-spree) I leave everyone I know and meet 15-30 new people. Then we hang out for three weeks and REALLY get to know one another. It feels like I'm cheating on my housemates. Or at least I have commitment issues. The only reason I feel guilty at all is because I really do enjoy it. Each orientation is a boot camp of caring - we spend time talking about all sorts of issues. And it's a concentration of concerned individuals, something that doesn't happen naturally except in times of crisis. The collective heart of a group is developed within a week, once all the different cells learn to work together. Everyone knows that two heads are better than one. But I think that one heart is better than two heads, and two hearts are better than one, so we have a really great thing going here. That made sense when I wrote it.

Unit 292 after church
(c) 2011 Church of the Brethren

In my next post, I hope to say more about what makes unit 292 special. For now, I'm busy getting to know these 13 new purple-shirt Jesuses, and making sure we all have edible food (did Jesus know how to cook?) Thank God for simple recipes and produce stands!

From the future, Don