Eric Online

Oregon (part 2 of 2) March 25, 2008

It’s been a few days since I finished the last page of my last book, so I’ve fallen back to my usual style of writing. I don’t think I would’ve been able to keep up that level of descriptive narration and 3rd person reference for too much longer anyway. Here’s a more down-to-Earth summary of the days following our initial travel day.

Monday morning was spent at Camp Yamhill, where we cleaned up the cabins. There was plenty of work to be done, and three cabins were finished by lunch. The limited staff was very friendly, and the cooks were well-trained in their profession. Breakfast and lunch each day was guaranteed to be delicious. In the afternoon we drove out to the Portland Urban Ministry Project church (PUMP) to help them at their building. It was in dire need of some spring cleaning, and we were just in time to take care of it. Tuesday was more of the same, with slightly different jobs to do.

Wednesday morning followed the pattern of the previous days, but the afternoon took us to an elementary school not far from the church. They needed work done their as well, and we happily went about sanitizing desks, repainting walls, and cleaning windows. That night, we attended the church’s midweek service. We learned songs from them and taught plenty of our own.

Thursday kept things changing. After a rather short work morning at the camp, we had a go at their zipline. It traced a line from our cabins, across a creek, through trees, and ended near the dining hall. That afternoon, we had to set up for a large party at the church, where we would be attending to a few dozen small children. We had several activities for the kids around dinner time, and the building was buzzing with activity in the hours leading up to the event. I was prepared to lend my services as a balloon animalist, and also play apart in the pre-dinner show, where we’d recreate the miracles of water to wine and feeding the five thousand, though we were turning water to Kool-aid, and feeding about thirty with miraculously multiplying hotdogs. Todd played a convincing Jesus as he poured water into an”empty” pitcher. The children were amazed as the simple act of stirring the water turned it to Kool-aid. The night dragged on,
and we were all tired by the end. Finally, we bid farewell to the church and hopped back on the van.

Friday was our free day, where we explored the Oregon coast. We stopped at a rest area for a snowball fight, trekked through impossibly tall trees by the coast, and gazed across the endless Pacific.