Still Working Together

How funny is this? Part of the 'France' team working together in Greeville! I don't know how long it will take but Ken has a modular building to put up and needs some expert help (and laughter).

The pickup truck that I'm inspecting is actually a rental - did I tell you that the company's truck was stolen from the office parking lot? It happened a couple of days after Ken got home from France - and then it was only 24 hours later that it was retreived - in a farmer's field in North Carolina (minus the engine, fenders and tires, etc.!) It's just a truck, of course, but what an inconvenience. We are praying for the theives.

By the way, here's a picture of Lynda (Boroughs) who has been such a rock in the office. We know she has to take the summer off to be home with her boys but we can't thank her enough for holding down the fort in my unparents' absence. Kudos from Teddy!!

No TV Also Means More Time for One-on-One

Like I said, one night Ken gave a mini art lesson to Rose, Miriam and Brad (Bob looked on). Time was also spent with new friends like Robby and his girlfriend as well as Candide's family, the Gionanninni's. All of us spent some lovely times talking with Robert (Comte - he doesn't speak any English, by the way) and he apparently made a HUGE dinner for the team after I left. They raved about his cooking skills!

One evening Ken, Brad and Matt hiked a challenging trail from the chalet to the top of the nearest 'hill' (it took almost an hour and a half and three years off their lives). You can see the Camp of the Peaks in the background of this other hiking shot, by the way. Another time the boys got to watch a bit of a rugby game in town. Yes, we managed very nicely without a TV for all those weeks and are all richer for it!



Of all the 'things' to see and do in France, I sure do miss the people most, though - especially Robert. Guess I'll send him a picture or two - that way I won't have to write too many difficult french words... Teddy

All By Yourself with no TV?

How about when you're by yourself at camp and there's no TV? Well, there's always a Sudoku puzzle to work on, or a basketball net to throw a ball at. Listening to music and/or taking a nap is always good. Rose did her very first oil painting on her own after a lesson from my undad. Petting a cat was fun (for humans) and knowing how to stitch was a blessing. I personally loved to sing songs like my idle, Winnie the Pooh and I sniffed a lot of pretty wildflowers, too but reading had to be the best.

The book I really liked is called "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" (by Joanna Weaver). I got to share a lot of her humorous but wise words when it came time for me to lead the devotions (we all took turns after the evening meal.) The whole principle is that we need to be balanced in life. When we love the Lord, there are times to work for Him (like Martha) and there are times to just sit and worship Him (like Mary) but the key is knowing that both these things are important. When we keep in touch with God through prayer and reading the bible, He will tell us when to stay still and when to help someone. We should feel at peace if some days we do more work than worship or vice versa. More importantly, we should have flexibility and a worshipful heart in all we do. End of sermonette! - Teddy


P.S. Hiking in the snow is another fun thing to do by yourself but be careful not to get bearied alive!!

Got a Crowd but no TV?

Nope - no TV at camp for this bear (or the rest of the team for that matter). So what did we do? Well, when we had a nice group we would spend a lot of time talking after a shared meal (see our Greenville friends again) or we would pull out the cards and play Sequence or Wanted (my bear brain couldn't figure out this last game actually). Sometimes we would go to the main building and watch a movie (and the Lindquists joined us a time or two.)


So many memories - Teddy

P.S. You really need a crowd to play volleyball. The Lindquist's youth group had a game one Sunday on the grass in front of the camp office but we were in Grenoble at church that day so we didn't get to participate. Too bad - maybe next time.

Jobs That are Easier Now

I'm surprised how often I still think about the Camp - even after being home a couple of weeks. Maybe because Bob and Jane were still there - with new team members, Bill Cross and Stark Suggs. They have now returned as well (after LOTS of airline delays - yuck) so hopefully they will have some pictures for me to blog of the FINISHED upstairs. That is, all but the plumbing and bathroom tile, etc.

In any case, here are some shots of some of the jobs that were a little different over there: laundry and hair cutting in particular. Here you have the boys bringing more oil up to the chalet for our heating. It took ALL of them - it was so heavy (especially rolling it up hill!)

Luv ya' - T

And the Airplane Trip Home

Don't you just love this shot of the view from one of my airplane windows? Lori was my favorite stewardess, by the way, and she let me sit in the exit seat (if I read the safety booklet). Of course I did a little shopping in the Amsterdam airport, too - but I only bought Dutch food like licorice. Yum! Later...

One Last Night in France

It makes me sad to post these pictures of our last night in France. Brad, my unmom and I stayed in a lovely hotel in Annemasse (with very appropriate pictures outside our rooms) and then enjoyed a half hour taxi ride the next day to Geneva. Like they say, all good things have to come to an end! But I'll keep adding pictures until the team reunion! Love, T

The Office at Camp

Some of you may already know that I'm back in the States with my unparents now!! I'm therefore able to type a little more often. Cooking was quite a 'fulltime' job, as you can imagine. Plus my computer at home is quicker and a lot more available.

But have any of you readers ever wondered where I would sit when I typed from the Camp? Well, whenever the computer was free in the office (sometimes 7 in the morning, sometimes 10 at night), I'd take either the short hill trail or the longer road way past the river and try to get my blogger account to work. Even when I'd spend an hour and get no results, if was always worth trying - in order to send news back to YOU!

Soon I will have to stop blogging about this trip. So, if you haven't left a comment yet, maybe you could do so - I'd love to know the extent of my fan club. Hee Hee... (Of course I'll be starting up again when I leave town again, but only the Lord knows when that will be!) In the meantime, maybe you'd like to see what my unfamily is doing on their site: www.bakercrowd.blogspot.com

Enjoy - and I'll be back here in a day or two with more memories of France.

Crashing a 50th wedding anniversary party!

Because John and Nell Stinton wanted to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with all of their friends, they had a party after service one Sunday. Of course that meant our team was invited to share in the festivities, but I was still a little too shy to get my picture taken with the honored guests.

I'm not sure how many of their 50 years were spent in France but many, many were spent in England, that's for sure. It was great celebrating with you and, again, Congratulations! - Teddy!!

A few more pics of Grenoble

Oops - I forgot to show you the trolley train AND, I thought you might enjoy the picture of this American mini-van next to what I think is called a Smart car (correct me if I'm wrong).

Unfortunately, as in most bigger cities, there was a lot of graffitti and I felt like I needed to keep an eye open for pickpockets, too. But, all in all, it was a delightful experience.

By the way, I wanted yogurt for breakfast but we forgot to get spoons - a straw works really well, I found out (but only if there's no fruit, I'm thinking)!!

Love you - T