Can't Get Away From Those Guys

For some reason I just can't seem to get away from a certain bunch of guys. The majority are shorter than me, and all are much younger. Yep, it's those scouts again. Yesterday morning found us in the wild and woolly racing world of the Pinewood Derby. All the boys were surprisingly well-behaved during the race. Daniel managed to come in second again this year. After the racing was over and the track was put away for another year, the four of us went over to the scout hut to help out with one boy's Eagle Scout project. We worked all day with a tireless group of young men, and I'm happy to report that the project is complete except for the write-up. He put in a retaining wall and laid pavers in front of the scout hut. It looks wonderful!!!

So that must have been enough for one weekend, right? Nope. Bright and early this morning found us at Arabia Mountain going on a three mile hike with the Webelos. It was a beautiful morning, and was really great to see the kids enjoying the great outdoors. They got really excited about the tadpoles and salamander eggs we found in the ponds on the rock outcrops. The ranger and the other hikers with us remarked at how polite and well-behaved the boys all were.

Now we're home, just me and the three guys I never want to get away from!

Camping With The Guys

This has been a full Scouting weekend at our house! Friday night was the Blue & Gold Banquet. Happy Chinese New Year!!! We found out on Tuesday that we had to supply food for 40 or more people that night! Needless to say, Julie and I were a little stressed! Deneen volunteered to help us out on Thursday night by running around Friday getting the last of the stuff together. Julie got the rice and veggies. Christie made tea. And Thursday night found me making a dragon! The boys thought it was pretty cool that I knew how to do that, but I have to admit my cluelessness! Who knew you could turn a styrofoam cooler, a Priority Mail box, a pack of cocktail napkins, and red tablecloths into a dragon??? The Webelos became legs and we brought the dragon to life for the banquet! A real Chinese gong borrowed from the middle school opened the festivities. The guests enjoyed a good feast whipped up in the kitchen by my volunteer crew (Thanks Mama!!!). Everyone talked about what a nice time they had.

You would have thought one night with all those boys was enough for us - NOPE! Saturday we packed up and headed over to Tom's house for a Webelos Family Campout. We ended up with 4 adults, 2 Boy Scouts, 5 Webelo 2's, 1 Webelo 1, and 1 Wolf. They learned a ton from Barry. We even retired a flag at our campfire. There was axe safety, Whittlin' Chip class, fire building and safety, camp cooking, nature walks, fishing, knot-tying, setting up a dining fly, and lots more. We really had a good time. Do I want to do all this again soon? NOPE!!!! My own two knuckleheads are plenty for a while!

Just What I Needed

I have heard it said that you can find God anywhere if you just look. People have seen Him in the clouds, in the water, in shadows on buildings... Well, I saw Him this weekend in a most unlikely and unexpected place. But He was right where I needed Him to be.

This OCS weekend I served as Class Leader. It is really intimidating to be in front of the whole class and have to report to the cadre, and to know that you are responsible for everything that goes on. Friday night we started off with testing. I felt pretty good about the written tests, and ended up with a 91 and a 94 on them. The performance tests were harder. I passed the command voice test with no difficulty, but got nervous on the individual drill movements. My about-face came up a little short and I got a NO-GO. Only two people in the class passed, and the rest of us would retest on Saturday evening. My roommate and I began to settle in for bed, when I discovered, to my horror, that I had left my running shoes at home! The Class Leader can't very well report to PT in desert boots! It was 10 PM, and Jill was not about to let me go out by myself. Well, there is a Wal-Mart on the other side of the exit! We'll go there!

Wrong.

The Wal-Mart closed at 10 PM. We drove across the street where I'd seen a CVS sign. It was closed as well. The manager of the grocery store next door was collecting grocery carts in the parking lot, so we pulled up and asked him where we might find shoes at this hour. He directed us to another Wal-Mart. This one was a little over 20 miles away! Off we went, finally returning with the shoes. Boy I sure am glad I looked for them before morning! I would have been up the creek!!!

We began to learn company drill, which is almost like dance class. Getting 17 people to do a move that resembles a "Chinese Fire Drill" without crashing into each other is a feat in itself. I had a tough time with that one. I don't know if they weren't leaving me a spot to go into or if I wasn't in the right place, but it was a mess. I got really disgusted with myself. By the time we lined up outside the chow hall for lunch I felt like an idiot. They had set up a sandwich bar, and I was glad to see peanut butter and jelly. The peanut butter was crunchy, but it still looked pretty good. I sat down to eat, which we had to do in silence. This gave me way too much time to just think about how things had gone. I was getting madder and madder and I could feel my face getting hot. My eyes threatened to water, and I did not want to cry in front of everyone. This really made me feel stupid. So I did what I usually do when I have a problem. I prayed.

Lord, I need your help. I'm in the spotlight here, and have a lot of people looking for me to succeed. Please help me and all the class to pass the retest. Please take away my anger and my fear. Be with me, calm me down, and help me get through this.

As I continued to nibble at my lunch I continued to pray in my head. I looked down at the half-eaten sandwich, and suddenly pushed the center in toward me. The bread, crunchy peanut butter, and strawberry jelly became a friendly smile. I smiled in spite of myself and thought, "Boy I have really lost it now! My sandwich and I are grinning at each other! I'll probably be the first Section 8 discharge the GSDF has had to process!"

My moment of ridiculousness passed, and I went back to classes. I passed the retest and didn't stress over it so much. I received compliments from the class and the cadre about the job I was doing. When I got into bed Saturday night, I felt it had been a good day afterall.

Can you find God if you know where to look, and does He hear your prayers? You bet He does. He sent me a smile, and it was just what I needed!!!