Van of Liberal Youth encounter Florida Boy Scouts at area Wendy’s; only looks exchanged

This morning, six youth from Saint Mark United Methodist Church, two children under 5 and one female chaperone attended the 8:45 a.m. service for commissioning and blessing. They loaded into a van, and headed north towards the mountains, and, making great time, headed into a Wendy’s near Ellijay at 11:23. Smugly exiting the van, sure that the lunch rush would be avoided, the chaperone brought the youth into the restaurant only to be greeted by four vans full of boy scouts, all clamoring for frosties and affordable cheeseburgers. Dressed to suit their particular interests, the two groups inhaled sharply and ordered their food, sitting to eat at neighboring tables. No one was injured by sticks, stones, or words in the incident.

--story reported by Mandy Flemming, staff reporter

So, we arrived today, early. For those of you who know me, you know this is nothing short of a miracle. I’ve never been early for anything in my life. We were greeted by our dear friend, Julia, who welcomed each of us by name and pointed us to our accommodations. To preface, last year, we stayed in individual rooms in the lodge, which was fine. Lovely. Accommodating.

This year?

Julia housed us in the McCall House, which is about 50 yards from the lake. It has a front porch with four pillars and three rocking chairs. We have a kitchen, living room (did I mention porch??), four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. I don’t even know what to do with myself, and I nearly wept when I discovered the washer and dryer. We’ve settled in on the porch, in our best imitation of a retirement community. In theory, we’re here to do some great work with a lovely family, but in practice, it feels a lot like vacation right now.

It’s been a great first day. Our fridge is stocked with mainly bad-for-us foods and some ice cream. We’re ready to see the Day family tomorrow, and anxious to get our hands on some hammers to put in a new floor for them.

More soon – and look for some guest bloggers this week, especially since Julia asked me to preach on Thursday evening (!). So, I’m hoping that the youth will put in a post for us.

Until tomorrow…