Thankful for so much!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend with the ones you love and care about. It has been great being home over the last week and spending time with people I haven't seen in over 3 months. There's nothing better than getting a welcome home hug from my sister Kelli accompanied by her exclamation "Brandon!" I have really enjoyed catching up with family and friends here in the Grand Rapids area. I love being able to share the amazing things God is doing down at SharpTop Cove and also being able to hear about the journeys many of my friends and family have experienced over the past 3-6 months in West Michigan.

This weekend I had the opportunity to reconnect with even more friends as I headed up to Timber Wolf Lake for the wedding of John and Christina Balmat. So happy for the both of them and I know the Lord is going to use their marriage for amazing things as they continue to serve Christ with all of their hearts. Along with celebrating a new marriage, I was able to see a good number of the many great people I worked with this past summer in at TWL. Even though I now spend most of my time this year at another Young Life camp 14 hours South of Lake City, there will always be a special place in my heart for the people and beauty of Timber Wolf.

Well today the excitement of oral surgery has been a reality to me. At 9am this morning I went in town to have my four wisdom teeth removed. Just one of those things that I have needed to get done for a while now, and thanks to the blessing of dental insurance through my year-long internship, I could now afford to do it. I'm definitely sore, but recovering well. It is hard for me to just rest all day, because I would love to continue to reconnect with so many others I haven't been able to see yet during my time here in MI. But, I know that realistically that is not possible and recovery must be my focus, so I can feel well enough to fly back to GA on Thursday.

I'm excited to come back to my intern family in those three short days. My time away from camp has definitely given me many moments to think of how thankful I am for all eight of the other interns, as well as the property staff at SharpTop Cove. I was very blessed to share a thanksgiving meal with the intern communtiy just a few days before we all left for home. There was so much delicious food and the turkey I cooked turned out very well!

I'm definitely thankful for so much. Thanks to you for taking the time to read this blog and partner with me in this amazing journey God is leading me on as I serve at SharpTop Cove.

70 degrees in November?

Hey everyone! Yes it warmed up a bit over the past week. In fact some of the afternoons were absolutely perfect with temperatures in the low 70's. That combined with the beautiful fall colors being displayed from each tree has made early November absolutely gorgeous here at camp.

Last Monday we had our first two games of the flag football season for the guys at camp. We won both! Who would have expected a team named "The Blob!" to come into the league and start out 2-0. It was definitely an exciting way to start the week and I'm excited to be able to look forward to each Monday with these great men on staff.

On Thursday I had the day off, because of the Veterans Day Holiday. I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a holiday barbecue, so we fired up the grill at our adult guest housing and cooked some hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone. These treats combined with Octavia's potato salad made for a great meal for all.

Speaking of intern meals, I'm getting excited for our intern thanksgiving meal we're putting together this coming Thursday evening. I'll be preparing and cooking my first ever turkey. Hopefully all goes well. I'm also excited for dishes such as sweet potato casserole, pecan pie, and mashed potatoes. It will be a great meal to share as a intern community, before we all head home to family and friends for a similar meal a week later.

Well, I hope you enjoyed a quick glance at what's going on here at SharpTop Cove. Have a great week! Blessings!

Welcome November...

Hey everyone! It's been a chilly weekend here at SharpTop Cove. Yesterday's high was only in the 40's! It feels more like Michigan than Georgia right now. Thankfully the forecast gives hope of warmer weather as the new week commences.

Well, last week was our (the interns) first week in new departments. So far, during my time in the Sites and Maintenance department I have spent a majority of my time helping paint a camp vehicle, transporting old and new lumber, ordering new light bulbs, and picking up supplies from town. It was a good first week, but I know I will be learning a lot more in the days to come.

One disappointment came a few days back when my car stopped going again. After another visit to the mechanic it appears I do indeed need a new or rebuilt transmission. Not the most inexpensive thing in the world. Right now I'm weighing my options and I may decide to live the simple life for awhile without a car. Definitely not an impossible endeavor since I live at camp, but also not the most convenient.

Pray for wisdom for me concerning my car situation. Also continue to pray for our intern group as we continue to adjust to our new jobs and learn how to better our community within our different schedules. Finally, pray for us as we prepare for the holidays with family and friends. Blessings!