Men's Campout Report

Wow - what a great time...kudos to Rob Goodlett for putting on a great show in putting this overnighter together. A huge thank you goes out to our hosts and totally fantastic couple Jim and Amber Sheffield...it would not have been possible without you!

I arrived on the scene about 3:30pm to see about 8 guys hanging around throwing shoes and hear echoes of shotgun blasts from the platform high above the Sheffield house on the property adjacent to our base camp at the Equestrian Center, owned by Dan Stephenson.

What a perfect day for a camp out...not too hot and not too chilly. THe horseshoe pit was competitive, but it got tighter when I took a walk over to the Sheffield property and stopped to chat with Tony Kestle, who was watching a two on two basketball war.

Just as I sat down to watch the fest, MAN DOWN! At first, we thought it might be just a little fall, but it turned out to be a popped ankle. Not sure if it is broken, but Eric Tomlinson's short day was over. Jim Sheffield, the most awesomest host in the world, drove him back down the hill to seek a real opinion and we prayed that it would be just a sprain. I jumped in to the game as Dave's new partner and ended up winning a very draining game of basketball. Dave has a killer 15 foot jumper by the way...

As I shuffled back to our site, the guys had built a substantial fire and we were ready for some more horseshoes. A few games of shoes and it was time to get our food on. Rob G. manned the BBQ and put out some outstanding Dogs and Burgers and Amber Sheffield delivered some good old fashioned chili -- yep, we had quite a time later!

After dinner, we relaxed by the campfire and got to spend time just hanging out - being guys. We had a great time of worship led by David and a discussion on the Lord's prayer facilitated by Rob G. So cool how a bunch of guys who really didn't know each other we so quickly bonded together by time spent focusing on Jesus.

Around 10pm, 8 of us decided it was time for some volleyball under the lights on the Sheffield's sweet grass volleyball court. A mere 40 some degrees couldn't stop over 2 hours of fun. Amber and Jim broke out some hot chocolate, tea and coffee for us and after one more game, we headed back to our camp fire where some guys headed off to bed - while the firebugs continued into the early hours of the AM.

Thanks to Joe Geddes for letting me and Jeff Hohenstein crash in his rig. I heard it was cold out in the tent, but Joe had the temp just right all night.

By the way, never underestimate the impact of a 24 pack of Ding Dongs, some chili and late night volleyball at a Men's Campout! Thanks for a great time guys, the next one we will be adding our kids.

Again, kudos to Rob Goodlett for making this one happen and to our wonderful hosts the Sheffield's and the Stephenson's.