Our New 1908 Salad Bar Tables

Last summer, we were given a house in Giddings by Goodson Lumber (the lumber company that we use most often). The house was built in 1908 and stood on Goodson's new property. They were developing their new property last summer and needed the house to be moved. We took it - and have used most of it in our new 4 Seasons building and other camp items. Some of the other camp items include two new salad bar tables. The timbers of these tables were once the supporting timbers of a 1908 Giddings residence.

David Jones, CEO

Board Members, Fishing Docks and Airplanes

Last weekend, one of our board members helped us make a vision for a bigger fishing dock come true. After our Saturday board meeting, Kelly went right to work with a couple of our workers to add the much needed dock space for fishing. They used our lift to push piers down into the lake bottom and then started adding on the joists and deck boards.

That same weekend, I was able to hitch a ride with one of our guests in his airplane! We flew over the camp several times and I was able to get some neat shots of the meadows facilities, the new lake and our guys working on the dock. If you look real close, you can see two red dots on the dock, they are Kelly and Jeff.

Paul Biles, Retreat Director

Locked Out

Each weekend we have an average of about 200 guests staying at the camp, and when you have a lot of people around something is bound to go wrong. Usually we have small problems that are quick and easy to fix, but other times there are more lengthy issues to deal with. It becomes a second nature for our directors on duty to respond quickly to solve the problems that arise. This past weekend was a particularly interesting weekend. We didn’t have many problems at all, but it was unusual to have two guests lock their keys in their car. Not only that, but the cars just happened to be parked next to each other – go figure. The first car owner luckily had a service that they were able to call, but the second guest wanted to attempt to get in with what we had.

After about 2 hours of attempted breaking and entering the guest remembered that she actually had a hidden spare key. The above picture is of our celebration. So the moral of the story: bring a spare, and remember that you have it!

Seth Gordon - Recreation Director

Behind the Scenes: Cleaning

One of the on going processes of camp life is cleaning. We have private rooms, bunk houses, public restrooms, conference rooms and a dining hall to clean each week. It takes several special people to come behind our guests and clean the rooms and restrooms and they are greatly appricated! Without them, our camp wouldn't look as wonderful as it does.

Recently had to say good-bye to two of our cleaning ladies, as they are moving to Kentucy to be closer to family. We have started the process of finding new help. It has taken a while to find the right people to fill in the gap of our cleaning staff. One of the new things we are trying out until the summer is having a evening cleaning crew. Two ladies from town come out after everyone leaves for the day and have been cleaning during the evening and the other cleaning lady, helps during the day. So far, everything has worked out really well. We hope to start one more person during the day in the next couple of weeks, right now a volunteer and one of our kitchen workers have been helping out the first couple days of the week. Please pray that God will provide the right people to fill a very much important and needed position.

Paul Biles - Retreat Director

Christmas in April?

Yes, we have Christmas lights up in April. Actually, the lights will be up all year long. Not because we're too lazy to take them down (although we do get lazy from time to time), but because we love the look of Christmas lights wrapped around the trees. They provide great lighting for the main road coming into the camp. Without them, the road is very dark, and not a fun walk for our guests without a flashlight. They create a certain elegance that everyone has really enjoyed. If these work out well with very little maintenance (as these have so far), we will make them permanent and even add more in different places around the camp.

Merry Christmas!
David Jones, CEO

Meadows Retreat Game Room

Back in the recessed areas of Camp Tejas we have had 2 old pool tables waiting to be re-finished. They were purchased a few years ago with the hope that eventually the camp would grow enough to use them. After a few years of being neglected and left to collect dust, they have finally been brought back to life and are currently in use at the Meadows Retreat game room. Right now the game room hosts the two pool tables and one foosball table and is used each weekend by a number of guests staying in both the Four Seasons and Barn 214. When you get the chance to come and spend a day at the camp be sure to stop by and check out the game room and the re-finished pool tables.

Seth Gordon – Recreation Director

MEGA Interns

Camp Tejas owes a great big THANKS to our six MEGA Interns!

With four of them here since September, and the other two joining us in January, we have had a great year with our largest-ever group of interns. They work weekends hosting retreat groups and then during the weeks doing a variety of jobs. They clean and paint and set up conference rooms. In the winter they unloaded fire wood, and this Spring they have helped to get the pool ready for summer. I'm not sure of how they got their 'MEGA' title, but they have surely earned it. All six will stay and work in different capacities for the summer, but will scatter in August.

This week, before the hectic summer schedule starts up, we took the MEGA Interns on a little trip. It lasted only about 48 hours, but our two days of relaxation and fun on Lake Travis were wonderful. It was a small way to say thanks for some long hours.

So, Liz, Kristi, Kim, Beau, Brittany, and Meredith - thanks for working so hard and for investing with us in the ministry God has here at Camp Tejas. I lurve ya.

Natalie West - Summer Camp Director

From Mud to Sand

One of the newest recreation additions to Tejas is a second sand volleyball court. Our desire for this new court was to keep the sand in and the water out, and although we started with a small pond we worked our way to a very nice court. After excavating about 1 to 2 feet into the ground we dug a small trench to allow for drainage. Once the weather cooperated and things dried up, a drainage pipe was laid and then quite a bit of gravel was put down. Once the gravel was in place, a barrier was put on top to keep the sand from sifting through the gravel. Then the sand was added and the net was hung. The only thing left to finish up this court is a bit of grass and a few competitive players.

Seth Gordon - Recreation Director

Six Weeks and Counting

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

In just under six weeks the noise level at Tejas will begin its ascent to the roar that accompanies each summer. On May 19 the 2008 Summer Ministry Team will arrive to begin training. What that means on this side of April is recruiting, planning, recruiting, preparation, recruiting...

With just under 40 hired, we are ahead of where we were at this time last year, but still quite a distance from the hiring goals that we set. In my weaker moments that translates to what is commonly referred to as panic. The beautiful thing, however, is that in His grace and infinite wisdom, the Lord had me study and memorize a section of Romans 8 in the Fall. Among other things in the passage that He has so faithfully used in my life, verses 26 and 27 have come to be a rallying cry for me.

I don't even know how to pray most days. He has made it pretty clear that He is not about my comfort. So, when I ask that He bring staff (and bring them in a timely manner), my motivation is mostly selfish. I mean, it would make my life and job easier, not to mention that little issue of job performance, if we had more staff than we knew what to do with. The truth is that this is His ministry. He's got a plan. So, recently, in the light of Romans 8, I have been praying not for staff to come, but for Him to be glorified in all that happens here: in my work, in my attitude, in my walk with Him, in the way that college students are ministered to -- all of it. Because, even when I don't know what or how to pray, I can rest in the fact that the Spirit Himself is interceding for me according to the will of God.

Some of us on staff have started to meet on Tuesday afternoons to pray specifically for the summer, knowing that the Spirit is able to interpret our whines and sometimes panic-stricken pleas into the will of God.

Natalie West - Summer Camp Director

Behind the Scenes: Conference Rooms

Each week before guests arrive, conference rooms have to be cleaned and set up for the next weekend’s groups. It begins with Grace, our Reservations Manager, calling the group leaders and going through a list of items we can provide and setup. There are the number of chairs and tables, whether they would like a sound system or not and if so, how many microphones, stands, direct boxes and monitors. There are also the questions about video projection and whiteboards. These are only a few of the items we ask them before coming.

After Grace has all the information, the list is handed to our interns to make it all happen. Our interns are learning what it means to host groups and what the camping ministry is all about. Preparing our conference rooms and making sure our facilities are “guest ready” is one of the items they are learning. They will clean the conference room and then set up all the items requested by the groups.

This task is a big one. With the Meadows expansion we have added three more conference rooms, adding to our ability to host more groups on a weekend. This upcoming weekend we are going to be hosting six different groups. We are using every conference room at the camp.

Paul Biles – Retreat Director

Keeping the Water Out

After the first week in May, we will begin to fill this very large hole with water. We pray that the Lord will assist us with a few rain showers. Actually, one really big one would do it. Until then, we are removing as much dirt as possible to form our new lake. Some of it is being sold in our local community and the rest we are using for our own projects. The drier the dirt is, the easier it is to remove. So pumping water out of the hole is a constant activity. In the long run, this is a good problem. There is a massive layer of clay about 10 to 15 feet below the surface. This layer of clay will hold in the water so that this new lake will provide plenty of recreation for generations to come.
David Jones, CEO