The Past 13 Days: Part 1 (b) - The Rest of the Rest of Training

After the Epic Picnic, we had more training sessions (just go back and imagine more pictures of people sitting on the Porch). We had some fun times too, such as the Square Dance, Team Building Day, Hands-On Day, and the Talent Show.

The Square Dance



I look like a crazy person in this picture, but this move is actually called "Take a Little Peek" - one couple stands still while the other couple dance around outside and wave at each other.

So much fun!

Team Building Day

Now that the staffs know each other, we set aside a day to do some team building. You know... foster real-life skills that staffers will need to learn, such as communication, listening, and figuring out how to get everybody in alphabetical order (silently) on a 4x4x16, which is ACTUALLY a small bridge over a gorge of flaming-hot magma, conjured by two ninjas (see below).


A conglomeration of staffs prepare their cheer before preparing to tackle the Bridge Over Troubled Magma.Rumor had it that it was easier to keep your balance if you held your ears. Really, guys?Another team-building station plays blob-tag.

Hands-On Day

This day can be one of the most frustrating days for staffers. They've just spent many, many hours over many many days trying to cram into their tired brains everything they need to know about construction. They've just learned who they're going to be living, working, and playing with for the rest of the summer. Hands-On day is traditionally hot and sunny, and with that heat tempers can flare and people get frustrate. This is the day that staffers come to understand:

Thinking construction is VERY different than actually doing construction.

I got to be on the other end of this day - instead of doing the construction, I got to teach it! (As Becca said - ASP is probably one of few ministries where the Chaplain teaches construction and needs a good knife or multitool on a daily basis.) My session (co-taught with Joz) was cutting birdsmouths for rafters. (See http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/roof-framing.html for more information).



The Chaplain Shot: Smiling Chaplain has perspective from above, gazing onto staffers who are actually doing the work.


Staffers hard at work. Here you can see the Poor Valley Lodge (lodging for staffers) in all its ASP glory.Buchanan County '09 Staff, hard at work!



Matty Fox and Kevin Pie (pronounced [pi-eh]), hardly working!

The Talent Show

ASP owns an autoharp, and I have it on loan for the summer!! Here, Mitch and I are performing "Flake" by Jack Johnson for the talent show.

I'm actually getting pretty good at the autoharp - I've been watching YouTube videos of Mother Maybelle and June Carter for instructional purposes. I've gotten several good ol' southern hymns down, but my goal by the end of the summer is to be able to play and sing "When You're Next To Me," by Mitch and Mickey of the mockumentary "A Mighty Wind" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8NGYoyRR6U. I just need to find me a singing and guitar-playing partner... ;-)

Other Stuff
There were a few events that I didn't document with my camera, such as Load-Up Day (where a massive caravan leaves from the headquarters in Johnson City, loaded up with tools and the like, for a summer in the county). I also failed to capture Make Oreos Better (don't think too hard about this one).

But Finally, Commissioning

We had a commissioning service to send out the staffs to their counties with a blessing. Everybody gets dressed up and looks real nice. I tell you what, a lot of these folks clean up real nice, so we had to document how fine everybody looks before they leave for the summer. It's like the ASP version of prom, or something ridiculous like that.



The Fourth Years: These are all people who started on the Porch in '06 and have this summer as their fourth summer on staff. We started out about 60 of us in '06... now only about 9 remain.Claiborne County Staff of 2008!! Too bad Glorny wasn't here with us... ach, sadness. I'm so proud of my former staff: Lindsey and Bryant are CDs in Wolfe and Harlan, respectively, and Andrew is working with ASP's Tri-Cities program this summer in Johnson City. This is the first summer where I've had more than one person from my staff return to the Porch.
Buchanan County Staff of '06! Kirstin is now a PM (Program Manager), and I'm Chaplain. I really did NOT expect to keep returning to ASP in the capacity that I have, but this ministry keeps calling me back. There's nowhere else I'd rather be!

The Chaplains Looking Pious: Katie "KC and the Sunshine Van" Cole and "Tex" Evan Walker "Texas Ranger," causing trouble in all 25 counties of ASP-land.


And then the staffs left for their counties for set-up week, and the support staff went on vacation, and everybody lived happily ever after (for about 7 days)...