Staff balanced training and program writing with preparation for kids to encounter the islands. This meant doing many work projects, including back-filling trenches that have been dug to provide electricity and water lines to new buildings. Summer 2009 may be known in the future as the summer of filling trenches! This project is a blessing, as it means the new buildings are, or will soon be functional! We were also blessed as a staff by the family of staff member Jonathan Halvorson-Frissel, who invited us over for dinner to their stunning cabin on Gunflint Lake.

 

As always, Staff Training culminated in the Staff Trip, which sent almost every staff member into the Boundary Waters with our most passionate and experienced guides, to learn first hand what it means to give kids this experience with the Creator. Staff trip is a special time for all staff members to work together in a new way, learn vital skills, and face challenges as a team brought together by God. Connections made on Staff Trip often turn into strong friendships throughout the summer, and into other seasons in our lives.