a letter from somewhere

Written by Eric

It is Wednesday afternoon, the middle of workcamp week here in Cornwall, Ontario. If you go as far east on the upper border of New York, then cross over into Canada, you will find Cornwall. It was a 15 hour drive from Indy and about an a 1 1/2 hour drive west of Montreal. Cornwall is a city of 46,000 people next to the St. Lawrence River. Though things have changed a bit now, a few decades ago the city was divided by the French speaking ones on the east side of town and the English speaking ones on the west side of town.

375 campers have the afternoon off and are either at the river, water park, a nearby city (Montreal or Ottawa) or shopping. It is time for a little relaxation, food, and an afternoon away from the week-long work. As for me, as the director of the camp, I am at the school staffing the office while the rest of the staff and workcampers are away.

As far as people here....We have 16 churches in attendance. One from Canada, others from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

As far as our lodging...We are staying in a French Catholic High School. Here all high schools, whether Christian or public, are funded by the government. That is very different than in the states. This school's mission is "to teach students about Jesus Christ and about their French heritage."

As far as sleeping places for 375...By 5 pm last Friday we had everyone assigned to rooms in the school, some had air-conditioning and some did not. At 5 pm the fire department came by to "check" our rooms and told us that we had to reduce each of the rooms by 5-7 people to meet fire code. That caused us to wonder, "What will we do with 42 boys?" "Put them in the gym!" The only trouble was that the gym was not air-conditioned and 42 breathing boys make the gym even warmer. Oops, that should be HOTTER, not warmer. It was stuffy and extremely hot. What should we do?

As far as the facility guys...Rightly so the facility guys, custodians, were protecting their school from all of these students coming from all over. Only certain rooms were available. Only the front door of the school could be used for entrance and exit. No door could be left open to cool off the gym. That is how it was for one night. And then a very awesome thing happened. God moved some hearts. After walking through the gym on Sunday night with the facility people, after their experiencing the heat of a room with no doors open, God touched hearts. THEY started suggesting rooms where the boys could lodge. THEY decided that doors could be open. They have now all worked beyond their hours just to keep the facility clean for us. Today one of them rigged up a system in our non-airconditioned program auditorium for the cooler air to flow through the space. Go God!

As far as work...We have 54 sites that are painting, home repairs, and roofing whole houses. The most odd project is painting a Royal Canadian Air Force plane that is mounted in the town park. How many of you ever got to paint a jet?

As far as their currency...They have $1 coins called "loonies" because the coins contain pictures of birds, loons. They have a $2 coin with birds on them. Guess what they call them? "Two-nies." They are considering $5 dollar coins. Any guess what they will call them?

As far as food....Maybe the most unique food we have found here in Cornwall is POUTINE. Poutine is a combination of...are you ready?...french fries topped with cheese curd, covered in gravy. Delightful and of course, no calories at all!

As far as me...I am still sitting in the office waiting for dinner while the others are out. There is something beautiful about having some time to write and reflect. There is something good about having 375 high schoolers out of the school for just a little time this afternoon.

I pray your summer is continuing to be a great one for you.