The Big Rocker at DC Camp

Our grandson, Jack Iles, is shown with his new friend, Addie Soileau today at Dry Creek Baptist Camp.

Today was catfish lunch at the Camp and we had a good time eating and visiting.
I’d like to share the story about this large rocker that sits on the Tabernacle porch.

When I was manager at the Camp, Brad Robinson’s mom, Karan, approached me about getting a big rocker for the porch. She’d already supplied us with half a dozen normal size rockers, as well as several tiny ones (we called them ‘baby bear chairs.’)

I was impressed with the photo of the large cedar rocker, but I had one question.
“How much does a big one cost?”
She hesitated, “1500 dollars.”
“$1500? I’d love for the camp to have one, but that’s a little steep.”

Of course, that didn’t faze Karan. She and her youth group raised the money, bought the chair, delivered it to Dry Creek. It took an offensive line of teen boys to manhandle it off the trailer.

The big chair is the most photographed spot at Dry Creek Camp. Thousands of campers crowd onto it for friendship pictures. The current record is 23 girls on it at a time.

Last summer I visited for a night camp service. An older woman who later admitted she was 91 asked me to help her onto it for a photo. We got a straight chair and she used it for a stepladder to take a seat for her photo opp.

Once as a long line of children waited their turn to climb in the chair, I related the above story to a friend. He smiled and said, “That chair’s worth a lot more than 1500 dollars.”

“It’s worth $15,000.” I answered. It is a symbol of all that is good about what we call the Dry Creek Experience.

The best thing about the chair is how campers call it, “God’s Rocking Chair.” I asked a preteen girl about that. Her answer was simple but sound, “Because it’s big enough for God to sit in, and he likes kids to get on his lap.”

Well said.
I can’t improve on her wisdom and theology.

If you come to Dry Creek this summer, climb up in God’s rocking chair. As summer camps begin next week, pray for every camper who’ll sit or walk by that big rocker at Dry Creek. Pray for lives to be changed by the power and love of our big God.
C.I.

I’ll be 53 this Monday, and I’m still catching turtles.
Of course, I have a good reason: they’re for my grandsons.
I caught this red-eared turtle earlier in the week and put him inside my fenced garden.

He was waiting for Jack when he arrived today.

Before freeing the turtle, we tattooed him. I don’t know if you’re familiar with turtle tattooing or as we sometimes call it, “turtle branding.”

Before you P.E.T.A.* folks get stirred up, it’s simply marking a turtle’s shell for future reference.
I used a sharpie to write “Jack” and 5/28/09 on the turtle.

We always did this at Dry Creek Camp and several times “re harvested” “branded turtles.”

Well, like they say, “It’s a redneck thing that you wouldn’t understand.”

Good night from the land of big rockers and turtle tattooing.

*PETA: “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals” or “People Eating Tame Animals.”