One Day

Cyndi Reep at the Betsy B-  June 15. 1999!

Wednesday I drove my son Will the nearly 2 hours to Leesburg, Florida, so he can spend some time with my Mom.  This is an annual summer trip that I am thankful (and somewhat amazed) that he still enjoys taking.  On my way back to Tampa I was enjoying the travel time, playing music too loud and thinking about a wide variety of things and a special person or two.  At some point, I paused for just a moment (that is all I will allow myself; self-pity is not becoming to anyone) to miss my days in student ministry.  Summers were always my favorite times, and I thought about what I might have been doing that day if I were still working with youth.  That thought gave me an idea for a blog post, and after some serious digging through old files I have gathered the information to share with you.  Today is June 15.  Here is a list, directly from my old summer calendars and brochures, of what I was doing every June 15 from 1987 until 2006- from 1978 to 1986 I was working at Quaker Lake Camp most every June 15.  It's just one day.  But there are so many memories...

• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1987- We traveled to Carowinds for the day!  Carowinds is a theme park near Charlotte.
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1988-  It was the Wednesday of our Summer Safari, our first trip from SFM to North Myrtle Beach and the Betsy B!
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1989-  We met at the church for a Breakfast Club, with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a bible study from the book of James.
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1990-  Over 60 students from SFM and Archdale Friends Meeting were at Walt Disney World in the middle of Floridays '90!  This was the 2nd of our 3 trips to WDW.
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1991-  We spent a Saturday night on the town in Greensboro with dinner and the annual Putt-Putt Masters Golf Tournament!
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1992-  We left for Atlanta, Six Flags and a Braves game!  Always a great (and memorable!) trip.
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1993-  Only days before leaving on our third WDW trip, it was a One on One day.  Lots of milkshakes and Cokes. Always one of my very favorite days of summer.
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1994-  The second ever Wednesday Night Live! took place in the youth room. Carlene Heck Skiles taught the lesson and the theme was Snow Night!  I confess I have no idea what we did on Snow Night...
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1995- Our middle school students got to do a Mall Invasion as part of one of our Magic Middles programs.  Named after a Keebler cookie, if I recall correctly!
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1996- We had a "welcome aboard" pool party for our newly promoted middle schools students at the home of Vic and Kay Hill.
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1997-  We were on day 2 of a week at North Myrtle Beach as the FUMC-K crowd experienced the Betsy B for the first time!
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1998-  We had a special edition SHO-Time at Planet Hollywood, then hanging out the Disney Village!
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1999-  We were back at the Betsy B one final time!
• Union Church of Hinsdale, 2000- It was SHO-Time in the suburbs of Chicago, but if things went as usual, no one showed up.  Summers were DEAD in Hinsdale!
• Union Church of Hinsdale, 2001-  There was actually nothing planned on this Saturday night, due to the reason given above.
• Wesley Memorial UMC, 2002-  This was the opening Sunday of our very first Youth Week in Tampa.  We used clips from the movie Extreme Days and had a very serious water balloon war on the front lawn of the church.  Good times...
• Wesley Memorial UMC, 2003-  We left Tampa for Spartanburg, SC, and our mission trip in a homeless shelter there. It was a last minute save because of funding issues, but it turned out to be a wonderful week.
• Wesley Memorial UMC, 2004-  We were all working Vacation Bible School in the morning, and then we headed as a group to Lee Garden for the Chinese buffet! YUM!
• Wesley Memorial UMC, 2005- I had  been asked to leave my position at the church (and therefore the house we lived in) and we had a packing party,with about a dozen of the youth coming to help me pack up Will's room.
• Trinity UMC Waycross, 2006-  It was Happy Hour at the local Sonic Drive-In, where we drank cherry lime-aids, ate banana splits and played the card game Cocktail.  Always fun!

And there you have it- one day in my life, spread out of 20 years.  Every day full of great stories and wonderful memories, and a reminder of how incredibly blessed my life has been. Thanks for riding the time machine with me today! Now I need a nap...


Because of Jesus,