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Mamma Lynn and Brutha Mike
Camp Cooks: Mike and Lynn
Our cooks at camp are some of the most legitimate people I know. Lynn is like one of the many second mothers I’ve collected over the years. Her presence and caring nature has helped support and form me in to a better person, counselor, instructor, and much more. More importantly she knows when to take out the onions in meals to satisfy my picky tendencies. Mike is one of the goofiest smart alecks I’ve ever met. Sadly, when I first met him I had trouble remembering his name. I went from John to George then Paul. It took me a few days to really complete the cycle and call him Ringo. I appreciate the meals they both cook for us during the days we work.
They’ll be cooking up a storm for us this summer and we can’t wait! We will also be posting their best and most loved recipes here on this blog so if you want in on that, make sure you are a subscriber to our blog!
There’s nothing like a bowl of soup for lunch after hours of shoveling snow. And like I said, their company is enough to write home about.
- Chris
Super Dave (and Sandi)
Towards the end of every Fall, the LRCC year-round staff is busy planning the programming for our upcoming winter retreats. A full month and a half before the program starts the planning begins. If that doesn’t express how much we pack into our programs then I don’t know what will. There is little time to breathe during a Winter Retreat. Wait a sec, here’s an analogy: Imagine Thanksgiving dinner, a huge feast is set out in front of you, having at least a piece of each dish and at least two extra scoops of those sweet potatoes you love so much you begin to fall asleep in the dining chair. Just as you begin to doze off the host/hostess tells you that their home-made carrot cake is coming fresh out of the oven. You don’t like carrot cake but out of politeness, you partake. As the last bite travels down your esophagus you realize you are too full to move. This amount of “Polite gluttony” is comparable to the amount of events and planning we throw into our schedule. Still not clear? Ever been to a winter retreat? Ever see the staff running around like crazed people with smiles from cheek to cheek? We’re not amped on caffeine, I promise. We just aim to make sure everything is in order for everyone!! If it helps, imagine our frantic foot work on top of hot coals. With that image, we’ll seem less out-of-place. 
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Anyhow, this isn’t the reason I’m bringing up the winter retreats. With so much planned and so little time to attend to the smaller pieces of the puzzle, we pride ourselves on having some of the best volunteers any organization could ask for. I like to think “With volunteers… And God, anything is possible.” They make it possible for us to prep large events throughout the day by washing the dishes that stack up inside our fancy dish room. They are more often than not the reason there is coffee inside the airports. They help us prep materials. They are all All-stars. A pair I’d like to focus on are Dave and Sandi Engh. Whenever we have at least one of them at camp, it’s like adding three staff members into the force. Once, Dave and I went up to the frozen water pump, and with his expertise, the facilities below were able to have running water once more. Sometimes when I stumble across an empty coffee pot I will immediately head down to the dining hall for a refill. As soon as my feet hit the dirt I will see Dave carrying up two and sometimes three airports to serve as replacements. My point being, that all of the work we put in to retreats would be impossible to present if it wasn’t for our dedicated volunteers. They are much appreciated and almost never leave empty-handed. We say a big thank you to all who come up and help produce a great weekend for campers and youth leaders. When the winter season nears, contact us, I’m sure we’ll need more volunteers!
- Chris
