Sorry for the blog delay. The internet has not been doing so
hot lately. I think it has a bad case of spring fever or some other kind of
virus (see what I did there?). Anyways, it didn’t work last night so I couldn’t
post about Sunday’s events. So here’s the entry…
Today started out earlier than normal, which was fitting
because today was extraordinary. It was the first day of A Christian Ministry
in the National Parks (ACMNP) services at Acadia for the 2014 season. At 7:15,
Luke and Sabrina rolled up in the SUV and whisked Ally and I away to the
Blackwoods Campground amphitheater.
We arrived 30 minutes before the service’s scheduled
beginning. We somewhat nervously and somewhat excitedly made last minute
adjustments and preparations for the impending service. Our total attendance
ended up being 2 humans and 2 of the world’s cutest dogs. One of the attendees
was Sabrina’s roommate. The other was a nice local gentleman who started coming
to ACMNP services last year when he stumbled upon a service while walking his
dogs in the campground. Overall, the service went well for our first time. Luke
and Ally were able to lead us well in some worship songs. If you tuned in for
the ACMNP training blog entry back in April you’ll remember that the singing
situation had a bleak outlook at the time. But, the Lord hath provideth.
After the service the four of us loaded back up into the car
and drove to Seawall Campground. Although we didn’t do a service there this
week because our permit from the National Park Service hasn’t come through yet
to allow us to do it, we wanted to see how long it took to drive over there. In
case you were wondering it takes 0:41 to drive from the entrance of Blackwoods
Campground to Seawall Campground and then to walk to and from the car to the amphitheater.
In other words, we’ll have enough time in between services.
We then began a day of adventures and bonding as a team.
First, we checked out Bass Harbor Lighthouse.
We then drove through the community of Southwest Harbor—the
sister city to Northeast Harbor. In case you were wondering, the road through
downtown is usually paved and pot-hole free.
Next we headed to the other side of Mount Desert Island to
check out Bar Harbor, or as we like to pronounce it, Baa-Haa-Baa. We checked
out where Luke and Sabrina each live and work at, ate lunch at a local café,
walked out to Bar Island during low tide, and walked all over the town. We even
took a quick nap in the village green under the shade trees.
About an hour before sunset we headed up Cadillac Mountain
to prepare for the sunset service. We set up our sign in the parking lot, a
cross in the natural amphitheater, and prepared ourselves for the throngs of
worshipers. They never came. But that ended up being just fine. We got plenty of
practice with the songs in the ACMNP worship book. I think we sound pretty darn
good. The people around us on the overlook may or may not have enjoyed hearing
a bunch of college-aged kids sing Christian worship songs. I suppose even if
they didn’t like it, there are still plenty of other worse things we could have
been doing.
Although she couldn’t stay for the service, the highlight of
the evening was when Karen from Texas came over and encouraged us to continue
what we are doing this summer as the 2014 ACMNP Team Acadia. Her exhortations
made a huge difference for all of us. We all felt God’s affirmation through her
words.
Today’s picture of the day is Sabrina, Ally, and Luke at
Blue Mountain Overlook at Cadillac Mountain for the sunset service tonight.
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