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Earl and Pearl Meet the Tiny Tornado of Camp Bee · Travel With A Purpose

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, fellow Stowturners.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Dave Light, and welcome to Travel with a Purpose, a podcast designed to keep Stowjourners and friends informed, entertained, and inspired.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: In today's episode, we're going to hear about the time Earl and Pearl Traveler met the Camp Bee Tiny Tornado.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: By the time Earl and Pearl had been at Camp Bee for two weeks, they had learned several important truths.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Coffee is essential.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Duct tape is ministry equipment, and Thursday's potluck at the lodge is sacred.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's another one.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: When Pat Raines says I've got a little project, what she really means is congratulations, your schedule now belongs to me.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Pat is a camp bee legend.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Former office administrator, unofficial landscaper, and master of the yard blower.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: She's the queen of hand and foot.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And the undisputed champion of organized productivity.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: She may be short in stature, but Pat has enough energy to power three golf carts and half the honeycomb.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, one Tuesday morning, Earl and Pearl were quietly enjoying breakfast outside their RV when Pat appeared like an energetic garden gnome on a mission.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Morning, Earl.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Earl smiled nervously.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning, Pat.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well I've got a tiny project I need a little bit of help with.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Earl immediately lowered her coffee cup.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Oh dear.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Earl saw Pat was pushing a wheelbarrow full of enough tools to start a small gardening store.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing major, she said.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just hedges by the lodge, mulch around the flower beds, organize supplies, repaint a few bird houses, and maybe clean up around the honeycomb.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Earl blinked.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: By this week?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Pat laughed.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: No, Earl before lunch.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so the workday began.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: By eight AM Earl was wrestling hedge trimmers.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: By nine thirty, he was moving flower pots and wondering how Pat could be in five places at once.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: By ten forty five, Earl had developed a personal relationship with his wheelbarrow and mulch.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then at exactly eleven thirty, Pat called out like an enthusiastic drill sergeant.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Lunch break.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: The angels themselves could not have sounded sweeter.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Earl, returning to the RV, slumped in his chair and sighed like a man who had wrestled a raccoon and lost an argument with a zero turn mower.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well then at one PM the can't be crew met for devotional.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Songs were sung, scripture was shared, hearts were encouraged.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Earl leaned over to Pearl and said This is the best part of the day.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Pearl smiled.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's also the only part where Pat lets us sit down.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well as soon as devotional ended, Pat stood and called out All right, folks, break time is over.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: These projects aren't going to finish themselves just because we prayed over them.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Earl pulled himself out of his chair.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: Groans and pops were heard all around, and Pat smiled and said, Good, that means Earl's warmed up and ready for my tiny project.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: The afternoon was a blur of rake, paintbrushes, ladders, and Earl repeatedly saying, I thought that was the last project.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well finally, at four thirty, Pat clapped her hands.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, folks, the work day is officially over.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Any further effort counts as showing off.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Earl dropped his rake so fast it bounced three times.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well later at six o'clock sharp, can't be shifted into evening mode.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: The lodge became the center of all activity.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Some gathered around the television.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Some swapped stories from years of sojourner adventures, and then there was hand in foot.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Pat entered the lodge like Tiger Woods on the final hole of the masters.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Sheila Little appeared and called out Are you ready to rumble?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Cards were shuffled, chairs were scooted, and Pat pulled out her customized hand in foot wooden card rack.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Earl sat down confidently beside Pearl.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: How hard can this be?
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well three rounds later, Earl had learned several things.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: First, hand in foot was far more serious than it looked.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Second, Pat played with the strategic precision of a high school band leader.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Third, don't take too long playing your hand or you will hear from Pat.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Earl, Pat said kindly but firmly, you play so slow the shuffle card machine is starting to yawn.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Pearl laughed so hard everyone watching TV came over to see what Earl had done now.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, as the game ended, Aunt leaned back in her chair with the satisfied smile of a woman who had just conquered another hand and foot championship.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Sheila Little grinned beside her and said, Around here, hand and foot is the only exercise where folks can pull a muscle reaching for the discard pile.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Later, sitting in his camp chair under the RV awning, Earl smiled and said, Earl, this place is something special.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Earl nodded.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Hard work, good food, devotionals, friends, and evening fun.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well just then Pat walked by holding a rake.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Don't stay up too late, Earl.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Tomorrow we're planting shrubs.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Earl stared up at the yawning like a man in a trance.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Do shrubs count as tiny?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Earl patted his arm.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: It can't be with Pat nothing is tiny.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know Hebrews ten twenty four tells us and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good work.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: It can't be Pat's tiny projects may wear everyone out, but they also bring people together in service, devotion, encouragement, and joyful fellowship.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Earl learns that even busy days and sore muscles can become part of something meaningful when shared with God's people.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, friends, thanks for listening to this podcast.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: I invite you to subscribe and share it with others.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Dave Leighton, and remember we glorify God as together we travel with a purpose.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Happy sojourning.