Belated Welcome to Water 2

Here are the faces and names of the hardworking men and women of AmeriCorps NCCC's Water 2 team, living and working here at Ferncliff right now. We are praying that they find their time here as much of a blessing as we find their presence and their labor!

 

Michelle

Hometown: New Orleans, LA

What are your plans after the NCCC? After NCCC, I plan to pursue nursing school and potentially work at a nonprofit focusing on healthcare.
Fun Fact about yourself: My initials are the same upside down.

 

Shira

Hometown:

Las Vegas, NV

What are your plans after the NCCC?  Go to school.

Fun Fact about yourself: I will try everything at least once. 

Katie

Hometown: Boise ID

What are your plans after the NCCC? 

 I plan to attend college for an undetermined degree and to travel across the U.S. and beyond.

Fun Fact about yourself: I like jumping into lakes of all temperatures and sizes.

Jeff

Hometown: Rockaway, NJ

What are your plans after the NCCC? 

I want to start grad school for Ancient History, be a TL in NCCC, or work for a non-profit.
Fun Fact about yourself: I’ve played trombone for 13 years and I’ve been to Norway.

 

Grace

Hometown: Fullerton, CA

What are your plans after the NCCC? After NCCC I plan on attending college.

Fun Fact about yourself: I am not very graceful.

 

Erik

Hometown: Dayton, OH

What are your plans after the NCCC? I hope to get involved with a non-profit organization and/or work for our government.

Fun Fact about yourself: I have been to Japan and I play a mean guitar.

 Emily

Hometown: Orange County, CA

What are your plans after the NCCC? After NCCC, I will start law school in hopes of becoming a human rights lawyer.

Fun Fact about yourself: I can touch my tongue to my nose.

Dani

Hometown: Seven Valleys, PA

What are your plans after the NCCC? I plan to either go into the Peace Corps or get a job in either disaster relief or archaeology

Fun Fact about yourself: I did an archeological field school in Bermuda during the summer of 2009, so I got to spend 5 weeks in Bermuda digging.

Chris

Hometown: Oak Grove, MN

What are your plans after the NCCC? I am not sure what I want to do after I leave NCCC.
Fun Fact about yourself: I dig stuff up.

Brandon

Hometown: Vinton, IA

What are your plans after the NCCC? I hope to move after the NCCC or go to college.

Fun Fact about yourself: I have approximately 200 pets at my house.

Anna

Hometown: Cranford, NJ

What are your plans after the NCCC? I plan to attend graduate school to study public policy and women's studies.

Fun Fact about yourself: I am a former competitive figure skater and fencer.

Window View

This photo was taken by Linda Brockinton, Queen of Ferncliff food service and champion dulcimer player.

Local Color!

Ever wonder what your favorite place to be in the summer looks like in the Fall (for a few days, at least)?

Summer Retrospective

One of our superb counselors from this past summer, Morgan Gilley, just posted a Note on Facebook, in which she reflects on her time as a part of our summer community. Her words warmed all of our hearts, and we can only hope to have future leaders as adorable, compassionate, and soulful as she is. Counselors like her are the reason our campers love camp! She was kind enough to give us permission to share her words here:

This summer I embarked on a journey that I really didn't know where it would lead me. To my surprise it turned out to be one the hardest; yet, rewarding summers that I think I will ever experience. I worked at Ferncliff a Presbyterian church camp in Little Rock for basically 9 weeks. [...] These 9 weeks were spent with kids from the ages of 7 to 19. [...]I spent everyday for 9 weeks, reading the Bible, praying before every meal, and leading a Bible study for an hour a day. Most of you all are thinking, so whats the big deal? Try doing this in blazing heat and screaming kids, some days you prayed way before your meals just to get you through the day. God tested me in so many ways this summer. Not only did he test me he blessed me with some of the most amazing people I would ever meet. My co-counselors were seriously like family to me. It was so easy to connect with them because we all had the same thing in common. We believed. We didn't care about people judging us. We were just us. I could be my own person. I guess what I'm trying to get at is now that I'm away from camp it sucks. People care waaaaayyyy too much about what others think of them. Just be YOU. God made you that way. Embrace it. If you have a weird looking nose, well darn! I have a crooked toe! It doesn't matter. Love yourself. I hate it when people say "I'm so fat, or I'm ugly." Who cares! Be your own person and not something someone wants you to be. I wish life now could be like camp then. A bunch of kids running around trying to capture the chicken (its a game) without a care in the world. Its hard to explain what this summer was like, but I know my other co-counselors will know. It's something you can't explain, it's something you have to experience. How one summer can finally make you realized nothing in the world matters except God. You can finally be your own person and be comfortable in your own skin. And you can finally embrace life like it was meant to be embraced.

Thanks so much, Morgan, for reminding us what's special about this place. We're so fortunate to have known you, and we hope you'll consider Ferncliff a home away from home!

Dirty Summer in the Dirty South

Margie has been getting down and dirty at Ferncliff this summer. No, really. Down. Dirty.

Sometimes a little dirty...and sometimes a LOTTA dirty.

But thank goodness she still likes cleaning-up!

Gill Reunion, Post Two; or the Post-Reunion Post

Would you just look at these faces?

And, for that matter, have a look at these behinds:

Thanks for that.


From my perspective, the Gill Family Reunion of 2010 was a big hit. We came together for swimming, fishing, boating, laughing, reminiscing, shady chute-ing, eating, volleyballing, talent showing, and sundry other sorts of merrymaking.

One noteworthy trend in the Gill Family demographic of recent years is the booming 0 to 6 age group. Little ones! So, yes, the weekend held much adorableness, much "awwwwwe"-ing, and many photo opportunities such as those above. It also held a quite a few opportunities for talking about playing nice, and particularly about sharing. When I think of it now, sharing is really what the weekend was about for all of us, not just the babies and toddlers. We shared smiles and tears. We shared meals and dances. We shared news from our lives. We shared space and time. We shared prayers (spoken and sung). And--as Jason mentioned in his sermon on Sunday morning--every time we come together we just dive right into the sharing with no hesitation. As a Gill-by-association, I marvel at how at-home I feel with the whole Gill clan and how they have been willing from the start to share their family with me. 

For this and for everything we shared, I thank God.

Gill Family Reunion, Post One

This weekend is a BIG one for the Arkansas branch of the Gill Family tree! All of our relatives from Papi's side of the family are coming to Ferncliff for a Gill Family Reunion. Gills (former Gills, honorary Gills, and Gills-by-association) will trickle in from places as diverse as California, Wisconsin, Georgia, Costa Rica, and England!  This works out nicely for Joel, Margie, and me because we only have to walk a few yards to attend! In fact, the last time we had a reunion here at Ferncliff Joel and I managed to sneak our wedding onto the itinerary. 

Margie looks forward to meeting all of her "new" cousins!

So I pledge to make a full report of the weekend of family fun. Happy Labor Day (and safe travels) to all!