Day 3 Jambo: Work Service Day

6:00 AM the boys are up and preparing breakfast like a small army.  The fog is thick and low just like yesterday morning.

Today was our Day of Service.  We stood in line with 30 or so other troops, then boarded a bus for a local state park.  After about 30 minutes, I turned to see how the boys were doing.  It looks like arising early and working your body all day while you're growing can make you fairly tired!

The state park had 3/4 miles of trails near the visitors center that had been overtaken by nature.  This county of West Virginia is the second poorest in the nation.  They needed our help.  Imagine what could be done by 40,000 scouts in one week!  The head of the State park was so impressed with the boys.  He said to me at least three times, "These boys are so nice, so well behaved, such good workers..."  He seemed shocked.  Here he is teaching our boys how to use a scythe to cut the grass and weeds that have grown in the trails.

The boys divided into two groups and got to work.  The two trails we reclaimed were loop trails, so, just like the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, each team started at one end and worked toward the other.  Here some boys reclaim a picnic area:

They started out working alone, then figured out it was more effective and more fun to work as a team.

We did not teach them this, they figured it out on their own.

At the end if the second loop 'race', the boys cheered like a football team

The reward?  1) reclaimed path, the result of good hard work.

2) a beautiful view of 'New River', the world's second oldest river.

Then back to camp for dinner, rock wall climbing, and a water challenge course.

Dinner tonight was Jambalayacorn and corn bread.  There is alwaysote food than we eat.  We entertained the chaplain of the camp in our troop tonight.  He is a Lutheran minister from Central Pennsylvania, and a very kind and good man.  I would not be surprised if one of the boys gives him a book of Mormon before the camp is over. 

The "Preach my Gospel sessions tonight were wonderful; talking about the living prophets, the Ten Commandments and the covenants we make to live the lord's commandments when we are baptized.  The boys are doing a great job with their assigned presentations.