Liza leads Newton on an adventure through the Snow

Happy Valentine’s month from all of us at Camp Illahee! We’ve continued to have beautiful snowy weather here in the “heavenly world”. Gardner woke up early on Saturday to explore camp with her camera. Of course Liza and Newton tagged along making fresh tracks in the snow. Patches and Luke have been hanging out in the pastures and the lakes are covered with ice. Enjoy this glimpse of Camp Illahee magic!

Pinecrest has been a quiet house with only Gardner and me. After our exchange student returned to Argentina, Gordon and Turner traveled to Bangkok, Thailand on February 4th for a two week mission trip in Southeast Asia. My dad joined them so there are three generations of our family represented. It hasn’t been your typical mission trip; much of the first week involved exploring the outlying countryside and villages via motorbikes. (Yes, they didn’t tell me that before they left!) Typical days were 300km of dirt road biking using GPS devices to find their way- the ultimate geo-caching. A highlight was staying near Chiang Mai for two days with an American missionary family who has been home-schooling their teen-agers. Turner enjoyed comparing notes with them, going to the market and even playing a few video games. The siblings will travel to the states next fall to begin college. Turner and Gordon will finish their week with other long term missionaries evaluating their projects and determining support that they need from follow up groups. Gardner and I will be excited to greet them on Friday night at the Asheville airport!

Luke and Patches head to the barn to warm up

On the domestic front, we’ve had a great time tuning into the Olympics on NBC. I wonder if we could spice up the Illahee Olympics with our own version of curling or maybe by adding some ice to the slip-n-slide! The dedication and discipline of the athletes is always so inspiring. But you know, I get to work with some really inspiring young people every summer. Illahee counselors always amaze me with their good humor, dedication to the girls at camp and willingness to dive fully into the community. Illahee is a beautiful camp, but the counselors and campers bring it to life. We are having a great time putting together next summer’s awesome group of counselors. Gretchen visited the University of Georgia where Kat Owen helped her recruit. She has also visited Emily Mehta, Annie Mieta and Meme Summerell at Davidson College, and Laurie caught up with Jennifer Gift, Mary Valentine and Kat Costello in Brevard. We will be posting a staff update- who’s returning and who’s new in early March and will send camp families the parent handbook and online links for activity sign ups and Ship Store orders. So stay tuned!

We are hearing from lots of alumnae who have been spreading the word about the May 14th alumnae weekend. Reunion information and registration can be found at http://campillaheereunion.myevent.com Please share that with other alumnae whom you know! Have a wonderful February and check back often for more news from “the heavenly world!”