Reinvigorated

I have served on the Mountain T.O.P. board of directors for all but two of the past 11 years. I was a camper every year from 1993 through 2003, and for many of those years I attended two separate week-long camps during the summer. I missed being a camper in 2004 and again this year, in part because of my foreign mission trips but also because the ministry did away with the two programs in which I most often participated, Summer Plus and Kaleidoscope.

A couple of months ago, though, I was ready to quit the board in mid-term. We had been through an emotionally-draining behind-the-scenes change in the ministry; I had to miss several key meetings due to work commitments and felt like I was letting the ministry down; and after several years of sagging camper numbers we were in need of some major-league fund-raising, which is something I am no good at and which causes me major stress.

Now, however, I find myself reinvigorated. I’ve felt more needed recently, as I helped the staff and board by editing and rewriting various letters and other publicity material. Even though I missed out on some of the search committee’s early meetings, I still ended up playing an active part in our search for a new executive director. When we finally had a candidate hired, I worked hard to prepare the press release and get the word out.

And, since I’m apparently not going on a foreign trip next year, I am looking forward to being back on the mountain as a camper, perhaps even bringing along some others from my church.

I find myself enthusiastic about Mountain T.O.P. again, and feeling like a vital part of things again.