58/365

The Bear.

This bear was made for me. My Grandma's hands carved this bear for me in 1995. She has done far more beyond carving a bear though. My whole life when my parents went through tough times my grandma was always there to lift me as best as she could. every single month of my whole college carrier she would send me a care package showing her love to not only me, but my house mates as well.
This women is one of the rare that sings love in my life.

57/365

A Jewish boy at the falls.

Religion in its finest form. As me and Tony were at the falls a group of about 70 Jewish kids and adults came to see the falls. This little boy was just one of the may who had the magnificent curls hanging below the chin.

56/365

The falls.

This is what Niagra Falls looks like from the American side. I heard that the Canadian side is a class act compared to Amurika. I plan on checking it out some time soon to confirm the obvious.

55/365

Tony D one last time.

I appreciate this guy. He flew across America to hang out with me and, for the most part, his vacation in Buffalo was spent helping me move all of my things up 4 flights of stairs. This man

didn't complain once. I wish him well for the days ahead and hope that some day I will be able to repay the favor.

54/365

Two people testing their limits with the falls

nuff said...

53/365

Tony looking at a light post

This was after the Chris Isaak concert (I don't know how to spell that fools name). there was this giant light right behind the lamp post. This was a great chance to try and create a sweet shot with a friend.

52/365

Tony D

The first person to visit me in Buffalo. A day after my 5 weeks of camps came to an end he was in Buffalo. I was in my new apartment only 6 hours more than he has. we slept on futon pads and air mattresses and had a great time.

51/365

I Loved this place

Before the kids came into the communion service I just sat in this room and played the guitar. I sang whatever came to my heart and let self expression take hold of me. In the distance I could hear people gathering. We gather with the notion and understanding that our thoughts will be opened tonight. The notion that you can freely express anything that has stricken your heart and you wont get looked down for it. What a beautiful place this is.

50/365

Mim (Australian) and Logan

Quite possibly the two most talented campers at spec. Mim can play the piano and sing her way through the hardest of souls. Logan, with his guitar and vocals, can hit the most unique ranges of sound that any human being, regardless of background, would stop and listen to what he has to say. If these two got ever got Married there baby would be the next Zues of music.
by the way they have great personalities too.

49/365

Katelyn and Stephanie cheering the West Pony delegation

I found West Pony to be a unique delegation. I'm not sure if it was the mind set of the staff or the attitude of the campers but West Pony was great at looking past the negative aspects of competitiveness and just enjoying the short time we had together. Whenever someone was not playing a game they were at another game cheering on their new found friends. Win or lose it didn't matter, West Pony knew how to gain the fullest potential out of this camp.

48/365

Jay Hicks with his grill

Only knew the kid for a week and by the end of those seven days I felt like me and him were best friends. That was feeling I got from many of the campers. I'm not sure why but in these situations (camps or spec) it seems like people go into them knowing that they're going to meet new people and to be ready and willing for the relationships to happen. I wish that was the view of everyday life. Just picture if everyone had that mindset while walking along a street or something like that. Just think of how many friends we could have gained.

47/365

Elliot (from Australia) creating awareness for Outreach International

Outreach did a great job this year making sure their voice was heard during Spec. They were very action oriented and involved not just the outreach staff, but the campers in their outreach. If you haven't yet, I suggest going to their website and finding ways to support their ideals because they really are very efficient and effective in the way they use the money they receive.

46/365

Some of the members of the glorious green basketball team

Spec is usually pretty competitive and many people dislike that camp because of the divisions the sports causes but these boys took that matter into their own hands. They created a team that did nothing but goofed off the whole game and Jeff and I (we were the coaches) ran with it. We brought poster boards with plays written on them, such as the sling shot and barn yard, and had a great time acting like complete fools.
because of this team a new rule for spec was actually created. The new rule is this, you cannot roll on the ground while in play of basketball because that creates sweat spots on the floor.
The Sweat spots were from Justin Mullens when he was instructed to do nothing but break dance while on defense.
can't wait to see what rules we create next year.

45/365

West Pony delegation at Spec

The camps are over...
5 weeks of non-stop movement.
5 weeks of 6 to 7am mornings and 12 to 1am nights.
5 weeks of strangers becoming friends.
5 weeks of incredible love that I am so thankful for.
5 weeks of camp.

so now what?
now the real work starts.