June 2021--Month of the Sacred Heart

God Has Blessed Us During the Month of the Sacred Heart
We couldn't have picked a better month to go full swing into "business" at the retreat center.  After all, Heart Ridge is named after the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  We want everyone who comes here on an event to ponder that great, mysterious love.  

Our first camp started on the weekend of that great feast and it truly was an outpouring of grace and love to not only all of the families that attended, but also for the interns and us.   

We also finished our Lakeside Lodge this month and received our occupancy permit on Friday, June 11th, the actual Feast of the Sacred Heart.  (Yes, just in time to start our camps using that building.)

We felt the love during our first camp.  God truly blest our time.  We had great weather, saw beautiful nature, but more importantly saw His love between the family members and towards each other.  We heard many parents say how much they appreciated this time to open up and talk together, heart to heart as a family.  We also saw how well the families got along with one another.  Parents talked together like lifelong friends.  Kids played and played, from toddlers splashing in the creek to teens playing knockout in the gym.  
A word that could sum up each day was, joy.  Everyday brought joyful parents and kids together, eager to see what God had in store for them that day.  ​

Meet the Interns and Our New Assistant, Ben
Nothing is by coincidence.  We believe that God sent us exactly who we needed for this time of the retreat center.  After a workday in the spring, a young man approached us asking if we needed more help. (And just by coincidence, we did!) We knew this young man as a grad from St. Joseph Catholic School class of 2008, Ben Weiskurcher.  Ben had been in formation with the Adorno Fathers, but recently had decided that he'd like to be a Diocesan priest.  He is spending the required year of discernment working at Heart Ridge.  Not only is he very handy and skilled at outdoor crafts, but he is kind and joyful to all the guests who come here.  Ben has become the jack-of-all-trades.  We also put him in charge of our interns.  
Our first team of summer interns have set the bar high for future interns.  They have worked very hard helping us to get the camp ready to go for the summer programs.  Now while serving at the camps, they've built great relationships with the kids and their families and have led the programs with joy and energy.  

Meet the Interns and Our New Assistant, Ben
Nothing is by coincidence.  We believe that God sent us exactly who we needed for this time of the retreat center.  After a workday in the spring, a young man approached us asking if we needed more help. (And just by coincidence, we did!) We knew this young man as a grad from St. Joseph Catholic School class of 2008, Ben Weiskurcher.  Ben had been in formation with the Adorno Fathers, but recently had decided that he'd like to be a Diocesan priest.  He is spending the required year of discernment working at Heart Ridge.  Not only is he very handy and skilled at outdoor crafts, but he is kind and joyful to all the guests who come here.  Ben has become the jack-of-all-trades.  We also put him in charge of our interns.  
Our first team of summer interns have set the bar high for future interns.  They have worked very hard helping us to get the camp ready to go for the summer programs.  Now while serving at the camps, they've built great relationships with the kids and their families and have led the programs with joy and energy.  

​In the above picture, see Ben on the end.  Here is Zoe from Fort Mill . She is studying music therapy at Duquesne.  Sophie is from Greenville.  She's attending Anderson University studying childhood therapy.  And on the right is Maura.  She is a grad student at Clemson studying architecture. Joining them for the rest of summer will be our oldest son, Gabe, a senior at St. Joseph's in Greenville.​

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​Lakeside Lodge is Finished!
After 7 long months of construction, through workers shortages, and lumber prices going through the roof, we have finally opened Lakeside Lodge for occupancy.  Look for my HGTV-worthy video coming soon to show some before and after shots.  We couldn't be more pleased with the results.  Not only is it awesome in appearance, but it offers so much to our guests.  It's got lots of meeting spaces and plenty of rooms for lodgers.  The outdoor pavilion that looks out over the lake is perhaps our favorite part.  
We do still have some work to do on the landscaping side of it as well as some second coats of paint.  Oh, and the library needs the new built-in shelves stained, but I think that's it.