Why so late a blog, you might ask? Because today was the annual “If We Give You a Party You Might Not Quit” day in National Ministries Division (NMD), otherwise known as the NMD Staff Retreat. It is fairly rare that the minions of PresbyLand get to see the sunlight (unless you happen to have a coveted window), and even rarer to see division director Curtis Kearns in anything but a full suit (although I still don’t think khakis count as truly casual, even when you try to dress it down with the baseball cap).

But on that one celebrated day of the year, NMD puts us all on buses and hauls us out to some random deserted farm in Indiana. There, we frolic like children, gorging ourselves on sweets and playing fun farm games most of the day. This year’s site featured such allurements as sand volleyball, catch-and-release fishing, hiking, and a fully stocked snack bar with games.

I whiled away the morning with several fun activities—my team beat Brianne’s in the corn bag toss, 19-17. And I made the clinching hole-in-one!! Then I went upstairs to the arcade and (I hate to admit this, my non-violent, vegetarian friends) shot 5 bucks and 12 wild turkeys in the destructive hunting arcade game. That game had this sick habit, too, of doing an instant replay of the buck falling every time you killed one…. I finally got bored with all that and hung out with some other folks before departing to lunch. I did get in trouble for getting on the wrong bus when we left, though, and they had to send out the search party for me. Bad, bad Kelsey. That’s what happens to you when you’re one of the youngest people in the division.

There are only two other large-scale celebrations for NMD staff—the building-wide All-Staff Picnic (see the May 12 post) and the NMD Christmas Party. While the food and activities are much better at the NMD Retreat, they give us gifts at Christmas.

So that was the day… since they didn’t make us do anything too incredibly cheesy, I will refrain from any sarcastic remarks. And hey, I’m not going to complain when they pay me to hang out at a retreat center all day. Particularly when there’s a fully stocked snack bar.

“Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do.” --Ecclesiastes 9:7

Kelsey

Kelsey,
The official name of the game you played is "corn-hole," and its the official sport of Cincinnati. It's quite the rage - there are tournaments at nearly every public event, officially licensed vendors for the boards, and long set of rules and regulations. Was your set an official corn hole set?