Crew: Behind the Scenes

At 5:30 last Saturday morning, parents of kids in Crew stirred them awake, and we drove them to the river

in the dark. Fog was rolling over the river.

We couldn’t see our hands in front of our faces.

There was the sound of metal clanking as teams of volunteers drove stakes into the ground to set up tents.

Out of state buses lined the parking lot, leaving me wondering what time these families rose.

Hash Browns were poured out of cardboard gallon containers onto hot-oiled grills, and packages of bacon were unwrapped, taken straight out of coolers. Yogurt cups were lined up, while the servers wore flashlight headbands, trying to see what went where.

The work of Crew makes you ravenously hungry. We lined up bowls of fruit, breakfast bars, and we couldn’t make the sandwiches fast enough. Our hands were cold, and we did our best to wear gloves while we worked… but that was harder.

Finally, the sun broke out, and what was once covered in darkness had light.