Future Plans

There have been a lot of questions coming from various friends and family about our future plans. In our last letter we hinted that we would be pursuing other options outside of Youthfront since the seminary piece of our journey is over.

While we care immensely about Youthfront’s ministry to students, we have found the kind of life required here does not match our family needs. So, for this and a few other reasons, we have begun to seek opportunities in other places. Most of our searching has been in the local church, but a few other things have caught our eye also. Our passion for ministry is the same, but the venue will change.

At Youthfront, some transition has already begun to take place. I have moved out of the formal Camp West Manager position into a supporting role for both camps, which will allow them to find the people they need for empty management positions and give me freedom to quickly and easily move into a new ministry role elsewhere.

This also means that we will be moving out of the manager’s house at Camp. In May last year, we bought a fixer-upper in Midtown. We had not done much with it, but over the last couple months I have been spending Saturdays and personal days to get it ready.

Currently, our plan is to remain with Youthfront until God reveals what specific ministry organization or church I will be going to next. When this becomes clear, we will be ready to go.

Thank you for your support and your prayers. I hope you will continue to support us through this transition. Whenever our path has a clear line, we will do our best to update you as soon as possible.

Also, I realize you may have questions. I am always free to talk to you. You can call, email, or stop by and see me anytime.

Kid Corner

Isaiah smiles all the time! He is the happiest baby we’ve ever seen. We like to cuddle, hug, and kiss him all day long. For halloween he was a pumpkin, I (Abi) was a cat, and Anna was a butterfly.

Another Leak

“We’ve got another leak Jon.”

“Where is it?” I asked cautiously.

“Outside cabin 6,” the voice said.

This is the fourth time this year that we have had to dig up the ground to repair an in ground water leak. The weather has been really hard on our underground plumbing.

Thankfully, I rarely have had to do it alone. This time, I got so spend a lot of time with Jeff Birnbaum and David Wilson. For two days we spent a lot time in the bottom of a hole, brushing off PVC pipe (to find the pipe), then making the repairs.

I look forward to the day, when digging up pipes in a muddy mess, is only a memory. But I will always miss the time with guys like Jeff and David.

Pray for them as they help with the ongoing maintenance of facilities. They are incredibly helpful and work for very little. They are a blessing to Youthfront, to camp, and to us.

Working with guys like this makes a difficult job seem easy

Youthfront in the Fall: Blessed and Busy

What happens in the “off-season” at our camps is a little surprising to some.

In the “off-season”, we host retreats at our camps. The first fall retreat happens on the first weekend after camp ends. From then on, almost every weekend till Thanksgiving is full with church groups.

The groups range from 25 to 250 people. In the summer, we have camp for 5-1/2 days, with around 50 summer staff to pull it off. In the fall, we have “camp” type of atmosphere for about 2 days , with 2 staff and a bunch of volunteers.

We love to serve churches in this way. Camp has had such a huge impact in all of our lives, and we are eager to help churches experience those same benefits.

The day after a retreat is usually spent cleaning up. Every building has to be vacuumed, and every bathroom needs to be cleaned.

In the “off-season”, we do projects. The only truly down time for Youthfront Camps is from Thanksgiving to February 1st, which means its the only time for larger projects. During this time we usually do major repairs on buildings, service all of our ATVs, catch up with our supporters, and fix the things that have been driving us crazy all year. Its busy, but its a different kind of busy.

In the “off-season”, things are quite (mostly). This is probably my favorite part of the off-season. When campers are gone things get really quiet. There is a lot of walking with no one in sight. It is common to see no one for days. This gives us a lot of time for thought, prayer, and song. We still have a lot to do, but no one looks at us funny when we walk around talking or singing out loud. The “off-season” is good for our spiritual lives.

All in all, I will miss not only the summers, but also the off-seasons at Youthfront Camp West. They have been always busy and blessed. As we look forward to the future of our ministry. The off-seasons will be something I miss for the rest of my life. The land, the beauty, the people, and the solitude.