Extreme....yeah right!

Yeah, I just jumped off the side of a cliff. What a rush!

This was tame compared to the stuff that the climing guy Josh has done. One step at a time I guess. i am really digging this rappeling stuff. And If I can find a mountain in florida I am totally going to climb it! HA HA

I am back

Yes I am back...back online (blogging) and back at Camp Baldwin. I spent the last week here and missed the opportunities to update my blog. But I am here, alone.

No kids, no wife. Please pray for me! I got 2 more weeks and a total of 21 days away from my family. This is a great time to focus (me and Jesus time) but it is lonely too.

I had lots of participants this week in my program. But only 1 actually completed all the requirements. I made some great headway with some of the Staffers and I hung out with some old friends from last years camp that visited this year.

Elizabeth "Betty" Hazelhurst

10/26/ 1933-7/18/2008

Known as 'Grandma' around these parts. Betty was the ultimate cheerleader and a great encourager. We loved her so much; she will be missed greatly.

Many people wear thier religion as a trophy to be paraded around for all to see. Betty simply loved, just as Jesus commanded, "to love one another". She never wanted to be the center of attention or to make too much fuss about life's problems, she knew that as long as we stuck together and loved one another, everything would be alright.

We don't have to say 'good-bye' to this great woman, just "see you later". She left this earth in peace, and will meet us again in heaven.

LDS Week

So it is not offically called LDS week by Boy Scouts, but 1 week a per summer all the Northwest camps have a "monday start week". This is to accomidate those troops who want to worship Sunday and begin camp on Monday. Many LDS church troops sign-up a year in advance to secure this week. So out of 28 troops, 4 are non-LDS.

All that to say is, that it has been difficult to get participation from Scoutmasters. They take care of all of their spiritual formation 'in house' so they need little imput from the outside. For example I had 20+ scouts interested in my Chaplain's Aid program...this week I have 2. My interaction with scouts and leaders has been positive, just not as many opportunities as in the past weeks. I am trying to be intentional without chasing people off.

Keep the prayer coming!

Pics Galore

Twice in a week

I just had my 1st 'Christian' chapel Service. It went really well. I had about 25 kids and adults which is 10% of the total camp. That was my average last summer, so its good to see. The sad thing is as I go from camp to camp, talking about godly things the older (15+) scouts are not interested at all. At one campsite I was ignored, by all 25 scouts and leaders except 4 and not one of them was an adult. I got a little emotional leaving that campsite, I just saw in action the disconnection MY generation and the 'boomer' generation has had with God and their children. In my humble opinion, having 'faith' in Scouts seems to be an inconvenience for many. Now I'd like to add their are some great Christians here too, there is a very obvious line between the two. In some sites God is embraced and in others God is treated with mild neglect. Keep praying for these scouts.

Got to swim this week, and shoot guns! The water was a glacial 65 degrees, with a 60 degree wind chill. Once you get wet you can't escape the cold! Caleb was shivering!

I know i promised pics...next time...

We all made it safely

I promised myself that I would blog more while I am here and keep you all informed more than once a week...like twice a week. So....I am not as on top of it as I had hoped,but it is not because of laziness, I just run out of time. The day starts at 6am and I get to shower and bed around 10:30-11:00pm. I will do better this week.

Camp details:
We are at a Boy Scout Camp near Dufur, Oregon. We expect about 2,000 campers this summer. This week we have over 300 including staff. I just had my chapel service last night and it went great, except I forgot the second verse to 'Blessed Be The Name', but I challenged the Scouts to pray. I cannot mention or teach about Jesus specifically here but I am believing that the power of the Holy Spirit will convict these kids and adults to a deeper relationship with Christ. The simplest way would be for them to simply pray and allow God to do his work, and if God is who he says he is and can do what he says he can do; then prayer is enough. Cessie said that I balanced that line well and maintained my Christian integrity, and REALLY put God on the line to show up. So pray that those who take up this challenge will see some fruit early and often.

The kids are doing great, of course. They are picking up where they left off; playing with sticks and singing all the camper's songs. Plus, their is a lake for swimming and about 50 horses we get to ride. This is gonna be a great summer!

I'll post some pics later this week.

Today it begins!

Ok this is last years picture, but today I am leaving for Oregon. This time I will be flying into Seattle to visit family for a couple of days and pick up a vehicle that my uncle has graciously allowed us to borrow. (Thanks Uncle Scott!)

I will be ministering to thousands of Boy Scouts at a Camp just 10 mile east of Mt. Hood. We will enjoy an awesome staff of teenagers and scouts age 12-18. This is an equestrian facility, so horse back riding and gun shooting will be a normal part of our schedule. Oh yeah, and a huge lake is on the property with 60 degree water. Brrrrr!

Getting here was amazing, as usual. 4 weeks ago we bought our plane tickets on faith, without knowing where the money was coming from. Well through 6 or 7 crazy circumstances, (not one circumstance was linked with another) sums of money began to arrive from various places. Someone sold some furniture, people sent checks from out of state, even some classmates from my High School reunion gave an awesome gift. All in all the tickets are covered. Thanks everyone!

Oh, by the way, our house got rented for the next 2 years also. 10 months into this process, God brought the perfect family to use our house. What a relief!

Can you feel the momentum picking up? I certainly can. Some big things are on the horizon.

KingMaker Update

Oregon Trip

God gave me the opportunity to go back to Oregon this summer. If you are not sure what I am talking about, I will be a Chaplain for the Boy Scouts of America again this summer. I will be ministering to about 3000 scouts and scoutmasters at a Camp at the base of Mount Hood, Oregon. The Pacific Northwest is in desperate need for Godly leadership, so much so that they are flying me in from Florida. It was an awesome Adventure last year, so when they called this year I had to say yes.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I actually began planning like I was going by myself for the 7 weeks. Yeah, thinking about being away from the family for that long was a little nerve wracking but because of Cessie's school test in July and the cost of tickets, it just didn't look possible for us to go together. Well...

Cessie was able to take her Elementary Education test early (and passed, yeah!) and some very unexpected money has come our way to buy one of the 3 plane tickets we need to get the rest of the family to Oregon. We are only 2 tickets short, about $1000 for both. Someone has graciously let us borrow their truck while we are there, so everything is coming together.

We are asking for some huge prayer support while we're gone. and if God moves in your heart to give to offset the cost of these tickets, please obey him. We are going in faith, and i have been working some side jobs to help us get through the summer.

Send tax free gifts to our Address: 716 Caliente Dr. Brandon, FL 33511

Make checks payable to: Global Reach Foundation

Keep praying:
For our house to sell or get rented...had some great contacts lately
Travel safety, We leave June 26th and return early August.
2Tickets and travel expenses totalling $1500.

Computer Geek

Yeah it has been a little while...It is all because of Claude Cannon and his Assembly business. I worked with him while in college, 8 years ago. I put gas grills and wheelbarrows together, it is something that makes some money but I hate it. I am not cut-out for that kind of work. Needless to say it has kept me off-line for awhile. But this is my last week...yeah!

OK now that that its off my chest the real blog follows:
I really gotta pat myself on the back for my internet page editing prowess. I am not as computer savy as Jason or Claude, but I just successfully linked my (this) blog to my Kingmaker website.

I used Iframe, which I had no idea existed until about an hour ago. It essenitally opens a window on my website to peer through and control the blog site. A pretty nifty thing if I say so myself.

Check it out (here).

My next project is to learn how to copy and post a screenshot onto my blog. Any hints?