Friday, August 7, 2015

August Update - Going to Orovada

We are winding down at Fir Point Bible Camp.  The four weeks of Fir Point youth camps are over.  This week we are completing a few other projects.  This weekend (August 8 and 9) we will go to Brookings to pack up my office and a few other personal things.  We will say our good-byes on Sunday then return to our storage unit in Grants Pass.  We have to spend a day or two re-organizing our stuff to see what else we want to get rid of, and the stuff we are keeping will be put in new boxes.  We bought a whole bunch of the same size heavy duty boxes.  It only took us a few years to realize that things stack better if all the boxes are the same size. Duh. 

So the last four weeks have been quite busy.  I tended to the youth camps making sure that everything was working properly and if something broke, I would get right on it. I also had several SWAT (servants with a task) team members to work with me around the camp. Together we cut and stacked several cords of firewood, picked up leaves, repaired and painted many things. Such as the flag pole.  Every morning the campers meet by the flag pole for flag raising and morning devotion.  One morning while all the kids were listening to the devotion the wooden flag pole fell over missing everyone. So we made a new flag pole. It was a 24' pole made of metal poles all welded together.  We cemented the base into the ground and several of the young men and I put it up like the marines on Iwo Jima.

Dayle worked in the kitchen as the salad bar queen for the last four weeks.  She was in the kitchen every day from 2 to 8 not only doing the salad bar but also helping out where ever she was needed. She also sewed curtains for some of the cabins and chapel.

Today Dayle was raking up around the wood shed when she disturbed an in ground nest of bees.  Within seconds she was swarmed and stung at least five times.  Dayle has been stung before but never five times. She started swelling up and feeling nauseous.  She took Benadryl and started feeling better. Now she still has some swelling .  If she isn’t any better tomorrow, I’ll take her to the immediate care in Grants Pass. Who would of thought that raking leaves would be so hazardous.

Some of the other projects completed around here the last few weeks included replacing worn out linoleum in the kitchen, cutting and splitting firewood, climbing up light poles and replacing the photo cells, replacing the wood ramp to one of the cabins, and much more.  Needless to say, we have been quite busy.
           
We did take a couple of days off and went to the coast and spentsome time with Stephen and Neeley and the kids as they drove up for a little vacation.  We have a real good time and we got to celebrate Stephen’s 40th birthday with him.

But the highlight of this past month, actually the highlight of the past five years was attending the 100th anniversary of Immanuel Baptist Church in Klamath Falls.  (This is the church where I was the pastor for 9 ½ years.)  The entire weekend was quite an event with a picnic on Saturday and then a wonderful service on Sunday.  I was asked to be one of four speakers. Each one of us was allotted 15 minutes.  During the service the platform was filled with musicians and singers.  Instrumentalists included guitar, violins, cello, piano, trumpet, bass guitar, and drums. The music and the song selection was the best that I have heard in a very long time.  But the best part was when I realized that most of the musicians were kids most of which we watched growing up. Now as if that wasn’t emotional enough, when it was my turn to preach I almost lost my composure as I stood behind the pulpit.  I had preached from this pulpit for 9 ½ years and to be standing there again reminded me of the best 9 ½ years of our life.  We had poured our lives into this church and to see how these kids have grown into fine Christian young men and women and to see how well the church is still doing was overwhelming.


So our plan is to leave Fir Point on the 18th right after Dayle has her second infusion and then drive east to Klammath Falls and then arrive in Orovada, Nevada on the 19th or 20tht.  We are so looking forward to getting back to work in a pastoral role.  It has been way too long.  I hope we don’t have to rake any leaves in Nevada.

We covet your prayers as we tie up things at Fir Point and as we travel to Nevada.  Also please pray for the ministry in Orovada.  Also pray for Fir Point Bible Camp and for additional help to maintain the property.
       


Our next update will be from Orovada.


Please send us an email or even give us a phone call once in a while. We’d love to hear from you.

Shelley for the both of us.
Semper Famulus
(Always Serving)



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