I'm still here

Dear Friends and Family, thank you all so much for putting up with my long delay in posting anything here.  I can't believe that it has been five months since my last post, and I am sorry.  I will try to get you up to speed, but unfortunately there will be no photos except the one to the right, as my camera was stolen and the replacement has not arrived yet.

Summer retreats and church camps have long passed and we are now drawing toward the end of the first semester of Bible School here.  It has been humbling to see God working in the lives of our nine students, and even using me to do so.  I have been leading worship every morning of the week, and then twice on Sundays.  I have also had the opportunity to teach quite a few of the morning devotional times and even a sermon and the small church we have started.  Also, I am the coordinator of one of the "classes" which the students are involved in; two hours of work Monday -Thursday that is done here at the campus.  Any little thing that I can help with I do, and I have experienced some of my life's greatest times of blessing and servanthood here at this Camp.  I know without the shadow of a doubt that God has put me here, and I don't want to move unless He moves me.  

One new addition that we have here at the camp is an official cook.  He learned from some of the great French chefs in California, and then moved out here to serve the Lord with his talent.  His name is Matt Lindberg, and he and I are currently roommates in the Male Staff Housing.  We get along great, and have become real brothers in Christ and we work together very well.  I will try to get a picture of him in one of my next blogs.

The students have been a real blessing and challenge at the same time.  Their study load has been pretty intense, and they really look forward to any time off that they can have.  However, they have made very noticeable  strides in their respective Christian lives.  Again, I will try to put a photo of them in at some point, but you can get all that if you go to www.calvarychapelnorthfork.com and click on the link for the college.  There are some really beautiful photos there.

One thing that I am very excited about is that my brother is coming out here for a visit. Ryan is currently working at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta, California and has found time to come and see Colorado for a few days.  I have not seen family since moving out here, this is really gonna be a treat.  He is also an excellent Bible teacher and counselor, so he will be teaching one of our Sunday Evening Chapel Services, and I am really looking forward to it.

Here in Western Colorado it is getting colder and colder with each passing week, and so I am once again putting on layers every morning before I venture out of my room.  The forecast for the upcoming week is not bad, with mostly clear skies, but the temperature never gets above 57 during the day or above 30 at night.  we have already had about 5 inches of snow up here, but it has al melted away now, so no real shoveling as of yet.  No doubt about it, though, there will be some very shortly.

God is doing something really big in my heart these days.  I have never been the teaching type, but somehow His Spirit has been giving me the presence of mind and the calmness to do it for some time now.  I don't know where it may lead, and quite frankly I don't much care.  It seems to me that wherever God wants to take me or leave me, that is His decision, and I need to stay faithful in the place that He has me at present.  I don't know what is next, or if I will be here for quite some time, but God's will isn't a fragile or unsteady thing, so I will simply leave my future in His hands and focus on living today to the hilt for His Glory and Honor.

God is faithful, folks, and so I leave you now in His hands and pray that you will know Him and walk in the abundant grace that He has extended to us.  He is coming very, very soon, so don't live one moment without acknowledging His presence.  He is holy and righteous and just, and His glory will be seen by the lost as it radiates from our lives as believers, so live always with the light of the Glorious Gospel illuminating your actions, and you will find more contentment and joy than you can grasp.  May God bless you and may you grow daily in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Finally, He Speaks

Wow, it has been nearly two months since my first post here, and I hardly know where the time has gone. We have been extremely busy here in Colorado, and I have hardly had time to catch my breath. It does at times feel as if my former notions of "God, are you sure you have the right man" were well founded, but I know that it was Him that sent me here, so I know He didn't make a mistake.

Much of what I have been involved in is maintenance and cleaning the property. When we arrived, the place was given to us in a real
mess, and we had only three weeks until the first of the Summer Camps arrived. We began the very next day with getting all the equipment and buildings into usable shape and never stopped a single day all those three weeks. It was interesting to see how God had prepared me for this period by giving me some experience with these very things earlier in life. He makes no mistakes, at all.

Now, we have been finished with the summer camps for a little while, and are beginning to have some church retreats and VBS camps come and use the facilities. We are even having a wedding here in two days. It really is exciting to see what God is doing here at Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je (I'd Rather Have Jesus), and to know that He is using me to be a part of making it happen. He really is Great, and I want my life to be spent in His service.

Just a note, I will be putting up a lot of these posts here in short order, because the internet connection here is now up and stable, so you will know a little more about my life here very shortly.

And We're Off

Well, it's two days before I leave for Colorado. I am all packed, and my car is literally loaded to the rafters. I guess playing Tetris has its practical applications, too. I can still see out the back window, and the passenger mirror is visible, so I think I'm alright. Packed and Ready to Roll

I am really starting to feel excited about this whole new direction that God is taking me in. Up until now it has been more of a feeling of, "Oh, I'm moving to Colorado at some undefined point in the future." Now, the feeling is a blend of an excited "I am moving to Colorado in two days" and a nervous "God, are you sure you have the right man."

My main responsibility in Colorado will be as an assistant to the administrator of the camp. I will be leading worship and overseeing maintenance. Jeff Christianson, the Pastor and Camp Administrator

Also, at the beginning of the next school semester, the camp will be an extension campus of Calvary Chapel Bible College, so I will be the Dean of Men and also teaching the Men's Discipleship class. Additionally, the Camp Administrator, Jeff Christianson, will be Pastoring a small church in the nearby town of Paonia, so I will be the Worship leader there and also training to be the Assistant Pastor.

This is really a step of faith for me. I am thoroughly convinced that this is the will of God for my life, and my excitement is growing every day. However, it can be a little unnerving, this walking by faith and not by sight. Please pray for me, that God would give me wisdom and strength to work for Him full time, and that the finances that I need would be provided. God has proven Himself to be more than faithful in the past, and I know that I am in the best of care. Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je West