3.2 miles in 2 hours!

Remember the last time you sat in traffic… crawling along at a snails pace… for hours?

Well, at Shepherds Camp we call that more fun that a person should be allowed to have.  Hayrides are a camper favorite at Shepherds Camp.  This year our hayrides are extra special because they fit right in with our western theme - WANTED: a person after God’s own heart.

Yesterday we were blessed with abundant sunshine, warm weather and a hay wagon full of fresh hay bails.

It’s the first week of camp and our new mini golf course has been an exciting and accessible addition to Shepherds Camp!

God told me at Walmart

We are in the midst of Staff Training, preparing for a full summer of ministry here at Arrowhead. 

We have a diverse group of staff from all over the country who are excited to call Arrowhead their home, job, hang out, ministry… life for the next few months.  On the first night I was hanging out with some of the new staff, listening to stories of where they live, how they got to camp and their expectations of the summer.

Breanna (from South Carolina) exclaimed that God told her at Walmart… that Arrowhead was where He wanted her this summer.  While standing in line at the check out a friend asked her if, “she was going to serve at that camp, Shepherds, this summer?”  Breanna had been praying and thinking about the opportunity and as she thought about her response… God gave her a confirming desire to say, “Yes!”

Breanna explained it with a quiet and firm confidence.  God had called her to Arrowhead this summer. 

I am excited to see how God uses this place and this summer to impact the lives of our staff as they in turn impact the lives of our campers.  We have had a great week of Staff Training and we are looking forward to the start of camp on Monday morning!

DAY CAMP Registration!

Is today at Arrowhead Parable Christian Store starting at 10am.  We will also have a few of the holes from our NEW 9-hole mini golf course set up in front of the store.

Our NEW 9-hole mini golf makes an appearance at the Special Olympics Spring Games.

11 to 8

Well, there's nothing like posting a few days later than you planned, especially when it's one of those "date sensitive" posts.  I suppose one of the up-sides to a belated post is the opportunity to create an intriguing post title.  So, here's my post that was planned for June 8th.

June 8th was a big day.  Besides being the first day of Staff Training it was also my sister-in-law's birthday and Kelly's and my 8th anniversary.  Kelly and I have been together for 14 years.  Wow, that's almost half my lifetime.

Staff Training is going well... and the first day of camp is Sunday the 13th!  This week is the first of 10 straight weeks.

Speaking of camp - we are in need of a few PA licensed nurses for a week or two this summer.  As you can imagine this is a big need.  We would love to hear from you if you are a nurse or if someone you know is a nurse... (contact Ben at 570.663.2419)

If that is not enough, just to make things interesting... I am currently finishing up week 5 of 8 in a curriculum leadership course for my master's degree.  This course end at the beginning of July and then I have one more course to take this fall which will complete my master's degree from Baptist Bible Graduate School.  Going back to July, we are one month away from Natalie's 5th birthday and Dela's due date (July 14th).  Then there's our FREE week of Day Camp and our new 1 to 1 Shepherds Camp week in July too.

We are certainly looking forward to what God has in store, what He plans to teach us about who He is and how that changes us.  Please continue to praise God with us and pray for us here at Arrowhead.

Last but not least - here are two quotes I read on a friend's blog which were encouraging, convicting and heart-piercing:

Sam Storms
“We must never presume that God will grant us apart from prayer what he has ordained to grant us only by the means of prayer".
Charles Spurgeon
“The minister who does not earnestly pray over his work must surely be a vain and conceited man. He acts as if he thought himself sufficient of himself, and therefore needed not to appeal to God.”

Work'n for the Weekend

This weekend a work group of students from Calvary Baptist in Reading came to camp. They spent two days getting camp ready for the summer and working on some special projects.  The students worked hard and we completed all the projects and tasks on the list.  Friday was a perfect day and Saturday's rainy forecast turned into sun for us.  It rained and thunder-stormed all night and into Saturday morning.  The rain stopped just before we started working for the day and the sun warmed things up nicely.  And then... we woke up to a good dusting of snow on Sunday morning.

Here are some stats from the weekend:

GARDEN PROJECT:
Created 200 sq. ft. of garden beds
Install 92 feet of split rail fence
Turned a 168 sq. ft. garden into a 2,016 sq. ft. garden

BASEBALL DIAMOND:
Removed 900 sq. ft. of sod
Installed over 10 tons of crusher dust

BUILDINGS:
Prepared 25 buildings for summer use

GROUNDS:
Grounds clean up and landscaping across 8 acres

MAN HOURS:
Over 300 hrs. = 2 months of work

Check out more pictures at: Work Weekend Slideshow