What started as a summer job in college has become my home, my ministry… my life. I love serving God here at Arrowhead.

Don't blink!

A conversation yesterday came to a halt with the question, “So, how long have you been at Arrowhead?”  I paused for a moment, somewhat resembling a husband who was randomly asked how many years he had been married with his wife standing next to him.  This was of course, a much less stressful question.

My response was not what my friend was expecting.  “Wait, what’s today’s date!”, I exclaimed.  “Oh, man! Yesterday was the 14th.  Yesterday was 10 years!”

December 14th, 2001 was the day I pulled into camp with a truck and trailer full of my belongings… mostly junk I accumulated during High School.  But, I also had a few luxury items, gently used furniture that was given to me by family members.  My cousin and I unloaded everything in less than an hour (yeah, it wasn’t much) and I was officially settled in to my new home, new job, new ministry, new life.

10 years!  It feels like I just got here… aside from almost a dozen unforgettable summer camps, hundreds of staff and volunteers, a multitude of guest groups, and big changes around camp that have culminated over the past decade.

I have greatly enjoyed the past 10 years.  I feel blessed beyond what I deserve.  God is doing great things and I am excited to see what He does over the next 10 years.

Alumni Story - Transformation

Thanks to everyone who has filled out an Alumni Form from the website (www.arrowheadbiblecamp.org).  We are continually blessed by the thoughts and stories shared through the form.

Here’s one of those stories from a current staff member.  He is a Lancaster Bible College student who has been coming to Arrowhead with one of our guest groups… a group that has had an annual winter retreat here at Arrowhead for over 15 years.

“Serving at Arrowhead has helped me care about what God cares about. It was a humbling experience… to serve in the context of camp ministry.  It is also a place that is very special to me.  I rebelled against God for 16 years of my life until I attended a winter retreat at Arrowh

ead.  I still remember sitting in the small room behind the gym on January 16, 2006 where I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.  I have the opportunity to go back each year and now serve as a leader of my high school youth group.  It is the same time every year so I have the unique privilege to sit in that room on the same day and same time every year and thank God for His work in my life.  Arrowhead is very special place to me.  It is awesome to be able to go back and serve at a place that has played such a huge piece in my spiritual transformation.”

"challenged, inspired and changed"

Winter is officially a month away… but we are thinking about Summer 2012 and the James Project.  Groups are already signing up.  We are excited for the huge impact they will have serving here at Arrowhead AND the impact Arrowhead will have on their lives.

Here’s what TLA had to say about their week as a James Project group this past summer:

“The summer did not slow down as we then hit the road with our team of 5-Level Leadership Athletes for New York to serve as staff members in a week long program for mentally and physically disabled individuals at Arrowhead Bible Camp (June 20-24).  I can honestly say this week challenged, inspired and changed all of us in ways that none of us expected as we learned the true meaning of terms such as love, servanthood, and friendship.  Bonds were formed with the campers and within our team that made it very difficult to leave with the common statement from the athletes in attendance being, ‘This was the most impactful week of my life… I’ll never be the same!’”.

Check out our new James Project video on the website media page.

Arrowhead's New Look

 

We are anticipating a big year of ministry in 2012.  We will be kick starting the new year with the unveiling of our new logo.  Stay tuned to the blog and our website to see Arrowhead’s new look.

Fall Retreat

We almost had to change the name of this weekend to “Shepherds Late Summer Retreat”.  Temperatures hit the mid 70’s.  Activities and free time were spent outside.  We even hit the greens on Saturday morning for some mini golf.  The only indication that it was fall were the bright red, orange and yellow leaves all around.

We had a great weekend for the Shepherds Fall Retreat.  It was fun to reconnect as a staff and reunite with our campers.

Check out our website for a full photo album from the weekend: www.shepherdscamp.org (go to the media page).

Bocce Ball at Arrowhead

With this weekend’s 40 degree rainy weather it is hard to believe that just last week we were enjoying a fantastic day of Bocce Ball with highs near 80 and the sun shining brightly.  It was a great day with over 100 athletes, coaches and volunteers on nine courts, for the annual Special Olympics Bocce Ball Tournament here at Arrowhead.

Many of athletes are also our campers.  It was a blessing to hear their excitement about the upcoming Shepherds Fall Retreat, just a week away.  We also had the opportunity to meet some new friends from the Special Olympics Area P, who coordinate athletes across five counties in northeast PA.