Summer...

Ready or Not...Summer is Here:
After a week of Staff Training our first group of the summer has arrived here at camp; an inner city ministry from Washington D.C. The leaders have a clear passion and vision for the youth in their community and they have been thoroughly enjoying their time at Arrowhead. Their program is focused on the spiritual formation of students in the face of the cultural influences of media. Beside the normal camp stuff like tons of good food, swimming in the lake, foosball, and basketball in the gym; they have program activities revolving around the media. The group leader wrote two plays which the campers are practicing and will perform tonight for the whole group. All of the campers have broken into groups which have been spending time creating inspirational films for their peers. Their films will be shown tonight after the plays. They have been a pleasure to serve and a joy to partner with. It is exciting to see believers who understand their community and are seeking to meet their actual needs. The interesting thing about it is that even though this group and camp are very different...we are like-minded and our passion is much the same.

Shepherds Camp is Just Around the Corner:
Sunnnnday! Sunnnnday! Sunnnnday! (for those of you who know the Buck Arena down in Harrisburg) Shepherds Camp begins on Sunday with our first two-week program. You can't get any more excited than this. We passed last year's numbers a few weeks ago AND we have over 35 new campers! With a total of six weeks of programming we have closed the first two programs. We are praising God and watching the third program increase. Just the other day I was talking with the mother of one of our campers. She said her son David already had his bags packed and they were sitting by the door. What an amazing IMPACT camp has the lives of so many individuals in our community...who otherwise wouldn't hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Let me again encourage you, thank you, and implore you to join us - by praying for Shepherds Camp and by praising God for all the amazing things He is doing the lives of the developmentally disabled.

What's New at Camp:
This year's newest and hottest activity is down at the lake. We have replaced our diving board with a two-tiered jump tower. That's right! Looming tall above the dock, campers soar through the air screaming with joy as they plummet to the water below. The new jump tower is a very exhilarating method for getting wet and cooling down in the summer heat. Of course you can try it when you come to visit.


Baby Report: It has been two years since I started writing this "camp correspondence" which has come to you in several different formats and frequencies. Remembering back I think one of the primary reasons for starting News from Arrowhead was the Baby Report. Well, here we are again. We officially have 43 days left until our second little girl is due to arrive. That's only six weeks away. Kelly and I are feeling the days count down and waiting has lost its luster. We are both ready for her arrival. The sooner the better I say. We will definitely keep you updated.

GoodSearch Update:
We just passed 10,000 searches for Arrowhead. Just by using GoodSearch as your search engine, GoodSearch will be donating over $100 to camp. That's not too bad - $100 in seven months. Thanks to everyone who has been GoodSearching for Arrowhead.

Never a Dull Moment

This past month we have definitely enjoyed the warm (sometimes HOT) weather. Natalie absolutely loves being outside. Some of her favorite activities include: kicking her soccer ball on the blacktop, throwing the Frisbee (which she can throw perfectly about 15 feet...but you never know which direction), riding one of her cars, tricycles, or wagon and SWIMMING in the lake. Last week we jumped in the shallow end together as a family. Natalie was jumping around, laughing, splashing, and kicking. She was all over the deep end running back and forth from me to Kelly. The water was certainly chilly, but refreshingly fun. In the past few weeks we have been blessed to have many family and friends come up to camp to visit. In fact, we've had visitors the past three weeks. The weather has been great and nothing beats sharing the ministry of camp with loved ones. Natalie loves having guests at our house. On the weekend the Grandma and Grandpa were visiting...Natalie (feeling a little spoiled) got carried away with licking the chocolate-beaters. We were standing in the kitchen talking and in just a few short seconds I turned around to see Natalie attacking an empty bowl. When she came up for air she just smiled with wide eyes and dove back in, licking the inside of the bowl clean.

We're Having a Picnic
This past Saturday we had our 3rd Annual FREE Picnic. In the past it has been a great source of exposure, hospitality to the community, and a great way to build relationships...and this year was no different. We had about 85 people in attendance for a very beautiful and sunny afternoon. Everyone had their fill of Hamburgers, hot dogs, cole-slaw, seedless watermelon, and few other fixings. Then families and friends scoured the camp playing table games inside, basketball outside, swimming at the lake, and even a hayride. This year we were blessed to have a large number of our campers and their care-providers at the picnic. We also met several families from the area who came to see to the camp. It was a great turnout for a great day.

Summer is Coming Soon
Well, if you didn't notice...it's June. Summer is definitely here. Our Staff Training starts in just two weeks. Then begins a jammed packed summer of Loving & Serving at camp. In the meantime we've got a big wedding back home in the Hanover area. Then we'll be hurrying back to put the final touches on camp and working with some of the leadership staff.