Isaiah's 16th Birthday Video

                                                         Happy 16th Birthday Isaiah!

September Review

September was a full month, in which Dad and Mom celebrated 23 years of marriage, we enjoyed some good family outings and Mom celebrated her 43rd  birthday!

At the beginning of the month, Dad and Mom went to see War Room (a movie on prayer) for their anniversary! They enjoyed it so much they took the whole family to see it again!:) We like to support good Christian movies in the theatre, when they have them, and this one was no disappointment! We gave it 11 thumbs up!!:D

  Another outing was a trip to the Creation &  Earth  History Museum in Santee CA, for their "Family Festival." We had been there several years ago, but ICR had since sold it to a man named Tom Cantor who is a Jewish businessman and Christian believer. He owns Scantibodies Laboratories which helps fund the museum. He remodeled it, and has a lot of really neat displays on creation, Noah's Ark, Tower of Babel, where the different ethnic groups came from, and baby growing in the womb, along with many other important body functions.

 As part of the special event, they had several Christian Creationist speakers come and share during the course of the day. Our favorite one was Dr. Jobe Martin! We had met  him and his lovely wife years ago at a conference, while visiting the fellowship where Mom was saved! When they discovered we were a homeschool family, they gave us some of their resources on science and creation as a gift to encourage and benefit us. We have been using those books and DVDs in our homeschooling curriculum since and have been very blessed by them!:)

 The younger children were very excited to meet the man from the creation videos!;) It was great to see him again and he remembered us, despite his many travels and all the people he speaks to!

 We also enjoyed getting to meet Buddy Davis, a children's song writer, and hear him sing!

 Beside the gift store, there is a presentation of the Old Testament Tabernacle that God commanded Moses and the Israelites to make. During the presentation, each of the articles in the tabernacle were looked at in light of their purpose, significance, prophetic meanings and how they all connect to the Lord Jesus and point to Him.

 We really enjoyed this part of the museum! Here is the outer court where the sacrifices were slain....

The ark of the covenant in the holiest of holies.....

Inside the museum, there are several different rooms, each with a different theme and focus. There was so much to see and read! This particular room was focused on Day 4 of Creation-
"Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;  and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.  God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day."

After a fun day at the museum, we were able to meet up with some friends, the Spears, who live in the area! Mrs. Spears and mom finally got to meet, having talked before over the phone.:)
David Spears (who worked with us at Ironwood during the summer) and Isaiah are parkour buddies.:) They always enjoy practicing all kinds of flips together.

At the end of the month, Mom celebrated her 43rd Birthday! How grateful we all are for her! Without her, none of us kiddos would be here and Dad would be one lonely guy!:) We love you Mommy!:)

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.
                                                                                                   Psalm 100

August Review

While much happened during the past 7 months, I am just going to share some of the highlights!:) Here we go!:)

 After camp was over, the guys had some friends come down and visit! They had a lot of fun! The picture above is from one of their outings, A day at Knott's Berry Farm!!:)

 Another memorable day was the wedding of Micah and Amy Talbert!:D This was a long awaited event and a real joy to witness!!:)

Amy loves to have fun, and Micah helps keep Amy's feet on the ground!;)

Sending them off!:) Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Talbert! We love you!:)

 Caytlin's birthday fell on the same day as the Talbert wedding, so we celebrated after the reception with a yummy dinner, friends, and cupcakes.:) Happy 17th Birthday, Caytlin! We love you!:)


 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
                                                                               1 John 1:7

Catching Up;) Part 1-A Summer In The Desert

 



This summer, to our surprise, God opened the door for the three eldest to work at Ironwood for ten weeks! It was very strange packing for hot weather this time around, having spent the last couple of summers up in Alaska! However Ryan, who went up there last summer by himself, was able to help us know what to pack and what to leave home!;) Daniel, who had recently got his permit at the time was our chauffer. So packed and ready to go we said our goodbyes to the kiddos and Mommy, and started our trip!

The drive was about 2 1/2 hours and despite a lot of road work we made good time! After registering, we were given name tags and sent to our cabins where we could unpack and rest.

The volunteer/resident staff for the summer!:) All of us took turns being prayer partners for specific counselors by week, besides fulfilling our own summer responsibilities as counselors, or operation teams! We had a two week training during which time we prepared for our various jobs and positions.  Counselors were trained in CPR and Lifeguard training, and all of us were required to attend the daily training sessions on Biblical Counseling.

I was offered a position in Hospitality, for the summer, and had the opportunity to expand my work skills and camp experience! Our responsibilities were cleaning all restroom facilities,  running the huge wash house, cycling, folding and distributing linens when needed to campers/ sponsors, locating lost in found items, and responding to clogged toilets/messes, or sick camper messes!;) I worked alongside Mrs. Tammy Pust (Not pictured) and Ann Marie( on my left side!;), and we worked side by side with Maintenance. We also were given 3 girls from the Leadership Live! program called Thrivers. Their difference in responsibilities from the regular Leadership Live! was co-counseling and bunking with campers. Here we were with our last girls for the summer!:)The first young lady pictured, Megan, worked the whole summer and the last one, Isabel, worked the second half of the summer with us.  We had a very good time working, fellowshipping, growing, struggling, and learning together. There were definitely some hard times in which we were all very tired and worn our spiritually and emotionally, but the Lord ALWAYS sustained us and kept us going till the last job was done! We made many good memories and shared special times of bonding over the mundane jobs!;)

Ryan was offered a position in the kitchen as a cook, and he also enjoyed learning more skills about food and meals! Their responsibilities were providing filling meals, drinks and refreshments for camp staff and campers! They had the big job and it was VERY important! It was such a blessing to come in from a hard day's work and have warm food and a clean atmosphere to enjoy it in! They worked a lot more with the Leadership Live! groups, who worked in the clean-up of the mealtimes and dining room preparation! Ryan really enjoyed his experience in the kitchen! He was glad top have another guy in the kitchen to work with, David Klempl and they became buddies quickly! The ladies in the kitchen on the volunteer staff were Melissa, Amy, Jessica, Grace and Hannah ( a friend from Nehemiah Work Week). These people had EARLY schedules and were up long before the sun was! Lots of memories were made for sure!

Daniel got a position Maintenance/ Grounds Crew. He worked under Mr. Wayne (behind his right side) and alongside closely with Shad (green) in the grounds division, while Mr. Andrew  Pust (orange) and Tom (nametag) worked in the Maintenance division, the brother of Hospitality!;) Daniel's responsibilities were trash runs, leading crews working on projects for the Leadership Live! guys to complete during the day, clearing brush, hauling various loads, preparing the ground for roadwork and much more. He worked as a crew leader many times and trained guys on how to do certain jobs, including maintenance of blowers!

We all had different schedules and didn't see each other much except at mealtimes and weekends! Here's a handsome hardworking cook!;)

Each team did things different but the general idea was the same. At some point during the busyness of the day we sat down and had a devotional and prayer time. Those were some of the sweetest times during the hustle and bustle. Here in Hospitality our director Mrs. Tammy was taking us through a book about studying the scriptures more so we can really know Christ! (It was neat to see how God put me where He did. Coming to Ironwood had not been my first choice, but God just led so clearly. Looking back, I can honestly say that had I a chance to pick a position to work, knowing everything that I do now, I would have picked Hospitality in a heartbeat! Mrs. Tammy had a way of keeping us challenged to serve the Lord with everything in us, keep our focus on God, and have some good fun through it all! :D



Daniel having some fun cleaning out and emptying a pool with some of his guys! They also had to remove dead fish from it!;)

Daniel getting a haircut on a weekend from Ann Marie, while Shad raids the freezer.;) The four of us spent much of the summer not only working but resting and having fun together!

Back to work, busy in the laundry room!  Each week we would have our two Thrivers plus any extra staff who needed jobs!This particular week, due to lower attendance, I was running a crew of counselor staff, folding piles and piles of linens, and doing some MAIJOR spring cleaning.;)

Each of staff member was required to take one turn cooking on a Sunday morning to experience it and give the regulars a break. We were assigned and worked in groups of two. This morning it was Daniels turn!

Ryan and David prepping food in the big busy kitchen.....

Our weekends consisted of Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, during which time were encouraged to rest up, relax, swim, go to town if needed or desired, and of course spend time with the Lord in preparation for the coming week of camp. Saturday evenings were freezer meals to give the kitchen staff a needed break and while it usually took several of them to fill us, those were some of the funnest times!:)

It was really fun to see how God put a group of us together during the summer, and became such good friends!  Let me explain...Shad, was Daniels's boss, and Ann Marie, was mine. Shad and Ann Marie are "friends" and we were chaperones, and we also knew them previously from Nehemiah Work Weeks!:) Ryan worked with David Klempl in the kitchen. David and Ben Klempl ( a counselor) grew up in the same church in WA as Ann Marie, which was how they found out about Ironwood, and we discovered their family used to attend the Sacramrento ATI conference back in the day!;) Hows that for a small world!

 One treat during the summer was Ashlee Fox coming for a short 3 day volunteer trip up and although we didn't see much of each other during the day, we were able to bunk together at night and talk!!:) This particular day we had a lunch date!;)

 This was probably the only picture of us siblings we got together during the busy summer!

One of the great skits done for the campers during the week....poor Ben! The animatronic "Cookie The Chef" skit....

Another haircutting date...;) Ann Marie was such a blessing! It seemed like she was never done giving haircuts at times because she did so many!

One weekend, we were given permission to go home for a visit with the Klempl brothers! We left Saturday afternoon and started the drive home! Dad and Mom set out the a long table they made out of our indoor and outdoor dining tables in the yard to accommodate everyone!;) It was SO good to see everyone again!

We didn't have much time on Sunday as we had to drive up after lunch so we made a short visit to the beach that morning, had breakfast, played some Frisbee and even swam a bit!

 We are crazy, right!;)

 Ben building a sand fort.....

 We came back home and showered and dressed on the double!;) Here the guys had congregated in the hallway...:)

 After morning service, Mom and Dad took us to Mexi Casa, our family's favorite restaurant!:)

 Everybody enjoyed meeting David and Ben, and we had a lot in common as they come from a big family of homeschoolers in WA.:)

Before we knew it, it was time too head out back to camp.

A package from a dear friend I'd met in Alaska in 2013 arrived this particular weekend!!  (Thanks, Angela!!!!;) What a fun surprise it was!!! It contained lots of chocolate, and being in the desert, we knew we needed to consume it quickly or it would melt! So we did our duty...it was difficult, but we managed!

One of the highlights of the summers was when Dad and Isaiah came up for a visit! They arrived Saturday morning bright and early, which was, as always,the final clean-up to prepare for the coming week of camp. That was always our biggest morning for Hospitality and probably the most stressful!;) I had crews of anywhere from ten or more working under me and we had only a few hours to clean cabins and facilities to be ready for the coming camp. Everyone pitched in on these mornings, and once campers were all gone, most everyone was put to work helping us!   Here Isaiah and Tom (maintenance)  were washing windows!

Once all the work was done and everyone had been let go for the weekend, a group of us headed down to the lake to swim!!;) Though we aren't all pictured here our group included the Klempl brothers, David Spears (a Leadership Live! friend) Shad, Ann Marie, Isaiah, Ryan, Daniel, Dad, and I!:)

We all tried the famous Ironwood Slide!  If you like speed and a slippery flight, then it was all good....;)  

Starting at the top.....for reference the slide is at least three stories high, if not more!:(

 One of the guys at the bottom, after all the waves subsided!;)

Later that night Dad treated us kids and Ann Marie and Shad to dinner outside of camp! This was a fun treat and we didn't have to consume a million freezer meals before we felt satisfied! We were all worn out and running on adrenaline but had a wonderful time nonetheless, and the fellowship was very special!!:)

 Sunday morning, we drove to Lifepoint Baptist Church, in Apple Valley. Dad and Isaiah had to get on the road not long after this picture was taken, so we said our goodbyes and they headed home. We really enjoyed having them for the few short days and what a blessing it was that they could come and experience a little bit of our summer with us!

 Ironwood has to be the busiest camp we had ever worked at. They always had at LEAST three different camp groups running during one week!  This particular week was horsemanship camp, a week during with campers come and work on equestrian training and skills, and then compete in the final Shodeo, Saturday morning! The campers schedules were similar to the regular camp weeks besides the emphasis on working with horses. Pictured beside the camper was my favorite horsemanship counselor, Miss Karis from South Carolina! We became friends not long after meeting and enjoyed many encouragaing times of fellowship with her!

 A local visitor.....

Every Thursday night, all the staff and campers (including operations staff and Leadership Live!) were invited to skit night! It was a nice time to relax and enjoy some humor, and then enjoy a time of games and refreshment from the Pony Espresso ( A coffee/drink shop there).



Another weekend outing was going to see the Barstow Firework Display for the 4Th of July with Shad and Ann Marie!!:)

They treated us to ice cream at the nearby Diary Queen!

We enjoyed the fireworks display very much!! The Lord gave us a really nice view to see them from!:)

During the week, campers are required to take the famous Solider Mountain Hike and staff are encouraged to do it if they are able to. Ryan had hiked it his first summer and his schedule was pretty busy this time around, so  Daniel and I (who hadn't) went with the campers one morning. Here's the catch, in order to avoid the heat, they encouraged us to hike the mountain in the cooler hours of the day. So that morning at 5:30 AM we found ourselves assembling and heading out!

Ben Klempl and Daniel at the rest point..... halfway there!

 It definitely wasn't an easy hike but it wasn't anywhere near as difficult as we had expected it to be! We both enjoyed the experience very much and were very glad we had the opportunity to go! There is a unique beauty to God's creation, even in the desert! 

 Driving the camp truck around the last day of camp, making sure everything was cleaned up and ready to be closed up for the summer.

We had enjoyed the summer, worked hard, made friendships and learned much but were very excited to get home!  After getting packed and checking out of the camp, a group of us went to Diary Queen one last time. We enjoyed a fun time of fellowship with the Klempl brothers, Ann Marie, and Shad and his brother Dustin over ice cream, and then we headed home.:)

 

The Lord gave us another very good summer up at Ironwood and we were very glad to be able to serve out there for the time He gave us! One lesson that we learned was that if God directs and opens a door, it is always for our best and safest to walk through it. Even if it is not the one we expected, wanted, or foresaw. As strange as it may seem, we find-it is actually just what we needed, and had we known the future and known all the God had planned-we wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else!

 

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All your works praise you, Lord;
    your faithful people extol you. They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might,
so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.

                                                                                           Psalm 145:9-13