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