What a powerful way to say goodbye. One of the many fun parts of being the chapel leader for a senior high retreat is saying goodbye in the road as cars, vans and buses leave Barakel after a full weekend. On Sunday as I stepped onto the bus headed back to Immanuel Baptist in Saginaw […]
All I do and say
This weekend will be special for me. I’ll be leading Senior High Retreat chapel sessions. My older brother Ken will be preaching. My younger brother Nathan will lead the music. With Nathan will be his daughter, Grace and our two youngest sons, Zachary and Josiah. We don’t often get to serve together. But when we […]
When It Snows
I had the privilege of leading chapel last weekend for the teen retreat on Camp’s west side. It also snowed. A lot. Which means I needed to shovel and plow a lot of snow. It takes all of our staff men and seasonal staff, and even retired staff and volunteers to keep up with the […]
Pray For Snow and Prepare For Guests
We’re headed for our third winter retreat weekend of 2020. Most people don’t pray for snow, unless they’re hoping for a snow day from school. But this time of year the Barakel staff all pray for snow and we’re happy when it comes. Today the forecast called for a “dusting” of snow. By supper time […]
Always Praying, Not Giving Up
This month the Barakel staff men are meeting each Thursday, first thing in the morning to pray. A couple of verses and a thought about them are shared, then we pray. It’s not a lot of time, twenty minutes or so. Then we’re off to the day’s work. When we stop to pray, I’m reminded […]
People
God made people. We thank God for people. Here at Barakel we exist for people. That is, we exist so we can make God known, showing Him in His glory, to people. We’ve been preparing this week for our first winter retreat weekend. What’s making this a special week is people. The return of people […]
A Wonderful Name
Last night we all joined together for a Camp Barakel staff Christmas party. It was a special evening with decorations, delicious food, games, carol singing, gift-giving, and best of all, the fellowship of friends. Friends who are partners in this special work. The partnership we share is special because it’s a work where we prepare […]
Is it finished?
There’s a lot on my list to accomplish personally before the new year here at Camp Barakel. I’ve also been working on a list for the Facilities Care Team of projects that need to be finished. Often I’m asked by another staff person about a current project, “Is it finished?” We often have big projects […]