Jeff's Blog

I've Moved!

2009-02-02T22:01:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone!

I want to let you know my blog has a new home. Click here to see my new blog. And just in case you have me bookmarked be sure to update them (this blog will be removed soon).

See you at my new blog home!

Pure and Total Neglect

2009-01-30T12:20:00.003-05:00

How Embarrassing! I mean really, really embarrassing. One would think that as the winter months arrive and things slow down here at camp that I would have much more time to devote to this blog. However, the total opposite has happened. There is no one to blame except me and I take full responsibility. I can't stand it when I go to a blog and see that no new posts have been entered for a month or so and here I am going on three months! I'm sorry and I'll try to do better. Now, let me give you some updates of what has been happening.

First, the camp committee has been meeting every month and trying to "tweak" little things to make summer camp even more fun for those who are going to attend. I've got several messages from many campers who are making a real effort to invite friends and that is exciting to hear. Also you'll be happy to know that the theme has already been decided and I'll unveil that a little later in another entry. The big thing is that we are trying to add some more activities for the middle school and high school weeks of camp. Stay tuned for updates. Another bit of news is that camp has decided once again to keep the price of camp the same as last year. That means that for the past 6 years camp has never raised its fee. Now if your planning on completing the lesson course to earn a free week, remember the deadline for starting is March 1. We praise God that he continues to be faithful to us through the support of hundreds of people who give to help keep this cost very, very reasonable.

Secondly, we have begun getting applications in for 2009 summer staff. This of course is very exciting for me as we wonder who God is going to bring our way to hopefully form a cohesive staff that seeks to minister to so many children, teenagers and families during our summer.
Perhaps even you may qualify for a summer staff position. Don't wait to long to inquire if you are at all interested. Pray with me that God brings in just the right people to fulfill His purpose.

Finally, I would like to share with you a couple of college visits that have been scheduled to recruit summer staff. On Feb. 2 and 3 I'll be at University of the Cumberlands and on Feb. 11 the Braces will be at Asbury College. Pray for safety and for some good contacts to be made.
I'll try to do better with the blog and as things begin to get going I think it will be easier to stay faithful. I love to hear the comments so keep them coming.

Wind Power

2008-10-25T10:49:00.005-04:00

It was really exciting to see as we traveled across Kansas. Off in the distance, miles away turning ominously in the wind were these wind mills. Actually they are officially called wind farms with 50 or more of these wind mills towering 300 feet high with three blades on each one that are 90 feet long. It is reported that one of these farms can power 40,000 houses. And yet that power is transferred and made into electricity that powers so many things very quietly.

I couldn't help think about how the Holy Spirit does the same thing through us. Some times it is a gentle breeze and sometimes it is a rushing wind but it takes the Spirit to empower us to be all He wants us to be. It's also curious to note the those turbines need to be maintained and serviced. We too need to be maintained through prayer and the reading of Gods Word and fellowship with others.

It's A Small World

2008-10-22T17:37:00.002-04:00

Today I'm writing from McPherson Kansas. As previously mentioned we are recruiting summer staff and possibly even full time staff for Camp Nathanael. One of the things that seem to happen wherever we go is that we meet people who have connections or they themselves have been to Camp Nathanael before. Today we met a student named Tim Schiro who ministered with his family a year ago for our day camp. They had since moved to Wyoming and Tim is now a student at Central Christian College. It was nice to have a student telling others about his experience at camp in a very positive testimonial. In this network of people who consider themselves missionaries or ministers there are always ties that can be made that encourages you on your journey. It is one of the many ways I think God lets you know that he truly is in control. We'll check back in a few days.

On The Road Again

2008-10-18T13:15:00.004-04:00

Part of being camp director means that I often times will have the priviledge to represent camp at several christian colleges or Bible schools. My wife Beth and I are leaving soon to head out west to visit 7 different schools in 13 days. This not only gives us a chance to tell people about what we do but also exsposes them to the opportunities they have to come along side of us and help. This could be for a short time by being on summer staff for our camp season or in the fall helping with our outdoor education program. It could also mean for full time ministry as well. We could use many people with specific skills to help Scipture Memory Mountain Mission maintain and grow the ministry it's had over the past 76 years. Pray that God would prepare hearts and perhaps even cause some of these students to catch the burden that we have to minister in south eastern Kentucky.

Outdoor Ed. Begins!

2008-09-15T10:52:00.002-04:00

I'm sitting up in my office checking emails this morning when I hear a very unfamiliar bell clanging. I went outside to see a modified Jeep Wrangler looking like a locomotive pulling a wagon full of school kids. I knew that the outdoor education program was starting today but that was a new element. Well over 2000 school children will flood the grounds here at camp over the next four weeks. Carol and Bob Murr with the the rest of the outdoor ed. committee and volunteers transform the camp grounds into a theme related backdrop. This years theme, "Trees are Terrific", deals with the history and practicality of wood and the products we get from the harvesting of trees. Not to mention the wonderful design God had for the tree to help out in other was. Of course as Christians we know the importance wood played in giving us salvation. It was the material used during the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. May the message be shared and received during the next four weeks!

Recruiting Road Trip

2008-09-03T10:15:00.003-04:00

One of the things that I'm really looking forward to doing this fall is taking a recruiting road trip. What is a recruiting road trip you may ask? Well, it takes several people to run a summer camp program and a good percentage of those people are my college aged workers. We have been very fortunate in the past to get some great college kids whose main objective is ministry for the summer. Unfortunately not all of those kids fall into your lap for the summer. So periodically some full time staff from the mission will make contact with those college kids often through the schools they are attending. Many of the schools are christian based and so we are sure to make known that we are interested in people who feel called of God to full time ministry as well. Perhaps you may know of someone who would make a great counselor or is drawn to summer ministry. I would be happy to share with them the opportunities here at Camp Nathanael. I would be remiss in not mentioning the dedicated high school staff that we have as well. It takes a team effort to be able to give kids a memorable week of camp. Thanks to all who have a part.

What Is Powering You?

2008-08-15T09:11:00.004-04:00

What a great time I had with my family during a visit with Greg and Cheryl Koster and their family at their lake home on Lake Hamlin in Ludington MI. Thanks to their kids for being so hospitable to us. My kids were able to do a lot of "firsts" in their lives. They rode on a speed boat for the first time. My sons went fishing out of a boat for the first time. My son Cameron is still wondering what the big deal is after he caught four fish his first time out! They were able to get pulled on a tube behind a wave runner for the first time ... at least for a little while that is.

Actually, everything was fine until my daughter Miranda fell off and in the process of circling back and getting her back on the tube the wave runner quit. Despite Gregs best efforts it was not going to start again. After assessing the situation we began to kick and paddle our way back to shore. Thankfully, we were back to our beach within 30 or 40 minutes. But during that time I pushed that wave runner a long way and I was tired. That thing was not made to be powered by me. It needed that horsepower supplied by that motor to operate properly. My wife reminded me of how it's that way with us as people. We were created to be powered by God and His Spirit. If we're not then we are not operating at maximum capacity and efficiency. So, what's powering you?

Teamwork

2008-08-04T21:01:00.002-04:00

My family and I are finishing up our supporters tour by taking some time to relax in Florence Kentucky. Tomorrow we are going to visit the Creation Museum. As we finish this time of visiting supporters I become so aware of how much we depend on churches and people to team up with us through prayer and financial support. If it wasn't for everybody pulling in the same direction striving for the same goal it would be virtually impossible for us to do what we do at Camp Nathanael. Thanks to all our supporting churches and families that are so faithful to us and the ministry of S.M.M.M. Thanks also to our fellow mission staff who work side by side with us for that same common goal.

Missionary Giving This Summer

2008-07-29T10:03:00.004-04:00

As I'm writing this my family and I are in Michigan on what we call a "supporters tour". It's when we visit and give updates to our supporters of how the ministry is going and update them on our family and any needs that we might have. It really has been good to visit and see people that we haven't had the opportunity to see in quite a while. I was reminded how during the summer at camp we emphasize giving to the missionaries who come every week to camp to share with our campers what missions mean and how they can get involved. Of course we challenge the campers to "break the bank" at store time and I must say the majority of the time this summer that was accomplished. I was really pleasantly surprised at the willingness of so many campers to share a portion of their spending money to help support those missionaries we had this summer. I always try to challenge those campers to continue on with that giving spirit with their home church when they go back home.

So how are you doing with your giving? Remember, God can do so much more with your resources than you can if you just give it and allow him too. Just think of the little boy who gave his small lunch and watched Jesus feed over five thousand with it! Guess what? He is still the same God today. So give with a cheerful heart!

Only At Camp Nathanael

2008-07-22T09:44:00.003-04:00

I've seen some pretty unusual things at camp over my 18 years of ministry here. A lot of those things were centered around floods and dealt with things I saw floating down Troublesome Creek. However, yesterday as I was checking out one of the boys cabins (Cuba to be specific), I heard what seemed to be a chicken cluck down the dirt path used to go to creek stomping. As I glanced down the hill I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was a real live peacock! That's right, a huge long feathered beautiful male peacock! My first thought was, "You are lost mister". It went on its merry way and I decided not to follow it. I just smiled and laughed to myself. You just never know what you'll see here on the grounds of Camp Nathanael.

Monday Morning Excitement or Something Else?

2008-07-15T11:33:00.004-04:00

I know every Monday morning I'm excited as a fresh group of campers enter the campgrounds for their week of camp. The fact that our staff gets to invest an extreme amount of time and energy into these campers lives really is exciting to think about! However, there seems to be something else in the air as campers are going through the registration process and saying "good-bye" to those parents and others that have brought them. For some kids it is the first time they have ever been away from home for five whole nights. This fact brings on a certain amount of uncertainty not just with the kids themselves but also the parents. If I must be honest it is probably harder on most parents than it is the campers. It is a time of realizing that perhaps my child can survive a whole week without me! That understandably can be a tough pill to swallow for some. I would like to think of it as a sign of growth and that if a child can adjust it shows the parents have done a superb job of raising their child to adapt. Not to mention Camp Nathanael is in my opinion the best place for any child to spend their first week away from home. We provide an environment to enjoy Gods creation and fellowship with others without a lot of outside distractions. We play hard, eat well and study truth from Gods Word. As we finish our last week of camp with 103 4th and 5th graders, I hope most will agree it was a week of growth and excitement.

A Special Gathering

2008-07-09T22:27:00.002-04:00

I just got back from a special event in the dining room with this weeks graduating 8th graders. I won't go into detail because I want next years 8th graders to be surprised. However as I sat with them tonight I realized that for most of them they will not get that regular monthly visit from a Camp Nathanael worker anymore. That made me a little sad and perhaps it did for some of those kids too. Then I thought of all the potential sitting in that dining room. What if these kids stuck together and became a real christian influence in their respective high schools next year? They could be change agents for Christ! Of course we hope to see most of them back next summer for camp, but in the mean time Live the Great Adventure God has called you to live!

I Survived The Snake Hunt of 2008

2008-07-07T14:00:00.003-04:00

I normally don't break under pressure but this is one exception. Some of my staff thought this would be a good story to tell. I wasn't sure if this was the right kind of story to put on a blog that is trying real hard to keep kids interested in a week of camp here at Camp Nathanael. You see this story involves nature but it's the cruel side of nature. Anyway, here it goes.

It all started with a phone call to my office at about 10:30 pm by one of my staff saying that there might be a copperhead snake under one of the cabins. I grabbed my trusty flashlight and ran up to Bonaire. After arriving a little winded, one of my girl counselors told me she beat a snake down from her porch rafters with a broom and it slithered under Bonaire. One of the boy counselors who was in the area was already looking for it with his light. "What was it doing up in the rafters?", I questioned. "Eating", responded the counselor as she pointed to a birds nest built in the rafters. "Did it really eat a bird?", I asked. The counselor went on to tell me how she would see a little birds beak poking up from the nest but tonight she saw two feet sticking straight up. So when she got her flashlight and slid the bench over to stand to investigate the next image she saw was a snake taking its last swallow of the bird. "Wow!", I said. "Most people only get to see that on Discovery Channel." Needless to say it wasn't long before we found the snake under Bonaire with a great big bulge about half way down. It was a black snake about 5 feet long. We chased it down over the hill and that's how I survived the snake hunt of 2008. Below is the counselor's artistic rendition of the event.

Lost And Found

2008-07-02T16:38:00.002-04:00

I've been announcing to both the middle school camp of June and high school camp that I was going to start my blog entries this week so here it goes. Let me first say that this probably will not be a daily blog but one that will be created as things and ideas come to mind.

This week is family camp and we're having a great time. As I walked into my office I found 3 trash bags full of laundered unclaimed lost and found. I couldn't believe that there were that many high schoolers who had left so much stuff behind! I'm talking some pretty good stuff too! A huge assortment of towels, shirts, and shorts. Of course there were plenty of mismatched socks and unmentionables. So if you left something, call in and describe it and I will check all three bags. As camp policy states we will store it for two weeks and then we distribute it to those in need.

I'm glad God doesn't forget about us like so many campers forgot about so much that belonged to them. Gods Word says " He will never leave us or forsake us."

Maybe you could give me some suggestions on how to get rid of all this stuff or some ideas on how to get kids to take it home in the first place.