Over The Hill ... but not through the woods yet!

On Oct 10th, Beechpoint celebrated it's 50th Anniversary with an afternoon alumni event and an evening banquet. Over 300 guests joined us to remember what God has done ... and to look expectantly toward the future.

Praise God for:
* 15,000 children who've come to camp in the past 50 years
* 3,000 children who, to our knowledge, have received Christ in the past 50 years
* more than 100,000 retreat guests served over the past 50 years!
* the recent matching grant of $50,000 dollars was met to provide funds for our new dining hall, commercial kitchen, and retreat facilities

I got to be on the committee to plan for the event - and one task was selecting a "50th tag line". In one late night brainstorming session with a few co-workers, these sarcastic ideas were proposed (and rejected):

**Over the Hill ... but not through the woods yet!
**50% and Content
**The Glass is 1/2 Full
**50 is the new 30
**(Beech)Pointing the way to Jesus!
**50 Cent
**Golden Years
**Gold 'n Silver have we none
**Aged like a fine wine
**There's no end in sight.

Here's guessing my name's going to stay in the hat the next time we need a slogan writer! ;-)

This picture feels like camp more than any other!! These are my camp friends: Nurse Karla and Mrs. D. We currently have a kitchen that's smaller than the kitchen that I grew up with in my parent's home. From that kitchen we cook for 180 people each meal during the summer and hundreds of retreat guests throughout the year. Because the lodge seats less than 100, we host our banquet in the gym. The kitchen staff is incredible - they can cook for 300 out of a kitchen with 2 ovens ... and transport the food across camp to the gym, all without a glitch!! Please continue to pray for the completion of our new dining facility - we are getting close!
For dessert we had a "chocolate trifle". In this picture I am being my triflin' self. There's a wide variety of readership who endure this blog ... so if that makes sense to you you should laugh twice to make up for the ones who don't get it. :-)

Dr. Melvin Banks, founder of Urban Outreach Foundation and keynote speaker. Dr. Banks challenged listeners to engage with children's ministry as an investment in the future.

More camp friends: Jess F. (some of these are her pictures and she often supplies pictures for camp's promotional use) and Miss Crissie (who lives in Chicago and loves me!)

More camp friends: Mark Davidhizar (camp's Executive Director and my boss) and camper Jakarri who spoke during the banquet about the impact that camp has had in his life. Jakarri is 12 years old and I was so PROUD of him - you'da thought he was my baby for all of my tears and loud clapping. :-) He wrote his own speech and delivered it with poise and articulation. He even incorporated something a speaker before him said into his speech! When Jakarri grows up he wants to be a cardiologist - and we all think he can do it!

More camp friends: Pneurissa (faithful camp volunteer and Jakarri's aunt), Aunt Jan (camp's Director of Discipleship and the co-worker I work most closely with), and Jakarri's mother and grandmother. On Sunday Jakarri's family went with me to my Michigan church and then we all went to Aunt Jan's for lunch.

Aunt Jan and Kiyasia, Jakarri's little sister, who thinks she can play that piano!

The following video was played during the banquet - it's a radio interview of Mr. D and all the slides are from this past summer. I placed it at the bottom of my blog on purpose because you will need to click pause on the music by scrolling down to the purple box at the bottom of the page. If the video keeps cutting in and out you can help it "buffer" by clicking pause and waiting until the grey line reaches then end of the timeline, then clicking play again. Enjoy!

The great thing about being single ....

The great thing about being single is that I don't have to get anyone to agree with me. I can just do whatever I want or decorate however I want or cook whatever I want ....

The terrible thing about being single is that there is no one to agree with me! And increasingly I am just not all that confident about what I want. Hence the following story:

This is my new dining room table, which I bought from craigslist .... twice. What had happened was I went by myself to go look at it. And I have never seen a tile table (although my friend assures me they are real common). But if I didn't find a table before the BIG MOVE then it would be ever more complicated and expensive because I wouldn't have my friends to help move it. And this table is really stable and comes with 4 chairs and the coolest bench. Only thing is .... it has TILE on the top.

But I needed a table. So the man agreed that I could give him $100 that day and then the rest when I came back with a friend and a truck to pick it up. Which I felt okay about right until I drove away and had a fresh realization that the table has TILE.

So I sat in a parking lot about 5 minutes away from the guy's house and then called him and asked (sheepishly) could I have my $100 dollars back and then see how I feel about the table later? Would you believe he said sure?!

And would you believe that the next day - after showing several people this picture and getting some agreement that it would work fine - I called the man back and bought his table. I would have felt vindicated, if he didn't have to spend half an hour helping us load it into the truck.

This is my friend Jessica driving her boss's truck to help me move.

I've always had my dad to help me move, a blessing I apparently took for granted. I've definitely seen less hopeful rigging jobs than the one done here, but

a) we didn't actually do this - the people I bought a couch from insisted that it would be in our best interest to borrow their bungee chords and got us set up

b) I've never actually tried hauling things using bungee chords. Apparently they are stronger than they looked.

Even though we got it done uneventfully, as we were driving down the road the conversation went something like this "Hmm. What do you do if the stuff falls out of the back of the truck? I mean, you can't just leave it all in the middle of the highway.... Huh." It would have been easier if it wasn't 11 pm by this point.

These friends helped me move into my new apartment. Mr. D (my boss), Kathy (a Chicagoland CEF missionary), Aaron (camp's program developer) and Daniel (summer waterfront director). We had to move my stuff down 3 flights of stairs from my previous landlord's attic where it was graciously allowed to stay for the summer and then up 3 more flights into my new apartment. They were troopers for sure - THANKS for helping me in such a big way!

My new apartment a one bedroom with a living room and a dining room - a special blessing since I will again be working from home and this will provide an area for office space.

I have no roommates, except for whatever this is. It greeted my the first time I tried to take a shower. Mercifully I have not seen any of it's friends in the past week.

You'll have to wait until next time to see pictures of my apartment because it is just too pitiful to be seen at the moment. I have a couch that is comfortable but an undefinable shade of green. Apparently my decorating ability does not reach beyond appreciating other people's success to creating my own. However, I did decorate my entry way (I have an entry way!!) with my Brazil and Papua New Guinea mission trip stuff.

SIDENOTE: IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO HANG THINGS IN PLASTER PLEASE REPLY TO THIS BLOG!!! Apparently I only know how to make HOLES in plaster.

Random Sidenote: I'm not much for skulls. But I think I would buy this for my daughter just because the skull has a bow. Kinda cute, don'tcha think? :-)

See you at the big chicken!

Hello all -

I have found an apartment! I will be living in the Chatham neighborhood. It's a one bedroom, second floor apartment with a dining room - a blessing since I will be working from home again. I can move in around October 1st, so I will be sure to post pictures when I get settled in. Praise God for His provision and thank you to all who prayed for my new home!

I joined Kiva today! It's a website that leverages technology to create a global community where lenders participate in micro-finance opportunities throughout the world. Lenders can lend as little as $25 dollars to an entrepreneur who may otherwise be denied funding. As the loan is repaid the lender may retrieve his money or reinvest in the life of another person. I loaned money to Ahmed, a father of 4 in Lebanon who needs money for an auto repair shop. You can read about it and get involved by clicking on his picture at the top of this post (once his loan is fully funded the post will show another entrepreneur).

Camp Beechpoint participated in the Allegan County Parade. To those who have been to a small town parade, this one would have fit right in. To those of you who have not, you're just going to have to come with me next year to really understand. There was a semi in the parade. Not advertising anything, just ... there. :-) I somehow let the event pass without posting pictures, a clear violation of my blogging ethics, so here we go - a picture tour of the Allegan Fair Parade:


This is Beechpoint's 50th Anniversary. We'll be celebrating on October 10th. Go to http://www.beechpoint.com/ to learn more and rsvp.


The parade provides an opportunity for local exposure. I passed out postcards with information on camp and retreats. Now, I've been in a lot of parades (most notably as a blood drop for the Red Cross) - but this was my first time as a postcard-passer-outer. It definitely involved running to catch up to our float.

We had about 30 staff, cabin leaders, teen leaders, and campers join us to walk the parade. People dressed up in gear from camp activities.


The go carts rode behind the truck and boat, definitely the best gig. I'm putting my name into that hat for next year
Tubing. Yup, that's what I thought too. :-)

This sign was spotted along the route. Funny, considering it's posted next to a trail.
The entrance to the Allegan Fair Grounds, and most common meeting place for the event. As in, "I'll see you at the big chicken at noon". So, to all of you who thought you were sending me to the big city and worried that I would lose touch with my upbringing - this post should alleviate all concerns.

**Thanks to Jess Furrow for photographing the parade.

"How many guns would Chicago buy if Chicago could buy guns?"

Well, I am back in Chicago ..... an still apartment hunting. I have been looking for the past 2 weeks and was really hoping to have a solution by this weekend, but alas.
This will be my 7th apartment - and I hope to stay there for some years! There's a lot to consider when looking in the city, here are some of the things I've been looking at:

* how many buildings on that block are boarded up? on the surrounding blocks?
* how is parking? will I have to walk a long way to and from my car?
* am I close to a school, bar, or church? cuz that will FOR SURE affect parking
* if parking is sketchy now, what will it be like in the winter?!? (they don't really plow the side streets, and if they do it's more likely that they plow your car in than really help you get it out! :-) and there is NOTHING glamorous about parking in Chicago!
* how long will it take to get to the expressway?
* once I do get to the expressway, how long will it take to get anywhere else?
* how will I adjust my budget to afford rent without a roommate?
* do I have bars on my windows?
* does the block have an active block club?
* how many police have I seen in the past hour?
* how many flights of stairs am I going to have to walk up?
* is there laundry facilities in the building?
* will I have to buy my own stove and fridge to live there?
* will my friends in Chicago "let" me live on this block?
* what does the area feel like at night? In my previous apartment hunting I didn't have to roll through at 11:30 to see what all was going on before I signed a lease.

Please continue to pray for the perfect home for me in Chicago. I'm believing God for a perfect and long-term housing solution!

Right now I am staying with my friend, Miss Demetrius, while I am looking for a place to live.

These are her kids, and 2 of my PID kids - Jabari, Jabri, and Jireh ..... I feel like for all the times they are on my blog everyone should know who they are by now :-) Since I'm at their house, you know we have to take some pictures! And I taught them how to play Settlers (which they are REALLY good at) and Carcassonne (which I'm sure they are going to be really good at), so now I have me some board-playing friends in the Chi!
Also, since I'm at the house I got to learn how to straighten, curl, and style hair. It's not as much fun as braiding, but Jabri is a little tired of braids. I'm happy to learn something new!
I found some gold beads for Jireh ... this was her idea for a pose. The baby has taken too many pictures - she was positioning grass where she wanted it and talking about "let's go over here where the light is better". Chicago just finished it's 2009 gun turn-in campaign. On August 15th, people could take guns, no questions asked, to 27 locations in the city (primarily churches and community centers, one location was 3 blocks from my previous apartment). For each gun turned in the person received a pre-paid MasterCard: $100 for assault weapons, $50 for guns, and $10 for bb guns.

People here are skeptical that the gun turn-ins make a difference. They say that it's rusted out guns that are being brought in, that the city is paying to destroy evidence for crimes, and that there's probably a better way to spend tax payers money. They point out that a person who actually uses an assault weapon is not going to turn it in for $100 - even if it was broken! This year, a little over 1,800 guns were collected ... but people wonder how many of them were from gangbangers - and if such a small drop will make a difference in such a big bucket.

One reporter for CBS said, "As long as gangs control hundreds of millions of dollars by selling illegal narcotics here, they'll always be able to buy big firepower. Now think of that. Here's the mayor of the city of Chicago asking people to turn in assault weapons. Mayor Daley said, 'We're not in Iraq. We're not in Afghanistan. We're in America. We're asking them to turn in assault weapons. What do we need an assault weapon in America for?' [Mayor Daley] bragged that, since 2005, the city's gun-buying program has led to the destruction of more than 18,000 guns. Still, that's small comfort to the thousands of Chicagoans who continue to get shot each year."

The 08-09 school year saw more than 500 Chicago Public School children shot! You can click this ridiculously long link to view a map of shootings over a 4 day period in April 2008 - something about seeing it makes it seem even more alarming. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=104675750739697697598.00044b65dec162187f984&ll=41.81892,-87.695618&spn=0.228741,0.466919&z=11

The increase in violence since last year is a reminder that the city - and the children of the city - need God! Pray for wisdom for the government, safety of the citizens, and boldness of the church.

My favorite quotes from the gun turn-in campaign?

"ALL GUNS MUST BE UNLOADED" (ya think?!?!!!)

and

"MasterCards can be used at any of the 25 million locations that pre-paid MasterCards are accepted, except at gunshops." (Now how, exactly, are we going to monitor that?!)

Picture Perfect Summer

I haven't blogged in weeks, perhaps months .... It was my intention to update everyone throughout the summer, but that proved to be unrealistic. We had 811 campers (a new record for us) and program from 7:30 am to 11 pm, so the days are full. :-) 120 campers made first time decisions for Christ and another 66 made recommitments! Praise God for all He has done!!

I am at the end of a 12 week stint: staff training, camp, and 2 weeks of hosting retreats. I am going to catch my breath, catch up on the shockingly large pile of paperwork awaiting me, and then head to Chicago. Please pray that I will find housing that is convenient, safe, and affordable.

One of my summer roles was "chapel media girl". So I collected everyone's photos every day to do a slide show at chapel. Some of the kids at camp do not routinely see themselves in pictures, so they love this opportunity. Also, they are incredibly loyal to their family and love seeing siblings, cousins, and "play cousins" on the big screen. By the end of the summer my computer didn't even have enough memory to say it's own name, so I've started the long process of deleting unnecessary photos. I've already deleted over 6,000! So there's plenty more pictures where these came from! :-)

Me, Tashonya, and Liz.... Tashonya is a camper who's family I was able to get to know this summer and she goes to my Michigan church. Liz was my roommate last year and is the newest full-time Beechpoint staff member.
Aaron at the field trip to the dairy farm. Each week I took 20 boys and girls to a dairy farm about 20 minutes from camp and gave a tour. Mostly, they think it's gross - smells gross, looks gross, feels gross, and "I ain't never drinkin' no milk again" is gross.
Since the last time I blogged I have had visitors! Nick and Beth Duffel came to see me and attend a preaching conference in Grand Rapids. Nick with Cheyenne.

Beth with Jireh. It was so encouraging to see them, to share the ministry of Beechpoint with them, to spend some time being together .... I just miss everyone so much!!!

Also, Lanae Linard and her friend Michael Shae came out for a week as teen volunteers. They worked hard and really got to see what camp is like! This is us at Giordanos - Chicago-style deep dish pizza - with LaJuana, another teen volunteer they met at camp. I loved sharing my new life with my Idaho friends!

Directions: Using one large, flat sheet of cardboard, one roll of duck tape, and a box cutter, assemble a cardboard boat large enough to hold campers. Points are awarded for design, number of campers in the boat before it sinks, and number of laps between docks the boat is able to do.

ALWAYS a lot of fun and great pictures.

Good thing there are points for design, because I feel like this boat is going to take on some water quickly. :-)

This is Danielle. We took the picture right before the bus left, when she said "I wish someone could keep me so I could stay here." Wow.

On Weds nights we had theme chapel. These girls are dresses as roosters, because the cleanest cabin wins the rooster award - and bragging rights for the day. Clearly these girls were going to make sure everyone knew they were the roosters! We also had "mustache Tuesdays" where everyone on campus got marker mustaches. Pretty sure I have a picture of me with my handlebar mustache somewhere ....

Riflery - one of many activities to keep kids busy during the day. Campers have 5 Bible times each day: morning devotions, Power Hour, chapel, fireside, and night devotions. In between those times they do activities with their cabin groups.

Horseback riding - all campers 11 and older participate in horseback riding.

If one more of these climbs out from anywhere, then I'ma quit this camp!!!

Full Speed Ahead Summer

Hi all! Sorry for the long break in blogging. Summer camp is up and running! I want to share some pictures and stories from this summer so far. However, this will be in no real order since that takes time - something I don't have much of at the moment. :-)

My friend who took this picture thinks it is hilarious. Mostly cuz kids are pushing to be in the picture and you can see one boy's fist! Hahahaha! - just what does he think he's going to do with all that? :-)
One of my summer roles here is to coordinate the adult volunteers who come to camp. Some weeks there are just a handful of volunteers and some weeks there are a bunch - I enjoy meeting them and building relationships with them. Often the experience that the group leader has is as much a part of deciding how camp went as the experience that the campers had. This was Miss Vanessa's first time riding a horse - I think she liked it!

This year I got to participate in staff training as a facilitator. The summer staff is doing an excellent job at building relationships with campers and running activities safely. Last week we had 7 kids recommit their lives to God and 18 kids make decisions for Christ! For the past 8 years I've watched God work in kid's lives through camp, but this year there is just an urgency in the kids - they are hungry for God! At the end of the week the kids write letters to donors who contribute to camper scholarships. One kid wrote:

"It was so amazing of you to do this for me. This has been a life-changing experience for me. And this week was especially good for me because this week was the week that I finally accepted Christ into my life.” – Nathan, age 13

Kids who come to camp are 8-14. These tweens were some drama - but turns out Jesus loves 13 year olds too! :-) Quiana, Alize, Electra, and Velma spent last week together at camp.

I'm not sure how we are going to use this picture .... The oldest 2 cabins go on an off-site bike trip where they drive to a trail and then bike 7 miles to Lake Michigan to have a cook out. This cabin staged this crash.

At the beginning of training we take our summer staff into Chicago to help spread the word about camp in various neighborhoods. I ran into Shayana and Teniah while we were there.

We build cardboard boats during Splash 'n Blast and then see how many kids we can get into them before the boat sinks. Usually not too many.

Taleah - cutest kid ever!

Last week Austin came to camp. When his mom picked him up she told him that she felt bad because she couldn't afford the $10 to buy a T-shirt. As she was talking she began to tear up, and told her son, "I just wanted you to have something to take home from camp." 10-year-old Austin said, "I do mom! I don't need a T-shirt to remember camp, cuz I believed in Jesus this week and I am taking him home with me!"

Praise God for the kids and families who have been impacted this summer! Praise God for the 120 campers here this week. Pray for spiritual impact in their lives. We have 4 weeks of summer camp left - praise God for the last 2 weeks which are full. Please pray for the next 2 weeks - we have many openings that we hope to fill so as many kids as possible can come to camp this summer.

Thank you all for your support and encouragament!

Prayer and Green Eyes

SUMMER CAMP IS STARTING! I have packed my stuff and am on my way to camp for the summer! Moving is officially NOT glamorous. For the next 13 weeks, I will live at camp to help run our summer program. I am feeling equal parts of excited and overwhelmed. Please join me in prayer for the summer:

PRAISE REPORT:
* My landlord has generously allowed me to store my stuff in his attic for no charge. This is a multiple blessing because it means I will be able to save some money and I only have to find a truck and strong friends one time when I move in the fall. Thank you, Nathan!
* I don't know anything about cars, but apparently it's not okay for the steering wheel to shake. I am thankful that God provided an honest and respectful mechanic and the funds to replace parts on my car.
* I was able to see friends from Bible school (DeMarces and Painters) and friends from Idaho this weekend (Jerry and Ouanda Walton - here for Tyler's graduation).

PRAYER REQUESTS:
* We have capacity for 1,000 campers this summer. Pray specifically that God will give favor in overcoming the many challenges of getting kids to camp and that the summer staff would have unity and focus.
* Pray for my transition into this summer. There are a lot of details and dynamics to sort through ... and a few decisions to be made. Pray for my priorities and that I will have insight and perspective.
* Pray from my fall housing needs. I want to move in somewhere and then stay there indefinitely. Pray for clarity, opportunity, and timing to intersect.

Something you should know about me ..... my eyes are turning green! When I was little I had blonde curly hair and chocolate brown eyes. Now I have dark brown hair and green eyes. For some reason I am happy to have green eyes. My mom's eyes have turned blue but she is in denial. While I was looking for a brown-eyed me, I found these other great childhood memories:

We used to collect caterpillars. When they hatch into butterflies they need a minute to dry their wings before they can fly.

We used to build giant tents in the front room. All we needed was every blanket in the house, every chair in the house, and a pile of rubber bands. We would have multiple room tents, slumber parties, a lot of help from dad, and a lot of patience from mom.

Grandpa's always been a good sport.

Um.... why is no one holding onto me?!?!?! Ya'll know I do not like animals.

Look at that tan.... and cute little brother!

This is a truck full of beans. We used to get to climb up in them during harvest - it's like a giant sand box. Filthy.
Sarah in dad's gear to move wheel lines. Who would have thought that I'd go from this fairy tale childhood in a small town in Idaho to living in inner-city Chicago? It helps that I go out to camp throughout the year. Michigan doesn't exactly have "wide open spaces" but at least I get to be in the country for a minute.