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These are the projects we're working on at Camp Jonah.
We sincerely appreciate your prayers and gifts!
Jeff's Dreams
True to the Duke blood running in his veins, Jeff is a dreamer just like his mother, Bernice. It was first of all her dream to sell land and farms to purchase the old school now known as Jonah Ministries. Once Jeff knew it was God’s will to transition from dairy farming to running a Christian Camp, the focus of his dreams also shifted. Now, if you ask, you must be ready to hear one of many dreams running through his mind at any given time.
Bus Barn Phase II
We are incredibly grateful for a generous grant for $94,000 given to us by the M.J. Murdock Foundation. This grant will enable us to complete a much-needed (and greatly anticipated) remodel of the Bus Barn facility. Since the school was not built to accommodate year-round, 24/7 use, we have limped along for almost fourteen years using classrooms for storage and an unfinished building as a shop. Since we were miraculously able to purchase this property nearly one year ago, we can now move full steam ahead into Phase II.
When Phase II is finished, we will have full use of an inviting, centrally located Camp Store, Rec Room, Shop, Bus Parking, Adventure Camp Storage, General Camp Storage and more. As a result, more attention can be given to ministry, which is our number one priority and goal!
NEED: Helping hands!
Update: Roof Replacement
During a heavy rainstorm last winter when Jeff and I were emptying rain barrels and feeling hopeless and depressed, Jeff noticed rain even coming down the walls and door frames—a place where barrels wouldn’t even work. We knew at that time that we had no choice but to replace the roof in the coming year (a year of recession, no less). God knew this, also, and sent a host of angels in the form of a homeland missions team from WestLink church in Kansas! Out of nowhere (so it seems) came the volunteers and financing and the roof over our main building is now LEAK FREE! We now dance when it rains—a dance of happiness and gratefulness!
One residual expense that we’re still struggling to pay off is the bill ($8,000) for replacing all the drains and doing some extensive plumbing. (FYI: The last roof section that needs to be replaced is the gym.)
NEED: $8,000
Combined Dining Facilities Upgrade
This project has been put on hold a few times while we focused on the roof last summer and the ropes course this spring. Now that the roof over the main building is leak-free and the ropes course repair is underway, we have refocused our energies again. The dining hall has seen many a camper and retreat guest enjoying home-cooked food, and the outdoor Igloo dining area has hosted many summer meals, but both are really just makeshift facilities. Here's what we're dreaming: Outdoors, we'd love to replace the asphalt that was damaged in our Igloo fire in December 2008. Indoors, we'd love to finally put the finishing touches on the dining hall. We've finished the insulation and sheetrock, but there are still a handful of odds and ends to take care of. Our goal is to do this project once and do it well, paving the way for many more mealtimes of fellowship and fun. And we'd love to finish it by June 12th, so we'll be ready for the Jonah Family Reunion and two months of summer camp!
NEED: $15,000
Update: Ropes Course Repair
We have thoroughly enjoyed having a high and low ropes course for the past several years. It has become a trademark for our adventure camps, and many of our retreat groups enjoy using it as well. During a heavy windstorm just prior to Christmas 2009, six trees either blew over or broke off, rendering the whole course unusable. We prayed and waited, watching spring and summer (busy seasons for the course) draw nearer and wondering how on earth we would scrape together the money ($6000+) needed for the repairs. That was until we heard back from our insurance company, who sent us a check for $7040 to cover the costs! Shortly after that, we also received a grant for $1000 from the Trout Lake Area Business Association. This month we hit the ground running, doing the initial clean-up ourselves before Synergo came in to begin the rebuilding process. Our old friend Todd Cole came up for a day to build platforms with Jeff, and now we have a usable ropes course with five brand-new elements, just in time for our first big group of March! You'd think we would get used to seeing God exceed our expectations with His answers to prayer, but we are still floored every single time.
FINISHED! Thank you so much for your prayers!
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