IT'S CAMP SIGN-UP TIME!

If you haven't yet, hurry over to our brand-new website and sign up for summer camp!

ROPES COURSE UPDATE

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 therepairs. 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.

BEAUTY OUT OF ASPHALT

In the Bible it says God gives us "beauty for ashes." It's a wonderful illustration of God's amazing work in our broken lives - taking heartbreak and hurts and turning them into something beautiful.That's the picture of our "asphalt garden" here at Camp Jonah. Each year we are amazed at our little "garden" of bright, cheery daffodils that pop up from the cracked, aged asphalt in a hidden corner of our property.I suppose we could call it "beauty
out of asphalt." It's a reminder of what goes on here at Jonah in the lives of kids like 10 year old Alyssa (not her real name). She came from a broken home at the invitation of a friend. She'd never been to church, never heard the story of Christ, and knew nothing about the Bible. But someone captured her heart while she was here. Jesus! And the transformation beginning to take shape before she left camp was amazing. In just a week, she had a bright smile on her face and a new relationship with God that would carry her through her tough life at home. In fact, her family has noticed a huge difference and plans to send her and her little brother back to camp this coming summer!

MANY HANDS STILL MAKE LIGHT WORK!

We all heard it growing up, and we've been saying it over and over again this year, but it's still true! Many hands do make light work. A camp brochure mailing (look for it in your box this week!) that would have taken one of us two weeks to put together was finished in one day with the help of five local ladies-- moms, missionaries, and Jonah board members alike-- who donated seven hours of their busy lives to sit with Julianne and Molly and put sticky dots on 1700 booklets. At the same time, Jeff, Beki and two board members were in a meeting about a grant, and three more people were working hard on the ropes course. This is how things get done!

LOOK WHO'S COMING BACK!

Sherri "Daisy" Duke dedicated a LOT of summers to serving and growing with Jonah before fulfilling a lifelong dream by moving to Liberia as a missionary two years ago. While there, she met the man who was to become her husband in July of 2009, Thomas Wilson. They're transitioning to the States this spring for Thomas to complete his education before they move back to Africa fulltime to continue serving the Lord there. We're excited, because this means we get our Daisy back for a while! Thomas will be working on a local farm for the summer, and Sherri will serve as our staff supervisor, providing mentorship and supporting the staff leaders. We can't wait for our staff to benefit from her years of experience, her heart for the Lord, and her passion for camp, and we can't wait to get to know Thomas better!

Inspired by their experience at Kids' Missions Camp several years ago, sisters Leslie and Lauren Reavely (then 14 and 11 years old) started Hope2Others as a way to reach out to the homeless community in their hometown of Portland. H2O has since grown into an international nonprofit organization with locations in over 25 cities in the U.S. and the Philippines! We love watching our "kids" grow up to become world-changers, and we love having them come "home" again! Leslie will be joining us this summer as our camp missionary. She is serious about following God's call for her and H2O, and she is passionate about seeing kids reach their full potential for Christ. With that in mind, she'll spend the summer at Jonah, working with us to encourage kids to do hard things while we partner with her to grow the ministry of Hope2Others.

PRAISES:

1. Challenge Course: Safety while rebuilding, and at least one staffie to help Jeff each day!
2. Challenge Course Finances:With checks from our insurance and the Trout Lake Area Business Association, we were able to complete the necessary repairs and even add some new elements-- just in time for the busy spring retreat season!
3. Thanks to the ladies who spent all day Monday stuffing and sticking the "It's Camp Sign-up Time" mailing that you just received!
4. Thanks to the board members who joined us in a grant meeting on Monday! So encouraging!
5. The bleak March finances are squeaking through. Thank you for praying and/or giving!
6. Jeff & I are celebrating our 30th anniversarythis week! We're grateful for each other and the ministry God has given us to share!

REQUESTS:

1. Please pray for a safe drive for Jeff and Duct Tape and the bus full of college students on a Spring Break trip to Montana-leaving this Tuesday and returning on Saturday.
2. Please pray for some healing miracles for a staffie with some health issues.
3. Please pray for "bulging camps"this summer and for the presence of God to be felt by all!
4. It is our prayer and desire to finish both of our eating areas: 1) the Dining Hall and 2) to be able to put up our Igloo again. This will take generous giving. Pray for God's favor.
5. Steve and Harmony are expecting child #4! Please pray for Harmony to feel better soon!
6. Please pray for the oodles of details that need to be put together for each camp-for God's will in EACH detail.
7. Please pray for the final selection of members of our Summer Staff 2010.
8. Pray that we will be very intentional in seeking our Savior.