Wilderness Northwest Blog

On Saturday the 12th of May, the camp grounds were a flurry of activity as 3 different groups joined forces to tackle some of the clean-up in Camp. Fort Lewis sent over some of their troops, families, generals and preachers, to clean up slash, pick up leaves and rake the main part of camp. Ray Canterbury brought a family of helpers to rake, pickup slash, and clean up part of the Wilderness trail and Alan Reimann brought some junior high and high schoolers from the local Brinnon and Quilcene youth group to join the ranks of trail workers and camp clean-up crew.

Chiefs, Generals, & Preachers pitch in

Tim Edgren surveying his accomplished work

Ray Canterbury and his trail crew cleanned signs, raked and picked up slash on the Wilderness devotional trail

Teens from the local youth group lay gravel down on the Wilderness trail

Alivia paints boards for the trail crew

Katie & Emily paint each other

Thanks to all the workers that joined us last Saturday in working in camp and preparing for the hopeful upcoming camp season.
God Bless.

May 2007

It always starts feeling a little rushed around here by early May. This year is especially escalating because we are in a major restoration phase at WNW that needs a majority of completion by June 1st. This restoration project is critical because normal wear and tear and deterioration has taken a toll on our facility and we have not been able to keep up in recent years.

Although we have every desire and intention to open camp by June, the board of directors has determined that we cannot overlook safety risks, and we also want to honor God with a facility that is functional, appealing, and able to accommodate the program activities that we plan.

Our goal was to tackle most of the projects from March through May. Unfortunately, March weather only gave us 3-4 good workdays. In April, a youth group from Oak Bay helped us start the rebuilding of several playground units. Two other volunteer groups were unable to make it in April, but we have logged in some good days between thunderstorms lately to accomplish some important jobs. We still have much to do and depend on God’s people with a heart for ministry, to lend a few hours and help us “Restore the Walls” of WNW.

A lot of young campers are looking forward to the greatest experience of their summer at July’s Day Camp. We don’t want this year to be any different from the last 25 years for those 70+ campers. Pray for the laborers we need, or participate as the laborers we need. All to the glory of God’s Kingdom.

Newsletter May 2007
Jody Weed

A couple of the crew mixing one of many loads of concrete for the posts in the playground.

MIke Miller brought a half a dozen people from his youth group at Lakebay Community Church last week. They spent two days re-building playground equipment and cleaning up brush and branches throughout the main part of camp. They also worked on a little rockwork in the creek bed and kept the fire going with the truckload after truckload of brush.

A hole not filled

These guys and their leaders, Staci and Mike, worked really hard through the hail and the sun to start these projects.

One of the holes filled for the play-tower

The new posts holding up the teeter-totter and the crew that did it.

Thanks to the group for all the hard work.

The 2006 CIT group

Wilderness Northwest Counselor in Training Program

Our program is aimed at and designed for teens who have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and desire to be challenged with the demands of true Christian discipleship.

“And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’” Luke 9:23

Our goal is to help train and equip the CIT’s in areas of : Team building, testimony, commitment, gifts of serving, dependability, willingness, cooperation, and growing into the image of Jesus Christ.

We have a group of upstanding and normal……citizens

We have begun a new year of training for our Counselor’s In Training (CIT) Program. This program is for High school and older teens who want to be discipled. We try to meet monthly in order to disciple, challenge, study the Word, work as a team and grow in knowledge and truth of God’s Word and their walk with God. Oftentimes, these young adults will help staff our Day Camp program teaching, getting to know the kids, doing dramas and having a pretty good time.

“Wilderness Northwest CIT program has helped me grow in my walk with the Lord more than anything else. It’s been so awesome. I also really enjoy helping out at Camp too!”
Brooke Parsons (2nd year CIT)

Brooke and Lucy at our CIT Retreat

This is the short list of some of the types of projects and descriptions that need to be accomplished in the coming months.

MARCH:
Brush clean-up
Concrete posts
Clear windfall on Wilderness Trail
Excavate for storage shed
Gravel cabin path, slash
Enlarge tent sites

APRIL:
Wilderness Trail-rake,slash,winch
Fence rails along playground
Shop-signs
Rebuild playground tower
Trail repair/bridge re-decking
Plumbing/electrical
Carpentry
Structure repairs: cabin and woodshed

April work crews:
Mike Miller and group will be doing some projects: April 2-3
Youth group mission to WNW: April 13-14 (canceled)

<MAY:Continue list from March and April with additions

May work crew:
Brinnon/Quilcene Youth Group (Saturday, May 12th) pictures on news entry
Fort Lewis group (Saturday May 12th) pictures on new entry
Tukwilla group: Memorial Day weekend (May 26-28)

JUNE: TBA
Teens from Lakewood: June 9-10
Day Camp Staff work day: TBA

Other groups dates will be posted as they are scheuled. Be sure and contact us about what day you want to come either on your own or to join a group.

Dead Sea Scrolls at Wilderness Northwest!! 12-06

Wouldn’t that have been a great headline to bring new campers to WNW? I am sure many of you visited the exhibit as our family recently did at the Seattle Science Center. Unfortunately, I discovered that they weren’t interested in bringing the scrolls over to our camp.
Well, regardless, it was quite a powerful event to witness. Parts of the Old Testament preserved for 2000 years, were discovered in 1947 in caves above the Dead Sea and then kept hidden from the public view for over 40 years by the 7 scholars who worked on the puzzle pieces.

The relevance of this discovery historically confirms that God’s words will never pass away, and God has preserved the truth and accuracy of the Bible with careful transcription as demonstrated with the Dead Sea Scrolls documents.

Genesis 1:19-27 of the Dead Sea Scrolls

As many know, we use the book of Genesis to teach the foundations of truth here at WNW. It was exciting see Genesis 1:19-27 displayed at the Center and to think that 2000 years ago Jesus read from the same text that gives such a clear statement of a creation in 6 literal 24 hour days. And then it was declared “very good.” Perfect from the beginning. God’s word hasn’t changed, only man’s opinion.
Of course we shouldn’t be surprised at God’s ability to promise an eternal, trustworthy, and unchanging word. In Psalm 33 you find that God “spoke” into existence the heavens and earth. He commanded and it was so (Ps. 33:6,9). The book of Psalms was the most popular book found in the 11 caves around Qumran. There were 30 copies of Psalms, 25 Deuternonomy, 20 Isaiah, and 14 Genesis. They had Psalm 119:82-96 on display. Verse 89: “Forever O Lord, thy Word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”

The Psalms scroll, found in cave 11 in 1956
Psalm 119:82-96

Man still argues and debates, but God has forever settled and established the truth. It won’t change. That is why we can place our trust, hope, and confidence in what God says. In Isaiah 9:6 God said: “For a Child will be born to use, a son will be given…..and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” “ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

Phase I Begins!!!

We have begun the process of getting Phase I of WNW Camp development off the ground. Phase I involves the “rebuilding and restoration” of our present facility to enable us to open for camp use by June 2007. Because the facility is affected by a damp climate and heavy use in the summer, we are facing cleanup, repairs and improvements beyond the ability of 2-3 workers to accomplish. We have set the next 6 months for the task of raising special funds and labor to “rebuild the walls” of WNW and enable us to utilize all program areas.
Estimated cost of materials: $7000.
Hours of volunteer labor: ? (a whole bunch)
Labor for certain projects requiring special skills: $3000.
Total: $10,000.
The fund has been jumpstarted with $2200. already designated by recent donors. As the new year approaches, consider an investment during the next 6 months towards the ministry of Christian camping at Wilderness Northwest. We will be contacting churches in January with the opportunity to send a mission work team out here next spring for a day or two. If your family is interested in helping, let me know and we’ll work on a schedule.
Let us arise together and put our hands to work for the glory of God.

Baby Emery and brother Isaiah

Early Christmas:
Our first grand-daughter, Emery Grace Reimann, arrived on December 5th at 12:45A.M. in Port Townsend. Brother Isaiah is shown getting acquainted. Mom and Dad are both recovering and doing well. We had a tense week keeping the roads cleared between snow storms, but fortunately she waited until bad weather had passed.

Have a blessed Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And that Good News is still good, and still true 2000 years later.

A few months ago, this forest was filled with the voices of campers and Wilderness Northwest staff talking of the 6 days of creation, announcing their group names, singing songs around the campfire and hearing shouts of “look out for the director’s golfcart!” or “I’ve fallen down and I can’t find my buddy to help me up ’cause he got lost on the Wilderness trail”. These very same woods are filled with the gentle landing of thousands of snow flakes, an occassional “kerplunk” as a limb or shower snowballs fall to the ground, but mostly it’s silence of a camp on the Duckabush River…..void of it’s cherished summer campers. Wilderness Northwest is bedded down for the winter and blanketed with snow.

There’s a road in there somewhere to the playground

Camp was closed up and loads of leaves were removed from the roads which are now covered in branches and trees from the recent storm damage of snow, ice, and wind. After record rainfall in November, the sudden cold snap that took us by surprise, broke some water pipes and lead the way for the 15-16 inches of snow at the end of the month that still remains on the ground.

Anyone for a winter rendezvous??

However much debris remains on the roads and grounds, the roofs that were replaced this fall still stand and seem to be doing their job despite the weather.

The cabin roof is still holding

At the cookhouse

The Duckabush River remains as you remember it…..just a bit colder

Day Camp 2006:
As always, Day Camp is the most exciting , intense, and challenging week of the summer at WNW. This year we were filled up within 2 weeks of sending out camper applications. Fortunately we had enough staff resources to enlarge the program and allow 70 campers to sign up. What a celebration with 35 adult staff and 8 CIT’s! We used a very challenging curriculum designed to help kids build a foundation of faith following salvation. Bible-based lessons involved subjects such as: Is there really a God? How did we get the Bible? How old is the earth? Did God create in 6 days? What is compromise? Our intention is to go beyond good Bible stories and demonstrate there is an important and trustworthy basis to believe what God specifically says in the Bible concerning history, science and lifestyle.

Let’s eat!!!:
Two local churches used our camp facility for their annual picnic. Folks enjoyed the great food as well as tours of the camp to see the different ways our facility is utilized. Thanks for your support!

Fall Parties:
Mason County Christian School in Shelton has regularly been a source of volunteer work crews in the spring and fall. We always look forward to their hard-work and enthusiasm for doing the “hard labor” of cleaning the grounds. We thank David Roller for bringing the Jr. High and Misty Niele for leading the High Schoolers up here.

New Roofs:
After finishing the new cabin roof in June and the pump-house roof in August, we tackled a remodel/re-roof on the Training Center in September. We appreciate the efforts of Jay Zelen, Ray Canterbury, Kara Weed and Alan Reimann in this project. We also thank Pastor Tim Roth and family from Port Orchard who made the unfortunate mistake of vacationing next door at the Refuge during a week of work. They volunteered as the “tear-off” crew and got us going to a great start.

Fall-2006

Yo people, let’s get to work!!

That would be considered a “loose paraphrase” of Nehemiah 2:17-18. Now understand, I am not Nehemiah, and Wilderness Northwest is not the wall around Jerusalem. But, it does provide an inspirational principle as we face a massive rebuilding project at WNW.

Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem from years in exile to find the walls in ruin and disrepair. So what he actually said was, “Come, let us arise and build.” People got excited and he organized them into teams under the management of constant prayer to a God who delivers.

After 26 years of operation, heavy use and a moldy climate have had quite a toll on our facility that is mostly wood and largely exposed to the weather. To put it simply-much of the cam is falling apart! The camp board of directors has been meeting throughout this year with the purpose of refining our vision, mission and goals. We will express our entire plan at greater depth in the next few months. But the quick overview has a breakdown of 3 phases as we determine God’s future plans for WNW.

Phase I is to “Rebuild and Restore” the broken walls. If many parts of the facility are broken, unsafe, and unusable, we are unwilling to open the gates for camp in 2007. Not just because of liability, but because we cannot do the things we desire to do in program and simply because it does not honor God in presenting His ministry. The problem for us in this phase is that we find fewer volunteers each year, but also lack sufficient funds to hire people to get the work done.

Phase II is called “Enlarging the Borders” and involves major construction of a multi-purpose teaching center, restrooms and upgraded cabins. A new master site plan is forthcoming.

Phase III involves “Enlisting Personnel” to carry out the new programs that will fulfill the vision on Wilderness Northwest, and glorify our God for another 25 years hopefully. What you will hear in the next few months will sound aggressive and crazy! Nehemiah was laughed at by his own people, but he was eventually successful.

We will trust God for a great work and the raising up of resources to tackle Phase I. We will have to finish rebuilding and restoring in the next 6 months before moving on to Phase II. So get in touch with me if God moves you to help us kept he front gate open for 2007. IT would be so exciting to get a call from Eliashib and his brothers, or maybe the men of Jericho, or the sons of Hassenaah to come and begin the restoration. (We are also open to receiving help from any one of the ladies out there. Nehemiah had some cultural restrictions.)

We are introducing a new bi-weekly blog at our website if you want to keep updated with what is going on at: www.wildernessnw.org If you send us your e-mail address, we can send an automated note whenever we update.