Knee-Mail
March 5, 2010
Greetings in the name of Christ from Camp Deerpark.
If you are keeping score at home you will see that is has been a month since I have sent a prayer email from camp. The Bontrager family had a wonderful vacation in Florida. Although the weather was colder than usual for February it was still much better than NY. Most of you know that I love to play golf and I was able to do that several times. Gideon is a big fan of tennis so we played tennis about every other day. Elijah is our families biggest baseball fan. Elijah and I were able to go to a local Little League field and work on his fielding, hitting, pitching, and we even ran some sprints together. The highlight for Nehemiah was riding his bike in the skate park. Of course he said it was fun until he earned the nick name "Crash" by falling off one of the ramps and planting his face in the black top. Deborah enjoyed her daily walk through the neighborhood. She met some folks who were not planning on eating the oranges from their tree and we had fresh squeezed orange juice the rest of our stay. Hannah enjoyed riding bike going to the beach and going shopping with Grandma. Hadassah is still with Grandma and will be returning to NY at the end of March. On our trip back to NY we stopped at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia because our son Malachi happened to be there on a college visit with some other students from his high school. The children did not know we would be seeing him and were quite surprised. Thank you to all who kept our family in your prayers as we traveled. Also thank you to the wonderful staff here at camp who do such a marvelous job all year long. I don't think that I have ever been more relaxed and confident that all would go well back home. I came home to a renovated office. Check out the before, during, and after photos of the office renovation. http://campdeerparkphotos.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php Bob Martin did all of the work with wood that was grown here at camp. Take note of his lathe skills with the four spindles bracing the shelves.
Praise God with us for:
- Even though the snow is still very deep it is beginning to feel a lot like spring. Deborah's father, Dennis Sharp is here and making maple syrup with Gideon and Elijah.
- all of the youth groups who cut firewood last fall. The wood shed is empty, but there is still a large pile out in the back field.
- reservations and table sponsors are coming in for the Pennsylvania banquet on April 9th.
- Zachary had a good summer staff recruitment trip visiting colleges. Pray for a life guard and the rest of the counselors needed.
Please Pray for:
- Ben Stevens and the youth leadership retreat scheduled for next weekend.
- The NY campaign team will be meeting in the Bronx on March 20th
- I will be visiting several churches in Brooklyn on March 14th
- Joyse as she visits the churches in NYC and registering children for summer camp.
Thank you so much for your prayers for the children, youth, and families of New York City. Those of us who have seen the affects of camp ministry on the lives of children know that few activities or programs have more impact on the life of a young person. Thanks for the role that you have played in lives being impacted by the Gospel here at Camp Deerpark.
Blessings,
Ken
Camp Deerpark
March 5, 2010
Greetings in the name of Christ from Camp Deerpark.
If you are keeping score at home you will see that is has been a month since I have sent a prayer email from camp. The Bontrager family had a wonderful vacation in Florida. Although the weather was colder than usual for February it was still much better than NY. Most of you know that I love to play golf and I was able to do that several times. Gideon is a big fan of tennis so we played tennis about every other day. Elijah is our families biggest baseball fan. Elijah and I were able to go to a local Little League field and work on his fielding, hitting, pitching, and we even ran some sprints together. The highlight for Nehemiah was riding his bike in the skate park. Of course he said it was fun until he earned the nick name "Crash" by falling off one of the ramps and planting his face in the black top. Deborah enjoyed her daily walk through the neighborhood. She met some folks who were not planning on eating the oranges from their tree and we had fresh squeezed orange juice the rest of our stay. Hannah enjoyed riding bike going to the beach and going shopping with Grandma. Hadassah is still with Grandma and will be returning to NY at the end of March. On our trip back to NY we stopped at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia because our son Malachi happened to be there on a college visit with some other students from his high school. The children did not know we would be seeing him and were quite surprised. Thank you to all who kept our family in your prayers as we traveled. Also thank you to the wonderful staff here at camp who do such a marvelous job all year long. I don't think that I have ever been more relaxed and confident that all would go well back home. I came home to a renovated office. Check out the before, during, and after photos of the office renovation. http://campdeerparkphotos.myphotoalbum.com/
Praise God with us for:
- Even though the snow is still very deep it is beginning to feel a lot like spring. Deborah's father, Dennis Sharp is here and making maple syrup with Gideon and Elijah.
- all of the youth groups who cut firewood last fall. The wood shed is empty, but there is still a large pile out in the back field.
- reservations and table sponsors are coming in for the Pennsylvania banquet on April 9th.
- Zachary had a good summer staff recruitment trip visiting colleges. Pray for a life guard and the rest of the counselors needed.
Please Pray for:
- Ben Stevens and the youth leadership retreat scheduled for next weekend.
- The NY campaign team will be meeting in the Bronx on March 20th
- I will be visiting several churches in Brooklyn on March 14th
- Joyse as she visits the churches in NYC and registering children for summer camp.
Thank you so much for your prayers for the children, youth, and families of New York City. Those of us who have seen the affects of camp ministry on the lives of children know that few activities or programs have more impact on the life of a young person. Thanks for the role that you have played in lives being impacted by the Gospel here at Camp Deerpark.
Blessings,
Ken
Camp Deerpark
