MURALS!!!

The next time you're up at camp check out the new murals. Here at camp we are always blessed by the MMAPers who come and volunteer as well as by the diverse talents. This past November a couple of MMAPers, Charlotte Dunaway and Karen Greenslate, worked on these beautiful murals, which feature scenes from nature accompanied by scripture passages. They turned out great!

The first and largest mural is at the end of the south end restrooms, and features Romans 1:20. I like the bear in the tree to the right.

The second mural is located on the front porch of the Birch Lodge and features Isaiah 30:15.

Do you recognize that rock? The third mural is located on the end of the Douglas Fir Lodge and features Luke 19:40.

Thank you MMAPers for all of the hard work you invest in the ministry at Camp Maranatha. We love you guys!!!

BLAST TO THE PAST!

Several weeks ago I was walking across the grounds toward the office when Nancy Beggs found me. She had found this old flyer (from the 60's?) and thought we should have it here in the camp's archives. I recognized Dwight Shirley on the left and Betty Crimi crouching down on the right, and Nancy probably remembered more names, but I didn't write them down then. Do any of you recognize anybody else in this photo?

I couldn't fit the entire centerfold on my scanner. This was the best I could do. The biggest surprise in the flyer was the revelation that it only cost $6.50 to go to camp back then!!! Another surprise was that the camp began with dinner at 9:30 pm, and that lights out was pretty late- after midnight! Some of our campers wouldn't mind having lights out that late, but that might be a tougher sell to the counselors. What can I say? The 60's were a crazy time!

I'm also intrigued by this game called the "basketball bop" (also apparently known as "double dribble"). According to the flyer it involved a basketball and coins. Do any of you out there recall how to play this game? I think we should resurrect it.



Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Nancy.

WORK DAY 2009!

We want to say "thank you" to everyone who came up and helped at this year's work day. Work day was well attended and we got a lot done. Thanks guys!

WHAT A PERFECT MORNING!

Sometimes I feel so privileged to live where I do. It seems such a shame to me that more people can't be here at the camp right now to enjoy this beautiful morning. As I left my house to head down to the office it was just cool enough that a long sleeved shirt felt good, but warm enough that if I had started to exert myself I would have been comfortable in a T-shirt. The ragged green mountains looked superimposed against the blue sky like they had been cut from a magazine and placed on a sheet of blue paper. Nowhere on the horizon was there a single cloud to mar the perfect blue horizon. The sun was glancing through the trees, causing the dew to sparkle on the grass. Bunnies and robins were hopping around and everything seemed springtime fresh and perfect. The air was flavored with that heady mixture of wood smoke, breakfast preparations, and the all-pervasive scent of pine. It put a spring in my step as I headed out for a day of service and directed my thoughts to the wonderfully creative God who I am privileged to serve through the ministry here at camp.

Have a blessed day, Josh Tate

DEER IN THE CENTER GRASS

During the week, when the camp is empty it can get pretty quiet here at Maranatha. This morning as I was walking across the grounds I was surprised to find these three deer grazing on our center grass. When I first saw them they were in front of the dining hall, almost as far as the fountain, but by the time I fetched a camera they had mosied back over by the gazebo.

I wanted to get a really nice picture of them right in the center of camp, but, for some reason, they didn't want me to get too close to them. My camera, and my abilities as a photographer were not equal to the task so you will have to be satisfied with these fuzzy, too-distant photos.

My efforts to get in closer for a better shot caused them to move out of the grassy area and closer to the woods.

Eventually the deer were so annoyed by me that they trotted off on those springy slender legs of theirs into the woods behind the Oak Lodge.

WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND AT CAMP MARANATHA

Yesterday the day dawned clear and bright. The storm had moved on and the sun shined uninterrupted on a shimmering world where every branch and twig was etched in white and the camp sat quietly under a heavy blanket of snow. It was absolutely beautiful, and camera in hand I set out for a walk. In places the snow came up to my knees.

Bobcat track!

LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!

As my fingers dance over the keyboard it is snowing to beat the band outside. Every branch and twig is etched in white and theheavy silence that always accompanies a snow storm has settled over the campground and the surrounding woods.

Keith has been busy plowing for much of the morning. The Dodge does a great job pushing around the snow, and all of us who live here at the camp are grateful for the great job Keith does plowing.

You can just barely see the truck over the berm at the end of the parking lot.

What a beautiful day!

FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON- 12/15/2008

IT'S A RAINY DAY HERE AT CAMP

It's not raining hard though- just a nice steady drizzle. On the walk down to the office this morning I was reminded of how much I enjoy walking in the rain. The only thing better is walking in the snow. I'm sure that will be coming soon enough as well.

"As the rain and snow

come down from heaven,

And do not return to it

Without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower

and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

And achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55:10-11

JAMES 5:7-8

"Be patient, then brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm because the Lord's coming is near."

I used to work with a guy who would routinely arrive at work 15 minutes late. He did as little as he could get away with and what little he did he didn't do particularly well. When we would talk about work he seemed bored but when discussion turned to his plans for his days off he became more animated. He would spend his shift dodging supervisors, playing games on the computer, trying to look busy, and making plans for the weekend. He was all weekend, no workday, and a horrible coworker.

As Christians we have a lot to be excited about. I have to confess, with a little shame, that until about a year ago I was too in love with this world to truly look forward to Christ's return, but today I find myself continuously longing for it with a fervor and an anticipation that I have never felt previously in my walk with Christ. Sure, there were moments, hours and even days before when I yearned for Christ's return, but today it is a continuous state. I live and walk in it. I want the clouds to part and to see Christ in all His glory. I want to see every knee bow. I want to walk through the untrammeled perfection of a new Earth. I want to sing God's praises in the new Jerusalem. I want to see the place that Christ has prepared for me, and to live in unbroken relationship with God, man, creation and time. My mind is not capable of perceiving how wonderful it will be, but my spirit directs my heart towards it as surely as a compass needle must point north. This is the weekend I am looking forward to...

...but today is not the weekend (O' that Christ would prove me wrong!).

There is work to do, and I catch myself at times possessing a similar attitude towards Christ's return, and the wedding that will follow, as my coworker held for the weekend. It tempts me to resent and neglect the present. For those who have passed from death to life we are already living in eternity. Not only have I been forgiven my sins, but I have been given Christ's reward. I am a new creation today and always. These are the last days when we can choose to deny ourselves. These are the last days when we can say "no" to sin and truly offer up ourselves as a living sacrifice- forgoing things we desire for something of much greater worth.Just like the farmer in James 5 we have a day to look forward to, but the watchwords for today are "wait," "be patient," and "stand firm." Don't be a horrible coworker. Delight in today, and in the labor of your hands. Enjoy the challenges and pleasures that God has set before you. Give God what he wants to take and take from God what he wants to give. Watch a football game, get together with friends, go for a walk with your kids, and continue steadfastly in the work of the Lord and the study of His word. These days matter.

The camp’s compost pile, which was built at the suggestion of my wife, Sarah, sits atop the rim of the gully at the end of a short path behind the office. I carved the path out of the surrounding vegetation with the help of a weed-whacker and some pruning shears two years ago, but the regular foot traffic of the kitchen staff coming and going from the spot has been enough to maintain it ever since. The compost pile, which sits in a small clearing at the end of the path, is kind of a crude affair, just four pallets standing on end in a rough square and reinforced with chicken wire. A sheet of plywood rests over the whole, presumably to keep raccoons out. The flimsy defenses of the chicken wire and plywood don’t actually do much to keep animals out though, and sometimes I jokingly refer to it as our “wildlife feeding station.”

Occasionally, I take a break from the office and walk down there to rotate the compost with an old pitchfork. The top layer, which represents the most recent deposits, resembles a ghoulish salad bar with a multicolored mélange of strawberries, carrots, cantaloupe, egg shells, lettuce, squash, and coffee grounds all piled in a heap. It looks moldy and wilted, and it smells rotten, but as the pitchfork flips and mixes the pile, the under-layers, still kind of moist but uniformly brown with an earthy aroma, are revealed. I think it is almost magical that all that rejected produce and trash can be transformed into a rich useful soil.

I was reminded of the compost pile recently while reading II Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Some of our guests arrived at Camp Maranatha this past summer dead in their sins, and left the grounds alive in Christ. This has caused me to think of Camp Maranatha as a compost pile of sorts wherein an amazing transformation takes place in the lives of our guests. Although Camp Maranatha is situated in an idyllic spot with wonderful facilities, what is remarkable about camp is not the venue or the buildings. Just like the compost pile, it is the transformation that occurs here that makes it remarkable. For me, the fact that these grounds are dedicated to the work of the Lord lends beauty to the surroundings, and it is exciting to know that some of our guests are transformed during their time here into new creations--a rich useful soil from which good works will bloom, bear fruit, and bring joy to the heart of our Lord.

We can’t say that it is Camp Maranatha that makes this possible, because God doesn’t need anyone or any place to accomplish His will, but it is our great joy to be used in this way. Thanks be to God!!!