Fire on the Mountain

EXPERIENCING A PROMISE OF GOD

The Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs is now history.  Those of us who lost nothing of material value are going on with life as usual.  We cannot imagine what those who lost everything, except life itself, can be going through.

During the early days when the 100 ft. wall of flames came over the ridge into the communities of Peregrine and Mountain Shadows, and the wind continued to blow the flames to the north toward the Air Force Academy and Monument Hill where the Ponderosa is located, the words of Psalm 91 kept coming to mind.  (Psalm 91 is a testimony of what God has chosen to do on occasion in the past, an assurance of what He is altogether able to do today, and a beautiful literary portrait of His awesome omnipotent capability for the future.  Psalm 91 should never be construed as a pledge of unqualified physical protection to all believers for all time in all circumstances.   ChristianAnswers.Net)

It was about that time I sent out a request to our blogger friends to pray that God’s hand of protection would be over Ponderosa and those of us who serve here.  Many of you contacted us by e-mail, telephone, and text message to say that you were praying.  One of the days, the smoke travelled north and descended on the camp to the point that I had to be confined in the motor home and use my inhaler in order to breathe.  The TV was on and when the reporter said … “Monument Hill”,…  I started paying closer attention fearing he was going to say the fire was headed our way and people were being warned to prepare for evacuation!   To my amazement, there on the screen was a distant view of Monument Hill; the skies over Colorado Springs were dark with clouds all around, but the skies directly above the hill and over the campground were absolutely clear!

Could it be?...  Was it possible?...  Had God heard the prayers of His followers on our behalf and answered our prayers?  YES!   From that point forward, a feeling of peace and assurance came over me and once again I was confident in knowing “that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  (Romans 8:28)

The men and women who live and work at Ponderosa are “called according to His purpose”.  Not only do they make their livelihood here, but they consider this retreat and conference center to be a place of ministry.  In the picture below, Marcus Rawls (white shirt) leads the staff in discussion of the plans and activities for the week.

People come to know the Lord here, rededication of life happens here, lives are committed to the Lord for mission service, families are reunited, and the Lord blesses those who are fortunate to work and worship in this place. 

Chapel

The Disaster Relief team from Oklahoma stood by.

 

A place of ministry

The cross on True Mountain (located on north end of camp) reminds us daily of God's wonderful love for us by sending His Son to die for our sins.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO TOOK TIME TO PRAY FOR US.  WE WILL BE HERE UNTIL THE END OF AUGUST AND COVET YOUR CONTINUED PRAYERS ON OUR BEHALF.  TO GOD BE THE GLORY!      --Nancy

Scary Times in Colorado

Thank goodness the Waldo Canyon fire is now 100% contained and we can see Pikes Peak without the smoke "enhancement"!  Sadly, over 345 homes were totally destroyed and 34,000+ people were evacuated.  On Friday night, before the fire broke out on Saturday, a few of the Ponderosa staff and volunteers attended a chuckwagon dinner and western music show at the Flying W Ranch.  The family responsible for this wonderful place has, for over 60 years, entertained countless numbers of residents and tourists with their special hospitality, food and entertainment.   Now, everything is gone except the memories.
 

A couple of days ago when the weather turned cooler and Nancy was wearing a jacket, she put her hand in the pocket of the jacket (that she wore to the Ranch) and found her ticket!  It was only then that she paused to read My Creed written by Dean Alfange of the Flying W Ranch.





Volunteers and staff arrive at the Flying W Ranch to enjoy the food and music:  Russ and Nancy; Elaine, Larry and Lisa of the Palm Springs area.

Some of our group waiting for the dinner bell to ring while the Wranglers entertained us with good old country music.


We didn't know this little girl, but she entertained us with her version of boot scootin' tunes!  Be sure to turn up your sound.







The very next day was the beginning of the horrible Waldo Canyon fire.  These pictures were taken from the ball field on the south end of camp.

Newscasts of the fire were on everyone's television.






The High Park fire near Ft. Collins destroyed over 87,000+ acres, and in the midst of that fire stood Sky Corral , another Christian (Baptist) camp that sustained extensive damage.   Because of that fire, 9 college students from Mississippi were evacuated from Sky Corral, where they were scheduled to serve for the summer, and came to work with us at Ponderosa.  What an unexpected blessing these young people were to us for 2 weeks!  They were here to serve and they gladly did so with whatever we asked them to do.  Sky Corral is scheduled to reopen by July 15.  As a side note, this group was sight seeing in Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs when the Waldo Canyon fire broke out and burned dangerously close to the park.  Once gain, they were evacuated because of a wild fire.

We want to take a moment to thank all of you who prayed for our safety  and the preservation of the Ponderosa during the days of the fire.  Two of our busiest weeks took place during this time:  kids' camp and student week.  Even with all the distractions, we had 25 salvations and 6 recommitments at kids' camp, and 8 salvations and 8 recommitments during student week.

Ponderosa Happenings

This group of "chain saw experts" from Texas came early in the summer to cut down and trim trees around the camp.  One of the large trees along the prayer path was "finished" by carving a cross out of the trunk.

Nancy made a special friend with Hudson, a young man with a crippling disability, when she let him and his care giver use our golf cart.  "This is the best camp ever" he was heard to say.
 







More tree trimming "fun" by our staff:  Marcus, Clint, Ben, Jake, Bryan and Mike.


More visitors to our camp site!  I actually think they have a conspiracy - the doe tips the bird feeder so the turkeys can get to the seed!

Our Friends the Kings

Several years ago we met Lew and Linda King at an FMCA rally in Farmington, NM.  Lew was Minister of Music at 1st Baptist Bloomfield, NM.  We found out that we had many common friends and have had good times ever since.  Lew and Linda recently retired and are workcamping at a trout farm in Southern Colorado.  Early last Sunday morning we found out that they were less than 100 miles from Ponderosa so we met them for church in Westcliffe, CO.  The church was overflowing!  The overflow was upstairs in a couple of Sunday School rooms where they had closed circuit TV.  Unfortunately, the audio didn't work so we had to listen from downstairs.  After church we had lunch at the Feed Store Resturant.  What a pleasant surprise to worship and fellowship with them.

Geocaching in Colorado

We have enjoyed doing some geocaching while in Colorado.  One of the caches was near an old cemetery.  This grave was rather unusual in that there were three graves with one headstone.  Below Russ has discovered a cache entitled "Pinball".  It was not difficult to find but it was a very novel container.

Big Announcements

One of the most difficult things about being away from our family all summer, is that we miss exciting happenings.  Shortly after we left, we learned that Chris and Bill recently had an exciting week when both daughters, Alyssa and Stephanie, became engaged.  Alyssa and Hans (left) have set a date in March of 2013.  We're still waiting to learn the date for Stephanie and Anthony (right).

And speaking of Chris...she celebrated her 50th birthday on July 1st!