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.