It’s January and a fresh new year lies ahead. Over the last century God has generously blessed Mount Hermon through people just like you. Your gift is part of a living legacy.
A wonderful note accompanied a 2011 year-end gift from a family with their own living legacy.
“…Last summer we sent our grandson to Ponderosa Lodge. His friend was able to join him, thanks to help from your Campership Fund. Thank you for making that possible. At the end of the week when we picked them up, the first thing they asked was: Will we be able to come back next year? We would like to make that experience possible for twenty-five campers in 2012. Twenty-five times three hundred thirty-one equals eight thousand two hundred and seventy-five dollars. May God use these camperships to bless and reach people for His Kingdom…”
We’re excited about 2012 because the opportunities to help people focus on Jesus Christ continue to grow! Young and old can come to Mount Hermon, step away from the distractions of daily life and hear the clear loving message of the Gospel. The need has never been greater, and because of your prayers and financial investments, you are a part of all that happens here.
Thank you for joining us on this adventure! With the new-year we start all over again and we pledge to apprise you of our needs and to do so with integrity. If we can serve you in any way, we are always as close as your phone, so please feel free to call us anytime at 831.430.1237.
On behalf of Roger Williams and the entire Mount Hermon family, thank you for being our partners in ministry!
Be ye fishers of men. You catch them – He’ll clean them.
When you think about it, Mount Hermon is on a non-stop fishing trip. Through God’s grace, there are plenty of life-changing fish stories to tell.
This past summer at Redwood Camp our staff was encouraged and challenged to be on the lookout for God on the move. We called them God Sightings, and they were amazing, exciting and numerous. Each staff member was asked to detail at least two. Below is how one counselor shared one of her experiences:
This summer the Lord has been teaching me and testing me in issues of trust. So often, I become anxious, and this occurs when I take matters of God, rip them from His hands, and clumsily try to juggle them. One week, my cabin was full of campers that knew nothing of Jesus or the Gospel. There was Buddha, reincarnation; you name it who, but no Jesus. I was overwhelmed and prayed that the Lord would at least plant some seeds. By the end of the week, Christ had been so transformational in my cabin that my girls committed their lives to Him. They spoke easily and with joy about the Gospel. They felt God’s love and presence as He perfectly orchestrated moments during the week that brought them to Him. I just needed to trust and lift my hands so that He could use His.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
Thanks for being such an important part of our fishing crew! Your prayer and financial support enable the nets to be cast over and over and over again!
J.R. Loofbourrow provides an update on the ministry taking place at Mount Hermon as well as an update to to the repairs to the buildings damaged by the storms experienced last winter. Thank you for your prayers and concerns about Mount Hermon during these times. Be encouraged! God is continuing to transform lives.
In addition to the photos below, you can also view a live webcam during the construction of Sequoia Lodge.
The rains may come, the lands may slide, but God is bigger and He continues to do great things at Mount Hermon! Thank you for your prayers and concerns about Mount Hermon during these times. Be encouraged! God is continuing to transform lives. JR takes some time to give an update about what’s happening at Mount Hermon and we posted a few pictures.
Workers at Mount Hermon assess the damage to the area surrounding Pine Lodge
The Meditation Chapel (bottom middle) covered by migrating redwoods
Landslide on Conference Center Drive - photo:Dan Dawson
Crews begin the clean up process to clear Conference Center Drive - photo:Dan Dawson
Part of our mission is to … serve His church in our nation and throughout the world. One of the ways we “serve His church” is through strategic ministry partnerships. These partnerships have always been part of Mount Hermon’s DNA and today encompass dozens of regional, national and international ministries.
In order to reach young people who might never be able to come to camp, we’ve initiated partnerships with three organizations ministering directly to at-risk youth:
Angel Tree ministers directly to children who suffer deeply when they see a mom or dad taken away to prison.
Bayside of South Sacramento is a church experiencing explosive growth. Bayside South is bringing the message of Jesus to the heart of downtown Sacramento.
Signs of Hope/Help One Child ministers to foster children. These are kids who have often bounced around from home to home while going in and out of foster care.
Note: last summer over six dozen kids from these organizations came to Mount Hermon thanks in part to your support. This summer we expect even more!
It’s been said: “You have to go out on the limb to reach the fruit”…do you think that applies to ministry? We do, which is why these ministry partnerships continue to be part of Mount Hermon’s DNA!
Sociologists tell us that even introverted people will influence an average of 10,000 people in their lifetime. Just think about that! Someone who’s not even trying will impact many. What might one person do if he or she is intentional – as Jesus directed us to be?
Last summer we asked many of our family camps: “What was most significant or meaningful about your week?” A first-timer responded: “Confirmed my belief in Jesus Christ.”
There are hundreds of responses I could share with you. But I choose this one. Think about that statement… “confirmed my belief in Jesus Christ.” In a society that causes us to face fear, futility and frustration much of the time, how many lives will this person influence for the Kingdom in the years ahead: 100, 1000, 10,000…? At Mount Hermon, lives continue to be transformed by Jesus Christ every week!
Thank You for being part of God’s plan and provision for Mount Hermon. Like the psalmist in Psalm 9, we continue to thank God from full hearts. We are whistling, laughing and jumping for joy. We are singing His songs. We pray that this month you will experience God with wide-open eyes and hearts. Together we will continue impacting people’s lives for Jesus Christ.
What kind of impact potential has God put inside you?
One week at Child Care we had two brothers with special needs. The younger one was mildly autistic, and the older one, recently adopted from foster care, had some behavior issues as well. They did great with some extra special care from our staff, right up until the last night when we paged their mom to come down a little early. She was full of praise for the care her boys had received in a challenging incident.
This family also had two other older children in Day Camp. Because of the special needs her boys have, child care has become impossible. As a result, they never have time away as a couple. Because of Mount Hermon’s Child Care, this week was the first time in 10 years that she and her husband were able to go on a date. They went walking hand-in-hand in the redwoods. While at the adult dinner, she said she almost cried as she realized how long it had been since they had enjoyed a meal, just the two of them.
She later shared they were here on a military scholarship. For us this was a special privilege, to serve a family with such big hearts, who pour into kids unwanted or loved by others, even while the dad is serving our country.
Charlie Broxton, Director of Youth Ministries, reports:
Our lessons this summer were on the faithfulness of God and what it means to have a real relationship with him. We taught each student a simple method for personal daily Bible Study and challenged them to continue the practice beyond camp for the next 21 days.
Ben, one of our counselors, shared that four guys in his cabin are taking the 21-Day Challenge together when they return home. They are calling it the 21-Meeting Challenge. They are going to meet every day for the 20 days following camp to read through the assigned passages and share with each other what God is teaching them.
And a high school camper writes:
“Kevin was an amazing counselor who really understood me. A lot of the problems and questions I challenged him with, he was able to answer in a really simple, yet powerful way. He taught me so much about God’s love and grace. I told him a lot about times in my life where I didn’t feel His love, but he gave me a verse that crushed any doubts I had about God’s love. (Romans 8:38-39). We also talked about some things that I have been doing wrong in my life, but I learned from him so much about love and grace. Thanks for hiring Kevin, he changed my whole perspective on Christianity and life.”
This summer our lessons were about the real people that Jesus encountered and how meeting Him changed their lives. Below are some quotes by primary campers (2nd and 3rd graders) about what they learned in their Bible studies.
• About Zaccheus (yep, we sure did)
• Jesus loved Zaccheus even though he was doing bad things because he knew what his heart was like—that he wanted to change.
• We learned what it means to seek. I like learning how to seek God and that He seeks us too.
• No matter how many times we mess up God still loves us.
During Victory Circle times campers shared:
“My parents aren’t Christians, but I learned I can choose what to believe for myself.”
“That some Bible stories are actually pretty cool.”
“I learned I like to sing songs about Jesus.”
“Why the heck did I ask Jesus into my heart if I don’t know Him very well. Then, I learned He knows me better than I know Him. And, that’s a start.”
“I already learned this, but I want to recap it—Jesus is awesome!”
After a particularly hard week for staff, counselors shared what God had been doing in their cabins—an entire primary cabin accepted Jesus as their Savior, an entire junior cabin did as well, not to mention several other individuals in cabins. God is good!
Our group spent an incredible day on the Klamath River with the staff of Kidder Creek Camp. Many of these students from Chico, CA, whose lives consist of poverty, homelessness and family disaster, never leave the county apart from this trip.
We watched our students absorb the beauty—and the challenges—around them. As they conquered their fears to jump off a 40-foot cliff, and forded the swift water around Dragon’s Tooth, they began to trust us as their counselors, and their friends. We saw them let go of their pride, their reputations, and their “credibility” and be kids again.
While we were working our way up the canyon to the falls, “it” happened. A life-hardened high school student, who has spent much of his teenage existence in detention centers, lost his tough demeanor and became a kid for the first time in a long time. In the middle of that creek, he stopped and looked around at where we were: in a crystal clear creek, in the middle of a box-canyon on our way to a spectacular waterfall. Just then, one of the Kidder Creek staff said to him, “Can you believe God made this for you…so you could see His beauty? And God says that as beautiful as this is, you are His masterpiece.” For the rest of the time, our student went from friend to friend saying, “Can you believe God made this for you?”
Back at camp, the calluses our students had allowed to cover their hearts were sloughed off by the fantastic day on the River. They sang, hugged each other, and prayed with tenderness. We were able to connect with these students in ways we’d been unable to before. Kidder Creek’s wonderful staff and amazing program helped us take our youth to a new level spiritually.
