It’s a time of transition at Mount Hermon as Ron Demolar, who has impacted countless lives over four decades at Mount Hermon, has retired. Sort of. He has now accepted a position on Mount Hermon’s board of trustees which is an appointment for life.

Ron asked if Leslie and I would take over as the coordinators for alumni and we agreed.

In our first letter to all of you, this is what came to mind.

Lives Transformed

“Lives Transformed” -  it’s the statement found on all Mount Hermon literature.

It is always an indication of a story. Mount Hermon holds a special place in the lives of so many including my own, that have been impacted by the ministry here, through the teaching of the Word, worship, fellowship and for many such as you, serving here for a season.

After being widowed for a year and coming back to MH to co-lead a conference in 2005, my children introduced me to (they set us up) Leslie Cooper, a former staffer who oversaw childcare and day camp for nearly 10 years and worked with many of you. It wasn’t my script but God’s using my kids and former Day Camp staff to put us together. It worked! Leslie Cooper has been Leslie Burns for over five years now and we live  in Mount Hermon where I minister as the Director of Adult Ministries.

So many of you have stories to tell of the impact Mount Hermon has had in your lives. How many of you met your future spouse at Mount Hermon as we did? How often have we heard the story: “as a summer staffer in such and such a year I worked with this girl and now we’re married with children of our own.”

Leslie and I are interested in hearing your story. Would you send us an email telling us the impact Mount Hermon has had on your lives? We’d love to create a collection of those stories.

And stay tuned! We want to coordinate an alumni reunion at a Mount Hermon Conference next year!

Have a blessed Christmas and New Year

Dave and Leslie Burns
dave.burns@mounthermon.org

Mount Hermon will always be near and dear to my heart because it is where Christ pursued me to be His disciple. This past summer, I experienced Ponderosa Lodge from an entirely new perspective; I was a CILT.  CILT, or Campers in Leadership Training, is a two week program in which high school students are trained to share the love of God with junior highers. As amazing as being a leader for younger girls was for me, CILT also provided me with the opportunity to dive deeper into my own faith, and to create bonds with other Christians in high school who truly love Jesus. When you’re a CILT, the entire Ponderosa staff pours their love into you constantly. Then, you are blessed with the chance to pour your own love into campers. CILT taught me a lot about what it looks like to not just be a follower, but a disciple. Serving God and others is so fulfilling, and at the same time you’re having so much FUN!

One of the most noticeable characteristics about being in a leadership role is the challenges you face. I’ve been a camper for seven summers now, and have always been terrified of the leap of faith. One day when I was with my campers at the ropes course, one asked me to be her partner for the jump, and without hesitation I accepted. I’m not sure why her request was so easy to answer, but I know that God was working through me. God really gave me countless ways to be a leader during CILT, and every boundary I grew past brought me closer to being a true disciple.

Another challenge brought on by CILT was knocking down your walls. The entire first week of CILT is spent training to be a leader, and bonding with your fellow CILTs because they are your family. We all had to open up about the tough stuff, but being able to admit your struggles brings you so much closer to God and shows you how much your “family” cares about you.

CILT was undoubtedly the best adventure I’ve ever experienced.

Ponderosa Lodge CILT Campers 2012

This is a guest post written by Evan, a high school student who attended Mount Hermon’s CILT camp this past summer.  CILT is a 2-week program for juniors, seniors and graduated seniors that focuses on leadership development.

Whenever I am asked to put my experience of CILT in a few words I honestly don’t know how to do it. But in general CILT did the unimaginable for me and my walk with Christ. A quick way I’ve been able to explain the experience for others back home is telling them how, for basically forever, I have had NO idea what I wanted to become or do with my life after high school; what college I wanted, what job, any of it. No clue. But I can honestly and full heartedly say, after the blessing of the two weeks at Mount Hermon’s CILT, it was the very first time something felt RIGHT. It felt like it was exactly where I needed to be.

I have been going to Mt.Hermon since primary week at Redwood Camp, and that place has been like a second home to me. Something that I realized is that I have always been provided FOR there. And the most beautifully amazing thing CILT gave me was the opportunity to provide for others and not myself…and honestly, building people up in Christ is the most beautiful and incredible thing to ever be apart of, at least to me. And I got to do that for TWO WEEKS!!!

I became so vulnerable and open with people I had only known for 3 days and then God stepped right in and made those into friendships that I’m still in touch with literally everyday to this day and I still care for them SO much.  I’ve seen God work through that in such ridiculous ways by bringing us together and it has been so so extremely cool. What was all the more rad was then going our separate ways into cabins of our own but still having each other as we put all our effort and strength pouring into these kids to bring them one step closer to Jesus.

Meanwhile, God himself was bringing us so much closer to him as well whether we knew it then or not. It’s that indescribable!

We continue to spend our days praying and preparing for all that is to come.  The closer we get, the more sobered I am by the reality of what God is entrusting us with as we minister to students, their families and their churches.  I can’t wait for this summer but I am really glad that we have a little bit more time to prepare and pray.  I am really looking forward to meeting each of you face to face next month!

As you are praying for this summer, there are 2 main things I ask you to be persistent in praying for.  First, please pray that we (the summer staff) would be united in love through serving one another.  The summer is amazing yet it can be long and arduous at times.  We are going to need God’s power to serve Him, each other and students with hearts that are unified.  “We are here to serve” is something we will hear throughout the entire summer!  Second, I ask that you pray that students would be led 1 step closer to Jesus.  It can be so easy for a student to come to youth group or a camp and leave having had a lot of fun without experiencing the transformative power of God.  It is our desire that students leave their week at Ponderosa having taken 1 step closer to Jesus.  It could be that they came as someone not interested in Him and now they are seeking Him.  Maybe they came not being a follower of Jesus and they left a follower.  It might even be that they came as a Christ follower with an area of their life not surrendered to Jesus and they left with it surrendered to Him.  Whatever it is, our calling before God is to help them take 1 step closer to Jesus as God’s Spirit moves in their hearts.

If you have yet to become a fan of Mount Hermon Youth on facebook, please do so by clicking here.  We are really going to push for this to be a place for staff and students to interact before and after the summer.  It is our hope to get students connected not only to camp but also to have great follow up with them after the summer to make sure that their week at camp was more than just a mountaintop experience.  If you can, please take a moment to answer the question for summer staffers by clicking here.  The more you interact, the more students will be drawn here!

The time is near—keep praying!  I look forward to seeing you soon.

Peace,
Charlie

Bill was here from 1957 to 1978, starting first as program director under a dual-management model, then a triple-management model, and was finally named executive director in 1963. He was responsible for the development of a family camp program, and greatly expanded Mount Hermon’s programs, facilities, and influence in the 21 years he served here.

He is survived by his sons Casey and Doug and his daughters Melissa and Jenny, and several grandchildren.

Memorial services have been set at Mount Hermon for Tuesday, May 12, at 2:00 p.m. in the main auditorium.  Dr. Charles Swindoll has confirmed as speaker, and Dr. Howard Stevenson, Roger Williams, and Dave Talbott will also participate in the service.  A reception will follow in the Dining Hall.

Roger has authorized a “friends and family” rate for anyone coming who needs to stay overnight in Mount Hermon hotel units.  If your family needs that, call the Registration Office and tell them it’s for the Bill Gwinn Memorial Service.

The family is selecting a specific project, probably related to our trail and/or bridge system, for gifts through the Mount Hermon Book of Remembrance.  Details will be announced soon.

A letter from a guest conference at Mount Hermon shared with us by Shami Benjamin.

Here is a story MJ shares about a group of all girls who attended a camp at Ponderosa Lodge and the unexpected results they experienced.

When I was nine years old, I attended Redwood Camp for the first time. My parents were going through an extremely messy divorce. To help me escape and relax through this troubled time, my mom sent me to camp, where I bonded with an empathetic counselor, someone who patiently listened to the fears and challenges my friends at home could not always appreciate. This solace brought me back to Redwood year after year.

When I was too old to attend as a camper, I began volunteering in the Redwood Camp kitchen. And finally, during college, I returned as a counselor. Within my first week of counseling, I found myself sitting on a familiar bench one night beneath the stars, cradling a nine-year-old camper who wept over a broken relationship with her father. This experience repeated itself several times throughout the summer. It seemed my cabin was a magnet for such kids. My painful past, which at one time had been a source of shame, was transformed into a beautiful account of survival that I could use to encourage campers going through similar experiences. Was this a coincidence?

During and after my college years at UCLA, God provided me unique opportunities abroad. Not only did I get to study in France – I also got to spend some time working on a hospital ship in the African country of Liberia. Returning to Redwood Camp for the summers, I was able to minister to several French-speaking campers as well as to a Liberian refugee who had come to Redwood as a camper. I missed Africa dearly that summer, and this girl’s mannerisms, accent and smile eased my spirit. We ate fried plantains (a common Liberian snack) on corndog day, and I loaned her one of my vibrant pieces of Liberian clothing so we could dress alike for twin day. Of all the summers in the 100 years of Redwood’s existence, Vivian came the very summer after I returned from Liberia. Coincidence?

I do not believe in coincidences, because I believe God ordains that people will cross paths at specific places and times, plans for a heartache in one person to stir hope in another, and uses small children to teach adults. Although my time at Redwood has ended, the summers I spent there remind me to look for purpose in encounters and to expect meaning in every situation.

Our youth who attended camp at Ponderosa can’t stop testifying to the amazing time they had there. They have captivated their friends at Sunday school. We just sit and listen, and our hearts are overflowing.

One of our students has given a mini-sermon to her peers to “hunger and thirst for God, because He hungers and thirsts for you too!” Another student said that he especially enjoyed getting to know the guys in the surrounding cabins. That’s just a snippet.

Thanks again for including us. You guys are doing a great work!

– From a church pastor, via e-mail

Larry and Martha