Update - Monday 7/20/09

We got to Juneau uneventfully on Saturday. The flights were on time and connects all went well. We got out to the camp about supper time and settled in. Sunday's are pretty laid back up here. We worshipped with the camp staff and then had the afternoon to relax and plan for the work the rest of the week.  This morning we'll split into 2 teams, one to work on replacing the roof of the girls bath house and the other to work on the mini golf course we started last summer.

The golf course is exactly like we left it so we have to finish framing 6 holes and get all of them ready to pour concrete, hopefully Tuesday or Wednesday. The bath house roof is original cedar shakes shingles. There is so much moss that you cannot see most of the roof. There are small pine tree sappling growing in between some of the shingles. It reminded me of the trees we gave out 6 weeks ago at our celebration service for the new building.

Please pray for enough breaks in the rain this week so we can pour and finish the concrete and get the new steel roofing on the bath house.

More later,
Steve and Mike

Tuesday Morning

We have had a couple good work days Monday and Tuesday.  Monday we had drizzle most of the day with a couple pretty good showers and today the sun actually came out for 3 or 4 hours.  We have gotten the old cedar shake shingles off the bath house and new felt on so they are water tight.  If it doesn't rain tomorrow we should get the new roof pretty well on.  The golf course is coming along also.  We hope that we will finish the prep work on the golf course tomorrow and again if it doesn't rain on Thursday we will start pouring concrete then. 

We have a good group of guys.  We work hard but are having a good time as well.  Some saw a brown bear last night across the creek.  5 got to go for a horse back ride out to the wilderness camp.  Lots of opprotunities.

Tell everyone hi for us.

Steve and Mike 

Thursday

Well, things are going well.  We have the roof on the bath house ready for the new steel roofing and the golf course will be ready to pour cement by noon today.  (we have limitation on sending files on the internet so we'll have to show you pictures when we get back)  Our challenge is that we need dry weather to complete both projects and it is still drizzling.  The weather is supposed to break tonight or tomorrow.  You could pray that it is today.  We know this is all in God's hands and what we get done will be a help to Echo Ranch Bible Camp, but.... we also know that there aren't other work teams coming that don't already have projects lined up.  If we can get a start this afternoon, I believe we can wrap most of the work up with a long day on Friday.  We are scheduled to leave camp at 5:00 a.m. Saturday so what isn't finished by 9:00 Friday night will have to be left for someone else to wrap up.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

See you all next week.

Mike and Steve

Final Update

We are glad to be home!  We had a good week of serving our Lord at Echo Ranch Bible Camp.  It was a wet week at camp but the area was dry for their standards and the rain was welcomed.  It just made our work a little more challenging.  The rain stopped about noon on Thursday so we were able to get the new roof on the bath house completed about 8:00 p.m. Friday and everything was completed on the mini-golf course except pouring the concrete.  We just ran out of time.  There is a group of men at the Auke Bay Bible Church in Juneau that will pour the concrete some weekend.  It is good for the local churches to have a personal investment in the camp as well.

The camp is having a good year.  The week we were there, they had 92 kids there ages 7-9.  They will have around 1,000 total during the regular camping season that ends August 13th. 

Each morning, we started the day with devotions lead by John Glad from Valley Church.  It was good to start the day in God's Word and prayer. 

Thanks to everyone at Timberline that supported the trip financially and with their prayers.

Steve and Mike