The Rampage – Issue 90

Director’s Update

Tory Albertson – Executive Director

At Bighorn we had been anticipating an exciting year in 2008! So far the Lord has not disappointed in one bit. He has given us challenges in many areas. We are short staffed in several areas at this time so we have really felt this winter’s challenges especially in dealing with the weather and our vehicles. We have been blessed with a tremendous amount of snow in the mountains which has made it really tough for our logistics. For the first time in ten years we were unable to reach the top of the pass we base our skills out of. Reuben, our Administration Director and one of our CDL drivers had his thumb broken by a steering wheel, trucks got completely stuck, and it proved to be unusually difficult to keep the trucks running. It seemed like all of our plans for the use of our usual area were sinking. In response we had to alter our approach to winter skills in several ways to make the difficulty of the snow a usable blessing. Now that we are on the other side of skills and looking back we are realizing that the adaptations we had to make, actually worked better then what we had been using previously.

While we as staff were sweating whether or not and how we were going to get up the hill, the Lord was working in our hearts and in the hearts of the students. The fruit that has been coming from that time on the hill has been profound. We just finished our first part of the student practicum in which they were able to run a winter camp for a group of junior high and high school students. We have had the privilege of watching the Lord mold these relatively new facilitators and leaders (at least in this camp setting) into effective and impactful ones. Most importantly they got to watch the Lord work through them. I believe that was direct fruit of where the process we all faced this winter has placed them, which is in a position to be open to the Lord’s movement in themselves. Our vision at Bighorn is to raise up Kingdom leaders capable of serving the Body of Christ to their fullest capacity. Through relationship we see that kind of growth happen. Through the various experiences and challenges presented by creation and engaged relationships, we end up seeing who and what we are in God. It is through engaging in the process of this life He has given us that we begin to see His intended purpose for us: to be in relationship with Him. Out of that relationship we then find ourselves actualized and fulfilled by loving “our neighbors” in the unique way God has made us to do so.

God is working! He is moving in our lives out here, we are watching Him change our lives and the lives of our students. Molding the next generation of leaders! I invite you to join us this year. We would love to have you join our team, or have you invite us to support what the Lord is doing in and through your ministry whether that be with your family, church, school, business, or friends. I am excited about this year because God is good and in every challenge we face He will be faithful.

Announcements and Reminders

Be sure to check out the 2008 Camp Bighorn Catalog. In it you will find information on almost everything that goes on at Camp Bighorn. Including summer adventure camps and specialty adventure camps, retreats, Summit worldviews training, the Explore program, and much more. There are a number of ways that you and the people you know can be a part of what God is doing at Camp Bighorn. We look forward to seeing you through any one of these ways soon.

We are in the process of trying to resume the Camp Bighorn Prayer Support Network. If you would like to receive periodic updates of what the Lord is doing at Camp Bighorn and how you can be praying for the many things going on at Camp please send us your email address or, if you prefer a postcard, your mailing address and we will put you on the list.

The Tension of Fundraising

Josh Vander Meer – Program Facilitation Manager

It seems that God’s thoughts and ways are not only higher than ours, but quite often they are completely opposite. In knowing this we are given the choice of whether or not to trust Him… whether or not to start letting go of our perspective and our ways and to leap off of the branch with our wings spread out wide in hope that somehow we might fly. I came face to face with this in the process of fundraising.

In fundraising there has to be as much shedding of old belief as there is grasping to the promises of God. I have learned in my life to work hard, and along with hard work comes an earning. In other words, I have tried to earn what I receive. The idea of asking someone for money without doing anything to earn it from them strikes at my very core… and honestly, it strikes at my pride. If I do something to earn it then I can stand tall and even claim it as my right. But if I receive financial support as a gift, as the overflow of someone’s generosity, then I have nothing of my own left to stand on… no right that I can declare. Instead I am left standing on the love of others, at their mercy, and it is no longer about me. Is this starting to sound familiar? We all say we believe that we have been saved by faith through grace… that it has nothing to do with what we have done, but living that out in relationship with other people is a whole new world. Looking someone in the eye and asking them to sacrifice for your sake is a humbling thing, but it is at the heart of the gospel. And the more we each learn to receive mercy from others when it is given the more we will live in the knowledge that we do stand in the firm and good grip of our God.

Speaking now from experience, as one who is required to live on the financial support of others, it has been such a blessing to be held up by the love of others. It is nice to earn a paycheck, but it is amazing to live in the knowledge that there are so many people who love and support me and are in this mission with me. As Mastercard has said, it’s “priceless.” God’s ways are certainly good, and I’m thankful to Him for for the grace He has given me through so many people and for the opportunities I had to spend time with people during my time at home.

It is fitting to end this article with the words of Paul as he instructed the Corinthian Christians about giving. “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed,” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8). It is my prayer that I not only learn to receive the generosity of others, but that I might also be as generous. May we each seek to trust in our God who will richly provide as we hold to His ways.

2008 Camp Bighorn Open House

We have a great weekend planned this year for our 2008 Open House, and it is going to be the perfect opportunity for you to come and experience the adventure of the Camp Bighorn ministries, and hear what the future may hold for Camp Bighorn and the Lone Ram Ranch. The Open House will begin Friday evening May 23 and will last through Memorial Day weekend. Saturday and Sunday will be filled with activities including rock climbing, challenge course, and even rafting and kayaking (weather permitted) as well as some work projects in order to help us get ready for the summer season. The Lone Ram Ranch will be getting in on the fun again this year with horseback rides and work projects as well.

Sunday evening we will all come together for a Fundraising Banquet where we will have a chance to enjoy great food, a live auction, and the chance to resource the amazing work God is doing through the Camp Bighorn Ministries. One of the best parts about the weekend is that all your housing, food and activities are absolutely free! But don’t wait too long to reserve your spot because space is limited, and we wouldn’t want anyone to miss out. To let us know you are coming just fill out a registration form on the attached 2008 catalog and send it in. We look forward to seeing you there!