We are all a bit disappointed around here to have to once again delay the hosting of guests. We had planned for this weekend to be the first of the winter retreats, but with the extension of some of the restrictions we had to delay until February. Not what any of us had in mind as our first choice, but I go back to a phrase constantly used in my family growing up: this too shall pass. We know this won’t be forever. We know God is still at work and He surely still has plans for this place, so we know we will once again host guests and run events. There will be campers talking and laughing, the bustling noise in the dining halls, and footsteps on the woodchip paths (or boots in the crunching snow). There will be the whirring of the zipline, the smack of ice hockey sticks, and screaming on thunder express or the tubing hill. There will be singing in chapel, prayer and devotions in serene places, and the proclaiming of God’s Word. Can’t you just hear it all? When we think of all that camp normally includes we are so saddened by this very long pause in the work that is done at Camp Barakel. So we remind ourselves that this too shall pass; and we continue to work at things now to prepare for the day when campers can arrive. Pray with us that that day can be soon. Right now the plan is to begin retreats the first weekend of February. Join us in praying that can happen!

Thank you for continuing to support us through this time. You are an important part of God’s provision in keeping Camp Barakel running even during this long pause in the normal schedule. Thanks to the regular giving of many of God’s people, Barakel is able to be run without a payroll and with staff who are not paid in a traditional sense. This means that the Lord has provided a way for Barakel and the staff here to be sustained even through a temporary closure. Thank you for playing a part in this!

Rachel, for the Bennetts