Fire Update

Things are looking a lot better today. The fire continues to have a growing percentage of containment, and right now it appears that the Koinonia will be fine. Dave went up last night to check it, and said that the main problems will be smoke and all the debris that fell onto the grounds. Dave seems really optimistic and was talking this morning about the possibility that we would still be able to have the outdoor school come next week.

A friend and I were talking about a week ago about how being a witness to others, does not just mean preaching the gospel to them. Our biggest witness often comes through relationships and our love for others. When we sacrificially love others and take opportunities to meet their physical needs, this lays a foundation that is needed to further share the gospel. John 13:35 says “by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.” It is my prayer that we will do this at Koinonia in the months to come. The Lord has been gracious in sparing the area right around camp, but other areas in our community were not so fortunate. Please pray that we will be examples of Christ’s love through our love for others in our community, and that we would have opportunities to help those who have lost their homes or had other damage in any way that they need it. This could be an awesome opportunity for us to come alongside our unsaved neighbors and be a light for Christ through our love for them.

A Different Type of Camp Fire

This morning a fire broke out in the mountains near the camp I am working at this summer. We evacuated 180 kids around 9:00 this morning and then waited until we were told by the firemen that we needed to evacuate around 11:00. Right now, there are over 500 firefighters working on putting out the fire but because of the high winds, it is still 0% contained. Over 3,000 acres are burned and they are now saying on the news that it is very possible that the number could rise to 10,000 acres. The last update we got, the fire was about 1.5-2 miles from Koinonia, but at that point the camp and Dave’s house were safe. One of the board members said that because of the direction of the wind, unfortunately camp is in the direction that the fire is heading. We were supposed to have Memorial Day Family Camp this weekend, but unfortunately it isn’t going to happen. Some people at Twin Lakes Church arranged for all of the camp staff to stay at a local resort, so we are all safe and God was gracious in allowing us to have a smooth evacuation process, and that all of the campers and staff are safe. Please pray that God would protect all of the people working to fight the fires, and that as many homes as possible would be saved. Also, pray that Koinonia would not suffer much damage from the fires and that the summer programs will be able to go on as planned.  Most of all, pray that through this trial God would be glorified.

Back to Blogging

It's official, I'm starting a new blog! I don't promise any great words of wisdom, and I'm definitely not going to write each detail of every day in my life, but I do hope that through my words on this blog, that I will give testimony to God, and that above any other purpose this blog may serve, that it would bring glory and honor to Christ.

The title of my blog comes from one of my favorite books, When God Writes Your Life Story. It is a simple book to read, but has some deep insights and is very challenging. The book explains the Christian life as an endless frontier. Eric Ludy says,

"We get one step ahead of the culture and then, for some strange reason, stop all forward movement. The majority of us may be one step ahead of the world when it comes to purity, spiritual disciplines, knowledge of Scripture, and understanding the problems of society. But what if being one step ahead of the world is ten thousand steps behind where God desires to take us?

Unfortunately, today's Christianity breeds settlers rather than pioneers. It has bred men and women who no longer comb the wilds of God's grace. And it's time we realize that knowing Christ is an endless frontier - a frontier into which we have taken but one measly step."

It is my desire that this blog will be an encouragement to others to continue traveling the journey into the endless frontier.