Christmas.

It is sought after by everyone. It is a quest that begins every year after Thanksgiving and burdens us until new years. We all muddle through the month of December desperately seeking that feeling, those sweet sentiments of Christmas past. We have food and drink, enjoy concerts, music and film, read books and burn incense, hang ornaments and play games. All done tenderly as we seek to recreate magical moments from our past. Sharing the magic of leaving cookies and milk for Santa Claus, the excitement and anticipation of gifts on Christmas morning, the satisfaction of the turkey dinner and the languid peace of falling asleep in front of the fire afterward. All of these things are pieces of the ritual of Christmas that our society has created, gradually, through the decades.

Some speak in hushed, reverent tones of the meaning of Christmas, as though they are talking of the meaning of life. Most often these discussions conclude with talk of family and love, peace, sharing and giving (all noble, to be sure). Occasionally people will declare with conviction that Christmas is about Christ and the baby Jesus coming to earth. Although, sadly, this is often an afterthought whispered by people too embarrassed to declare openly their love for Christ, lest their celebration of Christmas interfere with those simply celebrating 'The Holidays'.

We have been lulled into a sentimental mush of humanistic self indulgence, and I fear it is more damaging than simple misdirection. The traditions of our culture have taken over the formerly Christian celebration of our salvation in Jesus Christ. As we have moved through time we have slowly adopted humanistic, religious and animistic traditions into our own Christmas celebrations.

We begin the indoctrination with the young, telling our children that if they behave that Santa Claus will bring them presents on Christmas day. This introduction to animism is subtle but is always clearly understood by a child. They are given control over the spirit of Saint Nicholas by their actions, and they believe it. We encourage them to write letters to Santa, some children pray to him, and we cinch the deception by having them leave cookies and milk for the spirit and ensure that it is gone by morning, confirming his existence in their minds.

This fall, as I did some Christmas shopping, I strolled through an antique shop that offered a large variety of Buddah and Ganesha statues. As I continued to visit other shops, many offered relics, small idols, icons and religious trinkets. It gave me pause as I thought how strange that a society striving so hard to be independent of religion would provide a thriving marketplace for such items. Then I began to notice the number of Saint Nicholas statues that were to be found as well. I began to wonder just how comfortable we are with having graven images of spirits in our homes.

It may very well be that you've already dismissed this article as being hyper conservative legalistic tripe. It is the farthest thing from my mind to stick a pin in the spirit of Christmas. Heaven forbid that we think critically about why Christmas is the way it is and why we do the things we do. I want to draw attention to the misguided affection for Christmas that exists. I've heard a lot of people say that Christmas has become 'so commercial' and that all of the commercialism is destroying Christmas. I would contend that it is not the commercialism that is the problem with Christmas, but that it is a symptom of far deeper problems. The Spirit of Christmas is a sacred thing in our society, as exemplified by the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, anyone who cannot 'get into the spirit' is a humbug. Sidelong glances are cast, whispers of antisocial are heard at water coolers with some conviction and a certain amount of self righteousness. It is unacceptable to contravene the current social traditions of Christmas (parades, trees, gifts and all).

If we cast aside the animism of Santa Claus, and the obvious pitfalls of lying to our children and look more directly at just what it is we love about Christmas, perhaps you will follow my point.

We have trained ourselves to revel in avarice, gluttony, self indulgence, pride and selfishness. The quest for the perfect Christmas is about us, it's about feeling good and happy, for many it's about filling the lonely hole within. We deceive ourselves and say that it's all about family, yet most often we fight with family as we get in each others way while seeking yet another perfect moment. Some spend a great deal of time and money to aid charities at Christmas, earning themselves the right to enjoy Christmas, neglecting the great need throughout the year. Many of us even wander into church in an attempt to contribute to our Christmas experience, forgetting entirely that we should be there in abandon to ourselves to honour the God of Heaven. Even in the giving of gifts, aside from the excitement of receiving piles of shiny trinkets, the wonderful feelings of goodness in giving to others, can (and often is) as much about cozy warm narcissism as it is about simple giving. This is pride.

It is these attitudes that have created the commercialism of Christmas, not the other way around. The marketing machines capitalize on the worst of our attitudes at Christmas and serve to inflate our naturally materialistic tendencies. Within the Christian Church we have been trying to celebrate Christmas the same way the rest of the world celebrates 'The Holidays'. It is confusing.

The vast majority of Westerners, (those of us residing in the oh so very advanced North America) will dive into debt through this season. Honestly this is just a ridiculous testament to our culture and I'm not going to address it beyond the fact that it contributes to having the opposite affect of what is promised in the adverts. Buyers remorse, anxiety, and the February blahs are dangling on strings from your credit card.

It is entirely possible to have a wonderful nostalgic Christmas with family, friends, food and gifts and yet bring honour and glory to God throughout the season. The only way this can ever happen is if we are diligent about seeking Christ in everything this Christmas (as we should in all things). Abandon humanism, defy commercialism, reject materialism, dismiss the distractions and celebrate the sacrifice of Christ by talking to someone about a changed life in Jesus Christ. (what a gift!)

It is often overlooked that the suffering of Christ began when he came to this defiled planet as a baby. He left the perfection of heaven and arrived to the plight of a human body. If you think about the birth of Christ as a suffering sacrifice, it will give you a new perspective of Christmas (as you open your new iPod touch on Christmas morning).

I'm not a humbug. I love Christmas. But think.

It has not been my intention, with this article, to suggest that you do or do not have a Christmas Tree, or a Santa Claus, or exchange gifts. I simply want to express the importance of examining closely our hearts in Christmas and allow ourselves to enjoy Christmas in Christ.

Eastern Field Christmas

This past week we've had Len and Lorrayne Breen with us and enjoyed spending time with them. On Friday all of the NCEM missionaries migrated to Arrowhead for a meeting and a time of fellowship and a wonderful Christmas Dinner. It's always a good time together.

Our meeting detailed some of NCEM's plans for future and ongoing ministry here in Atlantic Canada. We're all very excited about where things are going and just what the Lord is going to do here among Canada's First Peoples. NCEM is actively seeking applications from individuals who have a heart for ministry among the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet people here. We would love to have some couples come and join us in ministry here in Atlantic Canada!

Our ministry family!

Oh! Christmas Tree!

A fabulous time of fellowship and food!

Today a friend of mine sent me a link to a movie trailer. The movie is called 3rd World Canada, and after watching the trailer I am very interested in seeing the entire film. It deals with the issues of poverty, suffering, suicide and child welfare among Canada's First peoples. These are all real issues faced by many of Canada's First Nation communities, often overlooked and forgotten about as we enjoy many of the social benefits not readily available to all Canadians. The film follows the struggles of a family and community in Northern Ontario. Below is the trailer as offered by the film maker.

Christmas is coming...

It was a beautiful chilly day today at Arrowhead. We have lots of snow to cover the ground and make the tree boughs hang. This afternoon we met the Strouts in the main lodge and decorated our lovely 9 foot Christmas tree together. It was a nice day for a little festive music and decorating. Our house is starting to get into the season too.

Yesterday, I took the N.B.B.I. guys up to the highway to meet their ride back to the school. We enjoyed having them with us for a few days. There were many board games played and lots of good discussion. I'm sure they're keeping the school on it's toes.

Liz and I will be meeting our field directors at the airport tomorrow night at 11:30, they will be with us at Arrowhead until next week. On Friday we will welcome all of the Eastern field missionaries at Arrowhead. We will be having some meetings and a bit of a Christmas get together. Please keep the missionaries in prayer as they travel.

some lovely vacation...

You haven't heard from us in a little over a week. Well, we have a good excuse. Some very kind friends of ours in the States offered us the use of their condo in New Hampshire for a week. It has been a great long time since Liz and I have had any time to ourselves for vacation, so this was a very welcome rest after a busy couple of years. It was a great week and we very much enjoyed the time to relax.

Today Carroll and Cathy Hill stopped in on their way to the Miramichi and we shared in prayer with them for the ministries here in the East. It was nice to catch up with them.

This week we're settling back into routine. And as we do, we'll be having several N.B.B.I. students staying with us for their Thanksgiving break. It will be fun to spend a few days with some of our staff from last summer... it's either gonna make us feel like teenagers... or old folks.

Next week we're looking forward to having our field directors with us for several days. It's always an encouragement to have Len & Lorrayne with us, and we'll be having our Eastern Field Christmas gathering as well, so it promises to be a great week!

an opportunity to serve...

In this weeks vLog entry I wanted to share another project we hope to accomplish in 2011. If you have a team that would like to help out with the project in the video, please feel free to contact us for details!

ANBC Summer Video: 2010

We had a fantastic Summer. Why not join us next year?!

Jacksontown

On Tuesday Liz and I struck out for Woodstock to meet with a Women's Mission Society from Jacksontown Baptist Church. They have shown a great interest in the Ministry of Arrowhead and had asked us to come and share a little bit with the group about Arrowhead and what is happening here. We enjoyed very much a lovely meal with our hostess and fellowship with the ladies. There were eight ladies at the meeting and let me just say, what a mighty group of mission minded women. The things they accomplish for the Lord in their community and around the world is fantastic and was humbling to share in. Liz and I were both very encouraged and blessed, not only by their enthusiasm, but their hearts for mission and love of the Lord were such an encouragement.

We enjoyed the opportunity to talk about ANBC at length and share with them. The meeting, including fellowship was 3 hours long and we were on our way home at about 10:30pm. We had taken with us the camp truck, which unfortunately was having a hard night and it decided to share that with Liz and I. We had just about reached Fredericton and the truck overheated. I had fortunately stashed a jug of rad fluid behind the seat so we sat and waited for the truck to cool so I could add the rad fluid. As we waited a good Samaritan from Quebec stopped. He had driven past and was quite a distance up the highway, but stopped and backed up all the way to where we were to see if we needed assistance. He helped me add the rad fluid and followed us to the Irving Big Stop near Oromocto. I put in a couple of jugs of water and we got home fine. The truck is now at the shop and in need of a new radiator.

To spite our little truck adventure, Liz and I had a wonderful evening.

friends & fellowship

It was a wonderful weekend. I had the opportunity to travel to Nova Scotia to share Arrowhead updates with folks in Windsor and Halifax. Unfortunately Liz was feeling quite under the weather and wasn't able to accompany me. She very much missed reconnecting with friends.

I traveled on Saturday morning to Windsor, and enjoyed an afternoon with friends there. Windsor Baptist church planned a pot luck and allowed me a generous opportunity to share and have some question and answers about Arrowhead and the ministry this past year. It was a truly wonderful opportunity to be with friends and fellow believers there. Sunday morning I was given then opportunity to share the children's story and take part in Scripture reading. I was really very blessed to be able to worship at our home church in Windsor.

Sunday afternoon I spent visiting with friends and then made my way in to Halifax for the evening service at Sheffield Baptist Church. While I was there, I was presented with Canadian Tire money and pennies for Arrowhead. Once again it was a real blessing to me to be able to worship and fellowship with friends. I found the weekend to be a wonderful encouragement and time of refreshing for me.

This afternoon we're heading to Woodstock to share about the ministry at Arrowhead with a WMS group at Jacksontown Baptist Church.

odd jobs...

We've been having some inquiries about possible projects for work teams this coming Spring. I thought perhaps the best way to share some of our needs in this area would be to post them in vLog updates. This vLog update is about a large project we have in the upper main lodge.

Crack filling, sanding, painting, trim work and flooring.

The stairwell.

Trim for the windows and doors.

bobbing for apples.

As we wind down from the past months excitement and hunker down for winter, Liz and I continue to travel and share about this ministry the Lord has called us to. We very much enjoy spending time with friends as we continue our deputation and are encouraged by their enthusiasm for the ministry.

This past Sunday we had the pleasure of sharing with the folks at River Glade Baptist church. Their excitement for Arrowhead has been a tremendous blessing to us over the past year. After we shared with them last Winter, they set about raising funds for ANBC by collecting pennies and recyclables. This past Sunday we were presented with a cheque for $500 for the camp. The amount of time and work that went into collecting those funds was tremendous, a ministry of love to be sure. At the outset of this labour of love, Pastor Smith made a promise that he'd submit to a camp style activity if they reached their goal. So, after the service he and I bobbed for apples in buckets of Jello and water... good fun!!

It's begun to get chilly 'round these parts, winter is coming! We've finally succumbed to turning on the heat for good. I spent the day yesterday cleaning up in the new office. I'm eager to have it all done, so it was nice to put things together a bit yesterday. I do need to find another lateral filing cabinet and about 200 legal hang files to continue the filing project I've been working on. We're in need of flooring for the office as well, which will certainly bring it to life. As the office is currently unheated we are hopeful to acquire an electric fireplace as a heat source to make it a more comfortable workspace. It can get a bit chilly in there 'cooking the books'.

This coming weekend we are off to Windsor and Halifax in Nova Scotia to visit some churches and share updates form the past months! It will be nice to see friends and reconnect.

Operation Park Bench

I just wanted to take the opportunity to share a need we have at Arrowhead Native Bible Center. We are working to bring alive the property and grounds at Arrowhead. We have a beautiful facility and wish to be good stewards of the property and buildings. As we develop new programs and have higher volumes of people and events at Arrowhead we will have greater need for sustainable and durable equipment.

One such need that we've identified at the property is with our outdoor seating. We currently have eight wooden church pews throughout the property that are being used as park benches. It is our desire to replace these eight seats with ten park benches. These park benches feature concrete legs and pressure treated 2 x 4 cross pieces. We are expecting each bench to cost approximately $350 for materials and shipping, they will be assembled on site.

We are seeking ten church groups to partner with us for Operation Park Bench. If you feel this is a project that your Church family, Sunday School or Missions Committee would like to share with us by adopting a park bench to sponsor please drop me a line. We hope to acquire the benches in time to have them for next summers children's camps.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for Arrowhead as we seek to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to Eastern Canada's First Nations People.

SeaDoo Speedster.

NCEM has a program that runs up to four times annually. The MinuteMan program is a partnership with individuals who believe strongly in the ministries of NCEM, and a way to contribute financially to any number of ministry opportunities throughout the mission. Occasionally NCEM makes some of the needs at Arrowhead known through this program, making people aware of some of the needs we may have. Recently we received funds through this program to fill the need we have for a new boat at Arrowhead. We decided to wait until the fall and get the best possible deal we could on a new boat.

An opportunity arose to acquire a SeaDoo Speedster, and after some research and a test drive we decided this would be the best one for ANBC. Kevin and I went yesterday to pick it up. It has been winterized and is all ready for next Summer! It's going to be a great fit for us for a number of reasons, one being it's ability to operate in shallow water. We've had difficulty with the water level of the lake, and this boat should help with that. And because it's a jet boat and has no propellers it will be safer for camp time.

We're very excited about the new boat, and very grateful to all who contributed through the MinuteMan program.

The Annual Arrowhead Shopping Trip.

Every year generous folks donate their Canadian Tire money to Arrowhead. We save it up all year long and then go on a shopping trip in the Spring and purchase much needed items for ANBC. This video is our way of showing the Canadian tire money being put to use. Keep us in mind when you're wondering what to do with your CT money... we're collecting again for next year!

Right on the Dot.

A week ago today Marcia and I were doing the last minute things that needed to get done before the ladies retreat began. This was the 3rd Arrowhead ladies retreat that I have been to, and from what I've been hearing, one of the most special and amazing retreats yet. And I have to agree, God truly blessed us with such an encouraging and inspirational weekend. One of the inspirations was our special speaker, Pam Izon. She is currently battling her 3rd brain tumor and has already won the battle with several other forms of cancer. Her positive outlook comes from the hope she has in her Saviour, Jesus Christ. Her future is uncertain, but as she says, 'either way I win'. Pam's daughter-in-law. Tammy, accompanied her to NB from Maine and she also shared her experience and impact that Pam's illness has had on her and the rest of the family. Again the message of hope we can all have in Jesus Christ and how He is our strength was evident.

Our theme for the weekend was 'Right on the Dot'...God's timing is perfect. Even when things may happen far from when we think they should happen, God knows best and has a perfect plan. As Psalm 37:7 says, 'Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Janeice Hill gave her testimony Saturday night which was very encouraging. She reminded us of the importance of reading God's Word daily and really cultivating our relationship with Him. Psalm 119:103 says, 'How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth'! We should have a hunger for the Word of God!

Another inspirational part of our weekend was the music! Theresa Hickman provided our special music and was a real blessing to everyone. She is a very talented woman with a beautiful voice with which she sang worshipful and meaningful songs. We even had a hour long, on the spot sing along in which we sang favorite hymns and choruses after our meeting Sat night. Theresa accompanied the sing along on the camps old, very out of tune piano...what an amazing pianist she is! She made that piano sound beautiful!

The weekend went way too fast, it really is a wonderful time to come together as ladies and hear from other women how God has been working in their lives and to encourage one another. And of course we had lots of laughs and lots of food, that goes without saying!

I feel that I have not adequetley described what a wonderful weekend it was and how much we were all blessed by Pam Izon. She really is an amazing woman and despite the fact that we were unsure if she was even going to be well enough to come as speaker, it was obvious that God meant for her to be here for that weekend and that she was used and continues to be used by God to minister to others.

Please keep Pam in your prayers as she continues to fight her battle with cancer.

Megan & Alex with their fall bouquets!

Theresa Hickman our guest singer blessed us with her gift of music!

Janeice Hill shared with us her tesitmony.

We were truly blessed and encouraged by Pam Izon.

We had a great turn out and a wonderful time together.

We had fun learning how to put together a fall bouquet with Carolyn Thurber!

The Masters Brush.

Just thought I'd share a few shots of the fall colours at ANBC.

fall colours.

It was a pleasure for me to be invited to Central Wickham Baptist Church today to share the ministry of Arrowhead with the folks there. I never cease to be blessed by the excitement and enthusiasm of people when they realize that there is a ministry such as Arrowhead in their back yard. It was an encouragement to reconnect with some old friends as well.

It was a beautiful day for a drive through the countryside. The leaves are stunning, I'll try to snap some shots this week to share.

The ladies retreat concluded today, and from all reports it sounds like it was a real blessing to all. Liz and Marcia worked hard to organize and prepare the weekend conference. Liz will give you a full report here shortly. Phil Welch and I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible and found ourselves put to good use in the dish pit.

WMS, Visitation and a Work Team

As I sit here and reflect on the events of the past year, I can't help but recognize just how very full a year it has indeed been. The Lord has upheld us through each challenge and given us strength as we've wearied. He's provided for our needs and allowed us to follow Him down all of the paths ministry has taken us. It has been a challenging year, and it has been a blessed year. As we find moments of rest this fall, it seems as though years have passed since we first moved here last September. We look forward to what the Lord has in store for us at Arrowhead Native Bible Center in the coming years.

Last week we had the wonderful privilege of having the Shediac Baptist WMS group for the day to visit at Arrowhead. It is always such an encouragement to have folks come visit who are enthusiastic about the ministry and potential at ANBC. We enjoyed the opportunity to share with them about the ministries here and give them a tour of the facility. NCEM missionary, Venus Coté shared her testimony and we were all blessed by the majesty of our Lord in His provision for each of us who seek after Him.

That evening, after the WMS group left, three of our staff and a teen camper from this past summer arrived to spend the night. The next day, joined by two more young guys who had been staff and Kevin & I, all eight of us set off for Burnt Church to spend some time with some of the teens who had been to teen camp this year. It was a great day, we had the opportunity to meet some of the guys parents and connect with them. We spent the day at the park and had a feed with the fellas at the Dixie Lee! All of the guys expressed interest in spending more time with us, and we are hopeful to have more opportunities to minister to them.

Last Sunday we were blessed to be joined at Arrowhead by two men from Lisbon Falls, Maine. The two gentlemen came to serve with us for the week. Not only did they accomplish a remarkable amount of work while they were here, the came armed with some wonderful tools, that they left as a gift to Arrowhead! We can't begin to thank them adequately for their servants hearts and willingness to share their gifts and talents with us. It was a real blessing to have Ken Hodgkins and Paul Marstell with us!

This week the ladies are preparing for the upcoming ladies retreat this weekend. It sounds like it is going to be a great weekend, and there is a large turnout expected, possibly the largest to date!

Ken working on skirting for the new office building.

While we had supervision, Kevin and I insulated the floor of the new office building.

a fall full of fun...

We've continued to keep busy through the month of September. After the Eastern Field conference was over we had a family reunion held at the Center. This wasn't a lot of work for us, but we had to have the buildings open and cleaned for the group.

Last week Liz and I had the privilege of visiting the Missions Group at Calvary Baptist Church in Miramichi. We gave an update on camp and training with the Strouts. It is always so encouraging to be among people with a heart for missions and a burden for souls.

On Saturday we traveled to Hermon, Maine with our colleagues Kevin & Marcia for a missions conference. What a huge encouragement it was to be there. Not only to be blessed by the folks there, but also to hear from the other missionaries serving in other parts of the world. Kevin's parent's graciously offered to watch their children while they were away, allowing them to travel with us for the weekend. It was a great opportunity for the four of us to spend some time together and recharge a bit after the busy year. We all enjoyed ourselves very much.

We are now beginning to prepare for a work team that will be coming from Lisbon Falls, Maine on October 4th. They will be with us for the week and are coming to help us complete some projects that have been under way. Anyone that would like to come and join the crew for the week are more than welcome, we've got jobs for everyone!

We've been having some trouble with our car lately, the transmission is shot. But the Lord has provided, I was able to buy another car of the same make and model. This means we will be able to use our tires and parts from the old car if and when the new one needs them. Lord willing we will be mobile again for a while.

We recently sent out our prayer letter, if you have not received it and would like to, we would be more than happy to add you to our mailing list. Just drop us an eMail and we'll send one out to you.

sorry for the delay...

To all those of you who faithfully read my blog, I must apologize for the long delay since my last post. It has indeed been a busy couple of weeks. Camp finished up with Teen Camp at the end. We had a great time. Our guest speakers were from Maine and did an excellent job of presenting the gospel both practically and clearly. We very much appreciated their ministry with us. The theme of the camp was "The Amazing Race" and was followed throughout the week with challenges and games. It was a lot of fun.

Chapel time with Dale & B0b

"A Needle In A Haystack" challenge!

Team X-treme!

Some awesome opportunities to chat with the guys!

A speed challenge... wonder who won this one?

After camp was over we busied ourselves with clean-up and preparing for the Eastern Field Conference to be held at Arrowhead. Len and Lorrayne, our field directors, arrived a week early to help with preparations. They did a fantastic job of running a great field conference this year! Mike Matthews of WRG was our guest speaker as we reconnected with and fellowshiped with our Eastern and Eastern Arctic missionaries. There were about fourty people here for the conference.

As always, we were truly blessed by the ministry of Mike Matthews.

Now that conference is over we'll be preparing for a missions conference in Maine followed by the Ladies retreat in October. We have some winterizing and clean-up to do after conference, but we're looking forward to a few days of rest next week.

We just sent out or most recent issue of our prayer letter, if you haven't been receiving it and would like to, please feel free to drop us a line. We'd be more than happy to add you to our mailing list.

Stay tuned, I promise not to leave you hanging for so long this time :0)

Another great week!

This week the Puppet ministry team from Lisbon Falls Baptist Church came to minister with us at Arrowhead. The camp has been more full this week with 27 campers, it's been a great week. Once again people have had opportunity to minister in all different aspects of camp, from kitchen to waterfront, in cabins, on sports teams, games and maintenance. There is no job that isn't important during camp, and it's encouraging to see people giving it their all no matter what has been asked of them!

We're looking forward to a restful weekend as we prepare for teen camp. We've received applications from teens from six communities, teen camp is shaping up to be a full week! The Lord has been working in a lot of lives, both the campers and staff. We're really excited to see what He is going to do for teen camp!

A little waterfront fun!

A fresh coat of awesome!

Putting up the toll gate.

The Puppets!

Mrs. Audie & Rever

The Boy & His Puppy!

This week we have a group of kids from Millbrook, near Truro in Nova Scotia. There are also a couple of girls from St. Mary's this week as well.

Last night was the first Chapel Gathering for the week. Our guest speaker this week is Micah Hiltz, a youth pastor from Fredericton. He had a wonderful introduction to the week and set a foundation for the scripture as the wholly inspired Word of God. As an illustration of this point Micah asked three staff members to write portions of a short story. Each was to write about a boy and his dog, name them and complete a portion of the story. Anna was asked to write the introduction, Abby the big twist and Trevor was to conclude the story. The only catch was none of them could know what the other was writing. As you can imagine the story didn't fit together very well. Micah explained that no one but God could be the author of the Bible, that all of the books, although written over a period of over 1500 years by the hand of 40 different men, God inspired the whole Bible, keeping it 100% accurate and with no mistakes! I thought it was a good illustration, so I've posted the story written by our three staff members below for you to read.

Once upon a time, there was a boy & his new puppy ...
(Anna Northrup) "The boy's name was Bobby, the puppy, who had come with it's name, was called Rufus. Bobby was the only boy in his grade who still had not grown a moustache, he wore hand-me down clothes, had to walk to school because he'd outgrown his bike, and was often held back after class, not because he was disruptive, but because he could never pay attention in his class, and this upset his teacher.
Bobby never seemed to have what he wanted, and things never turned out the way he hoped - until the birthday that his parents gave him a new puppy for his gift, and he became the happiest boy in the world."

... but suddenly one day, the puppy was gone ... (Abby Nash) "His bark wasn't seeming to work ... the owner was paniced that she couldn't find her dear ol' doggie Bessy. Andrew was beginning to worry and he was still out walking in the deep dark forest with the moon shining and UFO's flying by at 1,000mph ... then Andrew suddenly heard a strange noise and somehow a 50x larger Preying Mantice comes out of the wood and starts chasing Andrew ... exasperated, Andrew finally found a little hole in the ground and crawled in it ... the next morning he wakes up and gets a start on the crack of dawn and starts looking for his dear ol' bessy."

(Trevor Knightly) "It turned out that Bullzeye wasn't really lost but instead while coming home from Moncton the entire family got really tired. Mom was asleep in the front seat and Johnny was also. Even Dad almost went off the road. But when they all got home tired as ever, Johnny forgot Bullzeye was in the very back of the car. So when Johnny couldn't find Bullzeye, he was sleeping in the car. Fortunately Bullzeye started barking and Dad heard him from outside when he was watering the garden. dad let Bullzeye out and Johnny who had been searching for hours finally found Bullzeye."
... & the boy and his puppy lived happily ever after. THE END!

The staff, all ready for another week!

Trevor writing his piece of the story!

Lori, our puppy story teller!

Micah bringing it all together!

On to week two!

It was a fabulous week at camp! With only 20 campers we had a smaller group than usual, but it provided the staff with some unique opportunities to minister to the campers one on one! We all took note of the overall atmosphere of the camp, it was positive and fun. The camp ran smoothly and we were blessed by each and every chapel time with Pastor Gary Countway. We saw two young fellows make professions of faith during the week and have been delighted to see a young girl come to the Lord as well. Her cabin leader is here for the weekend and received several phone calls from her after she returned home. She expressed deep interest in knowing the Lord and her cabin leader has been guiding her to passages of scripture to read on her own. Hopefully this will be a relationship that can continue as there is opportunity for discipleship.

We were also blessed this week by staff devotion times with Jamie Weber from Gorrie, Ontario. He challenged each one of us every morning and our times of prayer and Bible reading set a wonderful tone for the day.

We had a very rainy day on Thursday, but it didn't dampen spirits, the campers enjoyed the opportunity to play board games and spend time one on one with the staff! Please keep all of the kids in prayer as they return home, that the things they have seen and heard and learned might dramatically impact their lives!

We've had a nice restful Saturday and are looking forward to another great week. Some new staff have already begun to arrive, hopefully their enthusiasm will be contagious...

Rainy Day Games!

The dish crew!!

Water Balloon Volleyball!

Hanging out with the guys!

A great start to Camp!

Hi all! It's about an hour until staff devotions, so I thought I'd take a minute or two for a quick update! We're in the midst of week one of Children's camp. This week we have kids here from Saint Mary's, a community near Fredericton. We had a wonderful staff training on Monday, Kevin gave an excellent challenge to the staff and we encouraged them about the importance of the work we are doing this week. The kids arrived shortly after lunch and the camp was once again full of the wonderful sound of kids!

There is so much to be thankful for to have this opportunity to serve the Lord, and these summer camps are always such a huge blessing to us. It is always impressed upon me just how richly the Lord can work through each and every staff member, not only in the lives of the campers, but in our own lives as well!

Keep us in prayer, campers, staff and missionaries!

Staff Training on Monday morning.

A huge thank you to Devon Park Baptist Church for their donation of cereal to camp, and thanks to Micah Hiltz for delivering it to us!

The girls, all ready for afternoon soccer!

Some of the NCEM team!

Lots to do!

We've been keeping at it! The grounds are starting to look ready for camp! We've been very thankful for help from the guys, and we've had some more helping hands arrive today. Ricky and Emily Mitton have come to help us with some of the last minute things. It's shaping up to be an awesome camp season! May the Lord be glorified in all that happens at Arrowhead this summer!

Capital Safe & Lock came to Arrowhead to get us all set up with a uniform lock system and new keys for the buildings!

Fundy Gas was here to service the propane stoves in our kitchen! Venus should be happy with the well running ovens!

We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and support that the good folks at Riverglade Baptist Church have shared with us! After their trip up to help us with our work day they returned home and busily collected a great big load of groceries for the summer camps! Thank you so much!

some fresh driveway on the driveway!

We've been busy this week with some of the many projects that we're trying to accomplish before the staff and campers arrive, just over a week from now! We've been having regular planning meetings with the Strouts and have been dividing up the work to be done!

Yesterday Kevin, Ben, James and I went to Fredericton to run camp errands and had a chance to stop in and visit some kids in Oromocto who are planning to come to camp this summer! Today Liz and Marcia went with the camp truck to buy the remaining groceries that we need for camp this year. They'll be home in a couple of hours and we'll unload the goods!

Today Mr. Fearn came and put some fresh driveway on the driveway ... it looks great! We had to widen the driveway to get the new office to it's new spot on the property, so now we have a nice wide entrance down as far as the office where the gates will be relocated.

Late in the day as Ben and I were finishing cleaning up the picnic area and getting ready to head home, the Advanced Tech guys arrived to work on the fire alarm and internet access. They worked until about 10:30 and have just left. We now have internet access at the Center, which is a necessity for us to operate fully out of the new office.

Tomorrow promises to be another full day with lots of exciting visitors. We should get lots accomplished!

Work Teams & Wheaties!

We've certainly hit the ground running since returning from our time out West at P.A.T.H. training. It's been exciting to see all of the wonderful things that were accomplished while we were away. And it's been very exciting to have the help of friends as we prepare for the impending summer camps at the Center.

On Friday I took the camp truck and traveled to Nova Scotia. There were four churches that supported us by way of the Grocery Grabber Coupon program and I went to collect the donations. It was a beautiful day and exciting to visit with the folks at each church. My first stop was in Stewiacke to Pick up Ben Bedecki. Ben is an N.B.B.I. student and will be serving with us for the summer. He and I then visited People's Church in Truro, Windsor Baptist, Coldbrook Baptist and went down the Valley as far as Middleton to meet Jonathan DeNuke who delivered to us the donation from Habitation Baptist. Jonathan had our car while we were away and made it road worthy once again, so Ben drove it and followed me in the camp truck back to Arrowhead. It was certainly a full day.

Here are a few clips from our day!

On Saturday we had a work team come to Arrowhead to help us with the lawn harvest among other things. The good folks from Riverglade Baptist Church overwhelmed us with their willingness and all of the work they accomplished while they were here!

Liz and Marcia made sure all the hard workers were well fed!

The ladies did a fantastic job of sorting and organizing our craft cabin!

Some of the fellas helped us with some troublesome trees...

... and some much needed grass cutting!