Camp Barakel News and Events

Winter Seasonal Staff

2012-01-24T21:07:12Z

This winter we are blessed to have five people serving as Seasonal Staff. When you come this winter you will see them working everywhere! We thank God for them.

Fire in Maintenance Area

2011-12-06T00:51:00Z

Tonight a fire in our maintenance area destroyed a shed and all the firewood in it. But there is much to praise God for: no one was injured, the fire did not spread to any adjacent buildings or equipment, recent rains kept the surrounding areas from catching fire, and both the staff men and the Fairview Fire Department responded quickly. We have lost 40 cords of firewood (one cord is four feet wide, four feet tall, and eight feet long) which represents many hours of labor, and many dollars of savings off of heating fuel. Tonight we are just grateful for everyone's safety.

This is how the woodshed looked in August.

Lee Brown

2010-11-03T20:36:00Z

PRAYER REQUEST

Lee and Eleanor Brown serve as Resident Missionary Staff at Camp Barakel.

They joined staff as singles in the mid 1970s, married in 1978, and have faithfully served full time since then.

Lee is in the hospital with subacute endocarditis (inflammation caused by infection in the heart) and this Monday (November 8) will have his mitral valve replaced.

This means open heart surgery, and the final decision about whether he will get a mechanical valve or a pig valve will be made after the surgeon has his chest open.

Lee and Eleanor (“Petie”) welcome your prayers. Petie wrote in a recent email “We know that God has it all under His control and we are grateful. We will rest in His perfect will for us and especially Lee. We are at peace about the situation. Thanks for your prayers.”

Lee says if they give him a pig valve he will eat pork right away to make the valve feel at home. The Browns give permission to pass along this message. We will post a note giving some results from the surgery on this web page and our Facebook page.

Liz Wideman

2010-07-16T23:00:00Z

Elizabeth was born in December of 1937, and publicly confessed Jesus Christ as her Savior at a summer camp in 1950, when she was 12 years old. Today she is with her beloved Jesus face-to-face. She married Howard Wideman in 1957, and in 1969 they moved (with their five children) to Camp Barakel. Together they served as Resident Missionary Staff until their retirement in 2000. Hundreds and hundreds of people knew Liz as the East Side Camp cook, many of them referring to her as “Mama Liz.” She battled cancer for the last 10 years, and began resting from the battle today, July 16. For funeral arrangements see the above link. Cards or letters may be sent to Howard in care of Barakel's address: PO Box 159, Fairview, MI 48621-0159

For Viewing/Funeral details and obituary click here.

Dr. Jim Grier at Summer Staff Workshop

2010-06-14T12:59:00Z

Dr. Jim Grier came and taught two sessions in our Summer Staff Workshop. He enlarged our appreciation for the grand story of God's redemption. The recordings and his notes are available on our Chapel Podcast page.

New Generator

2010-06-11T22:22:00Z

Today we set our new electrical generator in place. A few weeks ago a fellow gave us a nice diesel generator to run the lights, walk-in cooler and freezer, and the water well on West Side. We thank the Lord for His provision through this family.

In July of 1959 Uncle Johnnie published this story in the Camp Barakel Smoke Signals:

“LeRoi” GETS FIRST WORKOUT

Many of you have known about our big emergency electric generator. It has been a long job getting everything set up for operation but some weeks ago this was completed. It generates enough electricity for the whole camp (chapel is not in on the current.)

Last Friday, a severe electrical storm knocked off our “juice” in camp and what a wonderful thing it was to be able to go and start the generator and stand back and see everything move right along as though no emergency existed!

You see, all our refrigeration, all our water supply and all the lights are cut off when the electric power is off. Since it was 11:00 pm before Consumers Power was able to supply us with electricity, you can imagine what conditions would have existed with all the water supply cut off, lights, etc. Our camp program moved right along as usual! Old LeRoi really did his job well. (It is a LeRoi motor.)

Set-Apart Girl Weekend audio

2010-05-25T12:22:00Z

Audio is available from the Set-Apart Girl Weekend sessions on our Chapel Podcasts page.

Added podcasts from 1998-2006

2010-03-27T23:02:00Z

Thanks to David W for sending digitized versions of chapel messages from Mens Retreats and some other camp events from 1998-2006. We have added these to our Chapel Podcasts page. We trust you will be blessed hearing messages from Tom Harmon and Dan Cummings.

Crosscut Update

2010-03-26T04:00:00Z

Hello to you all!

Things have been moving along really well inside our fourth new dorm, Crosscut Lodge. As of this week we're almost done paneling the sleeping units. There have been questions as to when we'll be able to use the building, and it looks like we'll be able to use it for the winter retreats next year. That may seem like a long time to you, but we're really excited about it. There's still a lot of work to do in the bathrooms, and there's no flooring yet – and, oh yes, some bunk beds to build.

The progress through the winter has been a big surprise! Normally, building projects don't see much activity with the cold and snow, and campers that keep us busy – but this was different for a couple of reasons. One helpful factor was our small amount of snow. We had cold, consistent temps, with enough snow to run the activities, but not so much that we had to shovel or plow much. Another blessing was the four, and sometimes five, college-age guys who pitched in at Camp. Lastly, are the funds that came in that allowed us to purchase the water heaters for the in-floor heating, and insulation, and now all the paneling. Once again the Lord has provided in His perfect timing, and it's pretty cool to be a part of!

It's gonna be a great addition to the housing units at Camp. It's very much like the first three buildings of its kind, Arrowhead, Snowshoe and Heritage Lodges. It will sleep 48, with indoor plumbing for all. And it includes the same in-floor heating system. But, Crosscut won't have the large interior logs in the great room. This will provide a meeting area, possibly for a small chapel gathering. Crosscut is in a fantastic location. It sets facing the East, with Shear Lake in the distance. On a bright, sunny morning you can see the sun reflect off the waters of the lake – it's beautiful. And, there is the potential to see a lot of wildlife. During the construction process we've seen a lot of deer – they have a trail that runs along the backside of the site – and even spotted a few bald eagles. Pretty cool!

I hope this gets you excited in some way about what God is doing. If you'd like to get in on it, there are a number of ways to do so. We've had at least 50 different volunteers on this project – girls, guys, old and young – some experienced and some not. Of course, we appreciate the financial help as well as your prayers. Thanks to each of you who help make camping possible. Our God reigns!

Gordon Donaldson

2010-03-23T17:39:00Z

When you turn your vehicle on to the Camp Barakel road, have you ever noticed the entryway signs and wondered about the design on them?

The pine bough with the Bible on it was drawn by a man named Gordon Donaldson, and recently we learned that he is still living. His testimony is an inspiration to us to become a Psalm 92:12-14 kind of man. If you take a minute to read his story, I think you'll be encouraged to make the Word of God more central to your own life.

For many years his artwork was used at the top of camp's letterhead.