Greetings from Camp Barakel!The winter camping season has arrived in full force. Our first two weekends were at capacity! The first weekend we had no snow. The second retreat we had snow for the hill and plenty of ice. Now we have the mother load of snow and it looks like winter. The great news is that folks are introduced to Christ and some are receiving Him as their personal Savior.

January 2012 marks the beginning of our 37th year of faith supported ministry. It is humbling to think of all the people that have made this journey possible. Thank You!!

Our entire family was here this past weekend. It was terrific having everybody under one roof even though the walls were bulging a bit. Over the weekend Emily didn’t feel very well. Upon arriving back home in Grand Rapids, she went to the hospital. The first thought was viral meningitis but those tests were negative. Further tests indicated a small mass on her brain. Obviously, we had much concern. Here is her latest post: “I met with my neurologist today and have most likely had a mass in my brain since birth. It is very unlikely that it is related to my seizures because the EEG showed activity on the left side of my brain and this is on the right side. Because I am not currently having seizures and they are very well controlled, we are going to leave everything as is. If I become more symptomatic, then further studies or reasons for surgery may be more reasonable. My neurologist said “we don’t fix things that aren’t broken!” There is no good reason for my headaches but they seem to be getting better, so this is good. We are so grateful for this news and praise God for His hand in this. Thanks for walking with us and for all your prayers”. We, too, say thank you!

If you make it up to camp in the next weeks, please say hello. We would love to make a connection with you.

Thank you again for your interest in our family and our ministry. We are blessed to serve.

Serving the Savior,
Randy & Connie