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Reaching young people for the Lord Jesus Christ, strengthening families,
and serving local churches. 
::  December 23, 2019: Volume 4, Issue 4 ::
Greetings!

Wow, what a long, strange trip it's been! The last time we sent out an update was at the end of our summer season. Camps had ended, we were about to head out to the wedding of my one-time program assistant (and one-time camper) Brad. It was a great time of seeing someone whom Mike has worked with so much through the years tie the knot and begin a new ministry with his wife.
 
Since then, we've traveled to New Hampshire (by way of Ohio) for a World Impact Conference at Calvary Independent Baptist Church in Lebanon, NH, Mike has traveled to both Pensacola and Shasta for recruiting, we've journeyed back-and-forth to the Redwoods for a family vacation right after Thanksgiving, and last of all, Mike traveled to Berlin, NV, for a Bridge-Institute trip. 
 
Mike has been able to preach and present ministry in churches and schools in Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire, and a few places in California.
 
Needless to say, we've had a busy ministry life the last few months. We've seen some amazing financial gifts and encouragement from churches and friends, we've been encouraged in the work by decisions during Youth Rally (three teens surrendered to full-time service), and we've been delighted to make connections with pastors and other friends through having people into our home and having pastors up to the camp.
 
Ministry has grown as well. Mike is currently involved in the newly-resurrected Bridge and newly-minted Institute program while still handling administrative duties of the school, promoting and recruiting around California and elsewhere, helping pastors as he is able, handling Accounts Receivable, planning for CORE camps and the various teen camps he is in charge of, and helping with all the various other camps that we have in. Deb is still plugging away at the office with a lot of website changes and other streamlining/technological advancement procedures while beginning to wrangle all of the summer camp registrations.

Family News
In case you haven't heard, we're expecting our third boy at the beginning of March! He is very active and measuring in the 79th percentile. Thankfully, all his ultrasounds and tests have come back normal so far. Please pray for the continued good health and development of the baby. Pray for safety during his birth. Pray for us as we handle the adjustment of going from two to three kiddos (especially since we'll have three under three for two months)! And pray for us to quickly find a new balance to family life, as March is when our calendar fills up with camps until August or so.
 
God has amply provided for us and encouraged us over the last few months with several financial gifts from random churches and individuals. Pray we're faithful with what we have been given, that we get better about telling people about our needs, and that, more importantly, we don't forget to brag about God, so to speak, and His blessings to us.
 
It's been an interesting last few months with our vehicles. Our Corolla was in the shop for about a month or so getting some repairs done. Unfortunately, the mechanics were unable to fully resolve the issue, so we're due to send it into a dealer to have the computer looked at. We need wisdom to know how much is too much to invest in an otherwise perfectly good (and helpful to have!) second car. As for our van, it has been running well but has a few issues here and there, two of which are a slow AC leak and a leaky tire! 
 
Drake is now 2 ½. He is very interested in excavators, trains, bridges, and tunnels. He almost always lets us know when he sees an excavator, a bridge, or a tunnel when we’re out driving around. And if we actually see a train, he thinks it’s the greatest. He is gaining new independence and skills, as well. He also has a specific set of songs that he likes us to sing. Just this weekend, he actually sang along with Deb while she was singing him one! He’s still very observant and picks up on things very quickly. For example, he was the ring bearer in a wedding this weekend. After watching the guys practice the recessional one time, he insisted on escorting Deb out of the church sanctuary the same way the groomsmen had escorted the bridesmaids down the aisle! That same night, he saw Deb getting some punch from a beverage dispenser. He proceeded to copy everything she did, using the handle to pour himself some punch as well, even getting almost the same amount she did. He likes to play ball and run in the front yard. “Come join us!” is a common saying of his. He likes to look at books and have them read to him. Occasionally, he’ll “read” them back to us.
 
Jed is 15 months old. He has developed a great attachment to his blanket. We joke about calling him Linus because some days, he just likes to drag it everywhere. Although he doesn’t talk yet, he has mastery of one word (Mama) and has repeated a few other words (cracker, Daddy, Poppa, and tractor). But he is able to communicate almost perfectly what he wants by pointing and using different noises, so who knows if he’ll be interested in talking any time soon! He absolutely loves bananas and when he’s not being picky about food due to texture, will eat an amazing amount of food. His first molars are very slowly making their appearance. Once they’ve all fully broken through the gums, he’ll have a grand total of 12 teeth. He is walking—and has been since 11 months old. He is a fearless climber and adventurer, as well. He likes to look at books and will bring us a book to look at in our laps. But he doesn’t yet have the interest to really listen through the entire book. He is more interested in turning pages, looking at pictures, and just sitting in our laps.
 
Both boys love being outdoors and playing in mud puddles or the sandbox. They will randomly give each other hugs or kisses. They will roughhouse. And of course, they will fight over toys.
 
What's Next?
January is a month with some unique camps. We hit the ground running on January 2 with a Chinese church. Later in the month we'll hold our volunteer work weekend and our Senior High Retreat. February is quiet with just a men's board gaming camp on the calendar. But come March and April, we will see quite a few CORE science camps (with probably a California History Camp thrown in there somewhere as well) during the weeks and adult retreats on the weekends. It'll be a busy time as we race toward summer. Your prayers are coveted!
Merry Christmas!
This Christmas season, may you have time to reflect upon the goodness of God and His great gift to us. And may you enjoy memorable times with family and friends.
Additional Prayer Requests
  • Pray for our ministry opportunities. Mike had the privilege of witnessing to two Mormon missionaries on Thanksgiving (long story but a cool one!). Pray we have more opportunities like that but also that we take them.
  • Pray for churches out here. Pastors need encouragement, as do their people. Pray we have opportunity to meet those needs.
  • Pray for our kids. We have wonderful little guys, but we don't want to become unbalanced either way in raising them. Pray that we are wise stewards of our time and money when it comes to the kiddos, that we train them well, and that they get saved as children.
  • As we mentioned already, pray for wisdom with how we handle the repairs on our vehicles and that the repairs are easy and not overly expensive or time-consuming.
If you'd like to learn more about Wolf Mountain, visit www.wolfmountain.org.
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Our mailing address:
16555 Jericho Road, Grass Valley, CA 95949
If you'd like to financially support us, checks can be made out to and mailed to Wolf Mountain at the above address.  Be sure to include our name on the memo line.

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