Romans 5 in the NIV bible says:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
We can experience the peace the comes from being made right with God, however there will still always be daily problems to face that help us grow closer to our father. We must not become weary and discouraged when we face these temptations, conflicts, and problems. There is a battle going on right now for your soul. You must choose Good with God. Evil has no power over you then! We must depend on the power available to all of us from Jesus Christ, who lives in us through the Holy Spirit. Amen
I would like to start you off with a video from chapel. Chapel starts a 8:30 PM Monday - Friday for the campers. We sing, play a short game, and have a guest speaker give the message. The message this summer was "Be Different" from the bible passage in Matthew 20: 25-26
Chris and been busy helping work teams from all over the USA. Many of our facilities need updating on heating and plumbing. To keep Victory a place groups want to come to and to continue using we have to also keep camp an inviting and user friendly place. Even in Alaska people like hot running water! Our main lodge - Miracle - uses firewood for it heat source. At times, this summer, no matter where you were on campus you could hear the whirling sounds of trees being harvested for our heat. Many who came also help in the kitchen and housekeeping. We can feed and seat up to 300 people in our dining room. I have helped in the kitchen and have learned a lot what it takes to feed that many mouths and clean up after them! Liam is actually employed in the kitchen and now earning a real wage! Our airstrip is now more agreeable to land on thanks to those who knew how to use heavy equipment. It was full of large rocks and the surface was very uneven and did not drain well. Good thing Chris knows a thing or two about turf and soil drainage! Many Alaskans have their own plane and it is not unusual to see them flying over camp every day. We have a small campground area at camp which sits on Shallow lake. It was a long walk up and around on the road but now thanks to some creative people we have stairs going up the steep hill making the walk a lot shorter. Another very important part of Victory is outreach to the people of Alaska that do not have a way to get to camp. Their villages just don't have roads that lead anywhere! Just too much wild wilderness! One such place is the Brooks Range in the north part of the state. Victory along with Kingdom Air (missionary pilots and their planes) flew many people in for 2 weeks of bible camp. God worked some amazing relationships in these two short weeks! Another village, Galena, experienced some terrible flooding last spring and is in desperate need of help with cleaning and rebuilding. We can all relate to the horrible destruction and overwhelming helplessness of a flood! Two of our work teams have sent men on planes with Kingdom Air up to Galena. The people of this village have had their hearts soften to the word of God with all the out reach they are receiving. Yeah! The battle wages on between good and evil and we saw that with an infestation of bee hives and wasp nest this summer! Satan uses all kinds of arsenal and a sting from one of these heavenly creatures is not appreciated! But we won!
Christmas in July! Sometimes you have to be creative to keep the counselor's spirit "nourished"!
Meal time chaos!
Airstrip at Victory
Small group time on Miracle Lodge porch
S.A.L.T = Servant and leadership training. Many spend time helping in the kitchen for part of their discipleship program.
Fun time for the work teams means a ride down to the Matanuska River with food, campfire, rock collecting, and of course shooting guns!
The Matanuska River
Sunset
Rhubarb is plentiful and grows in the wild. It is very large in size!
The camp roads are very dusty and Chris waters them down with this 1950's vintage water truck after pulling water out of the lake.
Victory's dump truck - another vintage beauty!
Float plane parked after dropping a camper at Victory.
Kingdom Air
There is also the option of a pack trip to refresh your relationship with your Father.
Blueberries and raspberries are also everywhere! We have lots in our freezer now.
The good thing about rain is there is a rainbow after the rain! God's everlasting promise to provide and protect.
Victory Ranch Camp
A visit to the Matanuska Glacier with one of the work teams.
The airstrip being leveled
Our closest moose encounter!
Waterfront fun! But who really needs an iceberg to climb on when the water is ice cold!
Moose poop!
Conference season brings many different groups. This one spoke Russian!
Christian school group retreat. 180 kids!
Our friendly horses at Ranch Camp. More mouths to feed!
Rainy and cloudy days. But we did not come to Victory for the weather, the scenery, the wilderness, we came because it is God's will for our lives. Please pray for God's clear leading for us each and everyday. May your prayers help us declare the good news even if it is in cleaning a toilet. We must count it all joy.
Romans 8:28
New International Version (NIV)
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
Walk by faith not by sight!
Thank you richly for your continued prayers and support - blessings to all!
