P.O. Box 846 Pinedale, WY 82941 Phone: 307-367-2536 www.redcliffcamp.org Address Service Requested Pre-sorted Standard U. S. Postage Paid Pinedale, WY Permit # 6 Winter December 2017 Director's Diary May your family enjoy a Blessed Christmas and Joy-filled New Year! As I reflect on 2017, the challenges and the blessings of the Lodge fire, I remember the truth of 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 which tells me that the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who love us, give us everlasting comfort and good hope through grace, so that our hearts can be comforted and that we will be established in every good word and work. These verses have given me a spiritual lift when other things seem shallow. At Red Cliff we were able to see progress on the Lodge through October 12 th. All the back filling and the French drain around the foundation walls were completed. As you can see from the picture, the first part of October was dryer than the month of September. In our September newsletter we asked you to pray that God would allow us to get more accomplished before snow stopped us from working. God knows the paths we take and the timing of those paths. The Lord allowed us to get to where we are, and we will continue to proceed with the building of the Lodge in 2018 as God blesses. A schedule has been developed for the coming summer and fall that will enable us, Lord-willing, to get the building under roof and dried in by next fall. Will you pray with us for God s supply of good weather, wherewithal, and workers for each step on the path to complete the Lodge for His glory? Our team continued working through the end of October and into November putting away temporary summer infrastructure (disassembling the kitchen tent, storing building supplies in weather proof areas) and setting up portable toilets adjacent to the Pavilion as well as a temporary kitchen in the Pavilion to be functional for winter camps.
Page 2 Red Cliff Telegraph After Thanksgiving break we still needed some additional days for wiring and plumbing in the Pavilion. Due to 20+ inches of snow, traveling into camp in a pickup was not an option. So, on November 28 th we plowed the road open to get to camp so we could finish work in the Pavilion. It was just six months after we plowed the road for summer that we plowed the road again for winter set up! At the writing of this newsletter we can still drive into camp and are excited to let you know that the electrical and plumbing are ready for winter camps. Four winter camps will be offered this year, and you can find out more about them in the following pages or on the website. During the month of October I traveled to colleges to recruit staff, and God is suppling summer staff for the 2018 summer camping season. Pray that the young people that God wants for Red Cliff will see the need and join with us in the ministry to campers. The snow always makes the campground so beautiful! As you look at these last two pictures of the snow-covered Lodge foundation, let me remind you to pray with us that God will continue to strengthen our hearts and accomplish His work on this mountain. Winter Page 11 Opportunities to Help Red Cliff Bible Camp is a missions-based ministry existing to lovingly confront each camper with his or her need of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in salvation and to encourage each one to a life of obedience and service to Him for His glory. Partner with us in our mission by: 1. Praying God to use Red Cliff for His glory Winter camp safety Building weather, wherewithal, and workers Provision for the Lodge Safety in labor and activities 2. Coming Come to camp as campers! Send your kids! See what God is doing! Have your heart refreshed through His Word and His creation! Volunteer your help! 3. Giving Check out the Amazon registry under Red Cliff Bible Camp Bathroom project in boys cabins $16,000 needed to finish the project (project goal: summer 2018) $85,000 donated to Lodge rebuild $25,000 donated to infrastructure $20,000 donated to boys cabin bathrooms Demolition of old Lodge donated Equipment use at camp donated Architectural work donated Engineering work at half price 230 yards of concrete donated Snowcat repairs donated Praises for what God has done this year! Concrete forms purchased at cost and 25% of cost donated Electrical hardware offered for reduced rates Electrical cook stove donated Snowmobile repair labor donated Body work labor on brown camp van donated A whole beef donated (cut and packaged) We have already seen benefits from AmazonSmile, a program where Amazon.com donates 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to a charitable organization selected by Amazon customers. Using AmazonSmile does not increase the price of your Amazon products. To help Red Cliff Bible Camp and Summit Trails with your purchase price, go to http://smile.amazon.com. When making purchases from Amazon, select our corporation name, Bible Camping Inc, as the charitable organization.
Page 10 Red Cliff Telegraph Winter Page 3 The pictures of the elevations are to give you an idea of the look of the Lodge. We will be posting the interior layout of the Lodge on our website in a power point that depicts this story and what God has done and continues to do on our behalf! WINTER IS HERE!!! Register for Winter Camps EAST Couples 1 Couples 2 Snow Blowout Men s Retreat February 8-10 February 15-17 February 22-24 March 1-3 Speaker: Jason & Paula Ehmann Speaker: Chris & Martha Best Speaker: Willie Partin Speaker: Ron Perry Due to our adjusted facilities this winter, we have limited registration availability for each of the 2018 winter camps. NORTH SOUTH Couples Retreats - limit is 8 couples for each retreat (Only 2 bathroom cabins available) Snow Blowout - limit is 60 campers (30 girls & 30 boys) Men s Retreat - limit is 60 campers Register TODAY at redcliffcamp.org WEST The demolition, footer concrete, and foundation concrete were ALL donated!
Page 4 Red Cliff Telegraph Resident Staff Updates MacGills Meanderings 2017 will probably always be divided in our minds as before the Lodge burned and after the Lodge burned. The cruel fire seemed so destructive what could be good about that?? When we look at the Bible we see other occasions when tough times befell people who were serving God. Though they didn t know the outcome ahead of time, God had good in mind, and we have the benefit of reading about it. Jeremiah was thrown into prison for preaching God s words to his people. When the nation of Israel was overthrown, being in prison likely saved his life. Joseph was hated by his brothers and sold into slavery after he shared his dreams with his family. But God s chosen people were rescued from starvation through his vision to follow God s leading. The greatest example of all is when Almighty God gave up His glory and came in the form of a vulnerable baby - to die a horrendous death - so that each of us might be given the opportunity to choose life everlasting. It s not always easy to see God s purpose in painful situations the sudden unexpected home-going of a person in the prime of life a young child facing debilitating or even life-threatening disease. We could go on and on with the list loss of job for the wage earner of the family, etc., But the simple truth is that God is still in control! We recently had a sweet reminder that when the original Lodge was begun, one of the facts stressed at the dedication service of that building was that it belonged to God to be used for His purposes. In the words of Job, (who also suffered great loss), the Lord gave and the Lord took away blessed be the name of the Lord. The common thread in these Biblical examples was that each key figure chose to trust God even when things looked bleak. When we choose to put God first, difficult situations can be used to be a blessing to many. Winter Page 9 Gannett, too, arrived home safely with the help of dear friends on both ends of the trip. Thankfully, Gannett not only survived his first semester in pre-med at Bob Jones University, he thrived! The study of biology and chemistry particularly delighted him. While at school the computer in his car died! Now his car is for sale in hopes that he can recover enough cash to fund some of his second semester! After a minor knee injury in football, Ike, now 6 6, jumped right into the basketball season! He thoroughly enjoys being a part of a great team of guys and excellent coaches. His senior year seems to be flying by, so he is praying about the next step God has for him. Getting our Christmas tree this year was especially fun as we joined Phil, Adriana, and Autumn in the hunt! We love their sweet family and thank God for His blessing in their lives. Church Leading the senior high youth group at our church in building and entering a float for the Christmas parade gave us and the teens a wonderful opportunity to share our faith in our community. We even made the local paper! Praises Safety in travel Answers to prayer Thank you so much for praying for our family and loving us so richly, Dean and Lorie Loftus Prayer Requests Sale of Gannett s car Wisdom in decisions Constant and abundant supply of needs Joy and peace in Jesus Christ Provision for vehicle repairs Walking in the Holy Spirit daily
Page 8 Red Cliff Telegraph Loftus Lifelines Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to men. Luke 2:14 Praise our loving Father for the gift of Jesus our Savior, our Prince of Peace! We are so blessed to experience peace with God every day through the reconciliation provided in Christ! Camp We are thrilled at what God has allowed to be accomplished at camp this fall! Dean and Lorie have had the privilege of sharing the fire story in a few supporting churches the past two months. Reminding ourselves and others of God s sovereignty and goodness keeps our focus on His plan for Red Cliff s future. Family In October, Dean s parents celebrated 55 years of marriage. Their card shower blessed them greatly! Then, in November we combined a Thanksgiving and 60th Wedding Anniversary meal for Lorie s parents in Arizona. We love and honor both sets of our parents and applaud their commitment to each other! A few days before our trip to AZ, Dean had to have an outpatient surgery. He is healing up well thanks to many prayers and adequate rest. Lorie loved being his nurse as he laid low for several days. Winter Page 5 So, like the shepherds who must have had that dividing time in their minds of the before/normal and the life-altering after of meeting the Good Shepherd in a manger bed, we look forward to a new year, new beginnings, new blessings! Please join us as we choose to surrender to His plan, thus bringing about peace, joy, hope, quietness and rest regardless of the circumstances around each of us. Praises: 1. Both vehicles have been repaired after being down most of the summer. We praise the Lord for this provision (and the blessing of all related bills being paid in full)! 2. Friends who encourage and pray for and bless us constantly! Thank YOU! 3. The new Lodge is in the process of being built! Praise the Lord! 4. The Lord has given us 43 years of the privilege to serve Him at Red Cliff Bible Camp. We are thankful! Prayer Requests: 1. Dick has a large amount of dental work that will need to be done soon. The expenses will be near $4,500 to complete. Please pray with us for His provision. 2. Dick would really like to build another sheep camp that could be used to house guests at several locations including on the camp property. Please pray with us that the Lord would provide an 18-foot-long trailer bed to start that project. 3. That we would keep on serving the Lord with joy, with all our hearts and energy! Serving that others might minister, Dick & Deirdre MacGill Holiday celebrations really get underway when the college kids come home! God graciously protected Ellie on her long trip home from WI and gave her real winter driving experience over Elk Mountain! After some R&R at home, Ellie will head for the Denver area for her student teaching assignment. Her love for the classroom, kids, and teaching should make the semester fun and profitable. Standing on the original Lodge porch
Page 6 Red Cliff Telegraph Heyboer s Highlights Dear Supporters, Friends, and Family, Thank you for praying for our family this year. Thank you for taking time to write and encourage us to press on in serving. Our hope in Christ is that you know how much of a blessing all of you are to our family and ministry. May you have a blessed Christmas season. May our God bless and encourage you. May God use us all to bring the good news of His gospel to everyone around us. May others see the joy of your salvation. May God meet all your spiritual and physical needs in this new year. God has answered our daily need. Wixi had to go to the dentist because 2 of her crowns were broken. Praise God we were able to fix one already, and we are planning to, Lord-willing, get the other one done in February. We have had some smalls gifts come in to help with expenses while we visit family; we have been so encouraged to see God provide even for just that time with family. We had friends email us this past week that said, Hey, last year we got a mixer for Wixi, this year we would like to replace your TV since it is failing. God is a good God who is so wonderful. We wish we could sit with each of you and just share each and every blessing during this year. We hope that as you have read each of our letters this year, you have seen God s hand at work in every detail in our family and ministry. David is very encouraged in the blessing that our temporary kitchen at camp is ready. God allowed our team to have things set up and functional. David helped at the camp office this week and then he also continues helping at our pastor s home trying to finish up their electric. Winter Page 7 Please pray for safety and provision from God for our family, the rest of the staff families, and camp. Pray for God to work in our hearts, the speaker s, the volunteer staff, and the campers hearts this winter. Please pray for our contacts here in town. We have made friendships around us and would love for them to understand and grow in the knowledge of our Savior - the real reason for Christmas. Pray that God will open the door for meaningful conversations so that we can have a clear presentation of the gospel. Pray for our summer staff and volunteers next summer. We are so thankful to God for His provision through this year to be able to continue to serve and minister here at Red Cliff Bible Camp. We are humbled and thankful to you for choosing to support our family and ministry. We thank you for your prayers and encouraging words to our family. Thank you to each one of you that is prayerfully considering maintaining your support. Please know that we can serve because of your prayers and support. God bless you! We pray for each of you, our supporters. Please pray for us as we visit family this Christmas for 2 weeks. Please pray for safety and a renewal of strength for the tasks to come in January. God bless you all. Serving Christ with you in His care, David & Wixi, Anah Grace,, Leonard Allen and Joseph David Heyboer We praise God that Wixi and the kids were able to give 109 Bible tracts with treats around town. God truly answered prayers bringing new people along to receive the tracts. We are so blessed to be able to give out God s word. We continue to use His word in the hearts of the people in our community. We praise God that four of Wixi s Hispanic friends were able to attend a Christmas dinner at our church. We are praying that they will understand their need of salvation. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. II Chronicles 16:9a