Hot Mess
- Cheyenne
- 5 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Hello friends and family!
It’s that time again! Time for hot summer days packed with fun and hot summer nights also packed with fun and… yep, ok, you get it. Everything is just really hot and really fun out here. Summer 2026 has officially begun! But first, a quick look back…
Camp News
A lot of last month was spent preparing Sequoia Meadows for its first official camp season as a part of Ironwood. Multiple work teams from our staff and different churches drove “up the mountain” to de-winterize and revamp the facilities. Because the Meadows operated with a skeletal staff for several years, most of the behind-the-scenes areas needed some serious TLC. The shop, power shed, hospitality headquarters, store and kitchen were cleaned, organized, and re-stocked with new equipment and supplies. There were also many projects happening in camper areas. Some dirt work was done to improve roads and parking lots. Several cabins got new plumbing, wiring, or paint. The chapel was cleaned out and had new windows installed. Loads and loads of trash from every corner of camp were either burned or hauled down the mountain.
There is still a lot of work to be done at Sequoia Meadows, but with God’s grace, it has great potential to become a campground that models His character and a useful tool for His kingdom!
After a week-long break, Ironwood staff hit the ground running on May 31st as our first summer staff rolled into camp. God chose not to fill all the spots that we thought needed to be filled in our summer staff team, but He designs every team for the summer He has planned, not the summer we have planned. We look forward to what He will do with these young people! Please pray that our summer staff would grow spiritually and be used by God in the lives of the campers.
Palkki News
Gabe finished the maintenance on the Sequoia Meadows vehicles and also installed the toolbox on our brand-new road truck. Both of us were able to join my family for a work week at Sequoia Meadows. I got to help with several clean-up projects, including scrubbing down a kitchen that will eventually be used for the staff at the Meadows. Gabe worked on a trailer axle, rebuilt some cabinets, and made a run down the mountain to have a backhoe tire repaired.
We also spent two weeks of vacation in Alaska as a family. It was a great time to relax and reset before the busyness of summer. Rosie especially enjoyed being spoiled by her grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Gabe and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary with a long walk in the woods without her. We also got to go hiking, spend time with friends, and visit the zoo! (Rosie loved the moose.)
I said in the beginning that summer is both very hot and very fun. Summer is also very messy. The heat, the non-stop schedule, the conviction of God’s Spirit through His Word, the tight living quarters… it’s the perfect recipe for drama of a fleshly nature. In fact, ministry is messy in any place, at any time, with any team, because ministry is loving people and people are very messy.
As a family in the middle of ministry, Gabe and I have been working through how to deal with this mess. (And yes, we realize that we are part of the mess at times.) People aren’t like a vehicle where you can just change the broken part and move on. There isn’t a recipe or a schedule or a policy that you can follow to make everything work out. And that’s especially frustrating when other people’s mess leaks into your work area, your time, and around your kids.
In the privacy of our home, it’s easy to rehash problems, vent opinions and even express correct convictions about whatever is going on at camp. But we’ve come to the conclusion that the only thing that really helps clean up the mess is taking it to God.
David reminds us to “Refrain from anger and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land." (Psalm 37:8-9)
Prayer is our expression of dependence on God. When we’re waiting on Him, we’re less tempted to react in anger or despair. We can trust Him to bring everything to its just conclusion. And when the problem seems unfixable, we don’t need to worry.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
God gives us peace in the middle of the mess if we just take our requests to Him. And that peace guards our hearts and minds so that we can see the situation clearly.
It’s kind of ridiculous that we so often forget such a simple, powerful solution as prayer. Gabe and I are trying to do better. You can too! When you’re tempted to rage and fret, take all of the mess in your life before the throne of God. And while you’re there, don’t forget to mention our mess too!
Love in Christ,
Gabriel, Cheyenne (and Rosemary) Palkki
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