Hello friends and family!
Here we are, a few weeks into 2023, and it’s already been a year of change and growth. Who knows what kind of adventures God is foreshadowing!
Camp News
They say good things come in threes. This has certainly been true for Ironwood over the last two months! Here are a few of the ‘threes’ we’re excited to see:
Three new babies were born into three different staff families! It’s not exactly what we meant when we said we needed more staff, but we’re excited to see how God uses these little ones for His glory.
Three different work teams came to help us with projects! In two weeks, they accomplished what would’ve taken our staff months, if not years. Single wide trailers are being turned into new cabins. A hay storage is being built in the new horse area. Two older cabins are getting remodeled. The expansion on our house has walls and a roof. New roads were built. And so, so much more! We are incredibly thankful for these volunteers and their dedication of time and energy to God’s work at Ironwood.
Three new guys joined the Ironwood Institute of Ministry! After a whole semester with only seven girls in IIM, it’s been fun to see three young men who desire to grow and serve God. Please pray for them as they adjust to life at camp and their new job areas.
Three new girls also joined our Ministry Bound and long-term volunteer staff! (I’m especially excited about this because one of them is my sister.) The kitchen crew will grow by two and our other long-term volunteer will be invaluable on a couple different teams. Praise God for His provision of workers!
Palkki News
We spent a very restful Christmas break at my parents’ house in Alaska. It was a wonderful time to catch up on sleep, visit with family and prepare ourselves for the coming year. We were also able to present our ministry in front of a church for the first time. Many thanks to the church family at Soldotna Baptist for being our ‘guinea pig audience’ as we figured out how to communicate what the Lord has called us to do.
We hit the ground running on January 2nd with the first of the mission teams. Gabe was able to work with one of the guys to build a couple new headache racks for the camp work trucks. This saves him a lot of work later because he doesn’t have to remove or replace broken windows. They also mounted a small crane in the bed of the maintenance truck, which saves the maintenance team a lot of sore backs. Meanwhile, I was busy preparing for our new Ministry Crew members with everything from building paperwork packets to cleaning the hitherto unused guys’ dorm. I also found time to work on a number of small tasks that seem to pile up in my job area, like installing the new slides on the salad bars and fixing the utensil drawers in the kitchen. (I know no one else is excited about that, but it was the third time I’ve had to fix those drawers. Pretty sure I’ve got it licked this time around.)
God has provided for our family in some amazing ways this month. A family in our church was able to give us a washer and dryer to put in our new house. A gift we received at Thanksgiving provided lots of groceries in January. A family friend donated funds specifically to help us buy a new laptop. And we have gained our first supporting church! God helps those who seek His kingdom first!
So far, Ironwood has spent 2023 building and improving, trying to use its resources to better fulfill its mission. In the old west, there was a term for a ranch or homestead that didn’t take the time to do this. A ‘rawhide outfit’ was one that was held together with rawhide strings, kind of like the cowboy version of duct-tape. Their corrals were falling apart. Their stock was scattered and unbranded. Their chuck wagon didn’t have enough food for the hands. At best, the outfit didn’t live well. At worst, they didn’t live long.
In 2023, a lot of lives are being held together by flimsy threads like entertainment, work, relationships or even substance abuse. But there are ‘rawhide Christians’ out there too: Christians who substitute church attendance for accountability within the body of Christ or fill their heads with feel-good devotionals instead of diving into God’s Word. Their lives are unstable, unsightly… and ready to fly to pieces in the next stiff breeze.
In contrast, the Lord tells us to seek wisdom - skillful living. Our faith should be sturdy, grounded in an awe of God. We should be prepared to weather any storm with a knowledge of truth. In short, our lives shouldn’t look like a few sticks of wood slapped together with rawhide but a masterful work of art that displays the glory and character of our King.
So as we head into a new year, where is the rawhide in your life? What will it take for you to live skillfully in 2023?
Love in Christ,
Gabe and Cheyenne Palkki
PS: Don't forget to check out the pictures, prayer requests and praises on our homepage!