Simple Obedience

Hello friends and family!

It’s hard to sit down to write a prayer letter when I could be reading “Going on a Bear Hunt” to Rosie and watching her try to grab the pictures off the pages. What a wonderful dilemma: enjoy the blessing of time with our baby girl or enjoy sharing blessings with our partners in ministry around the country. Now that she’s down for a nap, let me share a quick glimpse of what God has been doing!

Camp News

It has continued to be a warm, busy spring. Ironwood has hosted 8 different camps, a mission team, and a banquet since the beginning of February. The banquet is a unique evangelistic opportunity where a local church invites people from the community to an evening of food, fun, and a gospel message. Camp helps churches play the long game of building relationships and sharing the gospel by providing a relaxing atmosphere and, of course, their expertise in tri-tip steak. Ironwood also served churches by hosting a Church Tech Retreat – a new camp allowing the tech staff at different churches to come together, learn, and share ideas.

The mission team came all the way from Muncie, Indiana and they accomplished more in a week than our staff could’ve done in a year. Two staff homes are very close to being finished, and two more are dried in. All the buildings on Ministry Campus and a few at the school got a new coat of paint. Several trailers were also painted. On top of that, when a wave of sickness hit our staff, these intrepid volunteers also jumped into the kitchen and camp prep! We are so thankful for their willingness to support the ministry of Ironwood through hands-on service.

Palkki News

Gabe spent a lot of time prepping and overseeing projects for the mission team. He supervised the painting crew working on hay wagons, a flatbed trailer, a water trailer, an outhouse trailer, and a portable kitchen trailer. There was also a crew working on the Jeep. The MAG shop was a very busy place for that week! At the end of the week, the Jeep was sent off to Indiana where people with a little more time and expertise will be able to restore it to its original glory. The next big item on Gabe’s list is getting the Sequoia Meadow’s vehicles in top working order before the seasonal start-up in May.

I’ve been able to use some of my ‘spare time’ to build relationships with the people in our little community. I’ve enjoyed visiting with the other stay-at-home moms, chatting with Ministry Crew girls, folding laundry for a couple hours with the Hospitality team, and helping with a murder mystery dinner for a few other young families. We’ve also started hosting a Bible study in our home for some of the young adults who go to our church. Rosie has kept me on my toes by learning to roll and is working hard to sit up by herself.

It’s been a full year since I stopped working for Ironwood. One thing that has surprised me is how much I love the simplicity of my life. Caring for Rosie, making meals, walking Diesel, doing chores around the house… I get to focus on doing routine things with excellence. Some people (like Gabe) can do really complex jobs and still have a firm grasp on what matters most. But I tend to get lost in the weeds. God has used this season to make me take a step back and reevaluate what I’m trying to do with my life.

God’s priorities are not complicated. In fact, Jesus boils it down to two commandments: love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40) That’s it. Obedience to God hangs on those two hooks.

Now, could I obey those two commands while running three meals for camp, making class binders, designing the yearbook, calculating equipment rentals, fixing random kitchen equipment, writing policy updates, cleaning cabins, and more? Yep! Do I have to do all those things to please God? Nope! God is just as glorified when I spend five minutes singing a Bible song to my daughter as He was when I spent five hours preparing a flawless banquet for a retreat.

How has God called you to love Him and love others? Whatever you’re doing today, I hope you can take a deep breath and relax into the simplicity of obedience.

Love in Christ,

Gabe, Cheyenne (and Rosemary) Palkki

PS: There aren't very many pictures in the Gallery right now, but I hope to add a few in the next week or so. And don't forget to check out the Pray page for updated requests and praises!