There and Back Again: A Tale of Grace

Hello friends and family!

If summer is a marathon, then the finish line is in sight! The difference between marathons and ministry is that you can run a marathon on nothing but your own power. At this point in the summer, we all know it’s nothing but God Who keeps us moving toward the end of this ministry season. And we’ve been carried along on an amazing journey!

Camp News

June 30^th through July 6^th was staff training, round two! Many of our summer staff workers are only contracted for the first five weeks of summer, allowing them more flexibility for work, school, or other ministries. This results in a ‘changing of the guard’ week where incoming staff can train and veteran staff can rest or learn new responsibilities. It’s always good to gain some fresh energy at the half-way mark.

The second half of summer is focused on custom camps. Churches get to customize their camp experience based on the needs of their youth groups or children’s ministries. Though this limits the direct spiritual impact of our staff on campers, it’s a powerful tool for building connections between young people and home churches. Ironwood facilitates those connections, and we’re excited to hear stories of kids making decisions because of dedicated church outreach.

Looking ahead, the last week of summer will be a bit different this year. Originally, there was a sponsored family camp planned for the first week of August. However, time constraints made it difficult to generate enough interest for that camp to be feasible. However, God had already planned to give Ironwood more than enough projects to fill that time. Even though we won’t have any campers on property, our staff will be busy preparing for future ministry. Please pray for special wisdom as camp leadership seeks to steward time and the resource of extra hands!

Palkki News

Gabe got a new assistant during the second staff training week. Nathan has a fantastic attitude and has been a quick, conscientious learner. Together, the guys replaced the engine head on the black truck (known as The Toaster for its thermal retention properties) and put a new motor in the golf cart (which I call The Abomination because it is.) Camp prep has continued to go well. We’re especially thankful for some of the counselors with exceptional leadership skills who were able to jump in as crew leaders.

I had the opportunity to volunteer in the kitchen for two mornings during our largest custom camp week. It’s been so fun to watch from an outside perspective as the kitchen crew grows and excels in their work area! I also got to participate in our church’s family fun day in Big Bear, as well as attend my sister’s bridal shower. I’ve really appreciated these chances to build relationships with people in our church who don’t live close to camp. Baby Girl has grown a lot in the last few months and finally settled into a position where she can kick me in the ribs anytime she feels like it. (Usually when I’m trying to go to sleep.)  

Our family is planning to leave camp a few days early in order to be at my sister’s wedding in Alaska. We’ll spend an extra week there, enjoying time with family before heading into a very, VERY busy off-season. Prayers for rest and traveling mercies are much appreciated!

On July 21^st, we added an interesting incident to the saga of a camp mechanic. Just as Gabe was getting off work, he received a phone call from one of the staff guys who had taken some staff kids on a field trip to a museum in Las Vegas. The camp van was having transmission trouble and wouldn’t be able to make the drive back. The only viable solution was to take a replacement vehicle to Vegas along with a truck and trailer to haul the van back to camp. Let me give you some context for this already problematic scenario: Gabe had started work at 5AM, his phone battery was pretty much dead, he hadn’t eaten lunch, and no one was available to make the two-hour drive with him.

So he had two options: trailer the camp Suburban into Vegas, unload the Suburban, load the van, and drive back (all by himself) OR ask me to follow him in the Suburban and ride back with him. He chose the second option, much to my relief.

Now, I could make a long story short and tell you that everyone made it home safely by ten o’clock that night. But that would be cheating you out of some prime exhibits of God’s goodness! For example…

• The van broke down in the city instead of on the freeway. God protected our staff from being stuck on the side of the road for hours in 100+ degree weather with a group of young children.

• I had rested that morning and eaten lunch late. So the pregnancy side-effects that would have made the trip difficult were minimized.

• Unbeknownst to us, the battery charger in the truck did not work and Gabe’s phone died in the middle of downtown Las Vegas. If he had gone alone, this would have stranded him without a map or a way to contact anyone. However, because he had the foresight to set up walkie-talkie communication between his vehicle and mine, I was able to navigate for both of us.

• Josh and Christy (the staff couple in charge of the field trip) made sure we had pizza and coffee drinks for the trip back. This gave Gabe the energy to finish what ended up being a 16-hour work-day.

• The van was loaded and trailered back to camp with no problems. Anytime you put a ten-passenger van on a flat-bed trailer and then haul it up and down long hills with a truck that doesn’t weigh much more than the combined trailer and van, there is potential for mishaps. God prevented those mishaps.

• When we got back to camp, one of the walkie-talkies (which we had borrowed from the Grounds team) was missing. We ransacked the truck and couldn’t find it, so we had to assume it had been left behind in Vegas. The next morning, Gabe found it in the van. We’re still not sure how it ended up there.

Hard things, problems, and setbacks are a part of life. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by circumstances we can’t control or fix. But every once in a while, God pulls back the curtain and lets us see Him at work. This little story is packed with examples of His sovereignty and providence. God had every detail planned before Gabe even got that phone call. All we had to do was depend on the grace of our good Father.

Love in Christ,

Gabe and Cheyenne Palkki

PS: There aren't many new pictures in the Gallery, but if you've ever wondered what a rainbow looks like over the desert, go check it out! There are new praises and requests on our Pray page too!