The end of the beginning

I suppose it's time for another update, eh? Ok then.

I'm pretty settled in to life here at Camp de Cimes, now that it's been a couple weeks. From all I've heard, the Refresh camp went quite well. The camp wasn't actually put on by staff here, it was others renting out the space, so I didn't have anything to do with any of the sessions. The missionaries I talked to seem to get a lot out of them though. There was a family serving in Indonesia, a couple from Vietnam who had served in Nepal for years, and a handful of others.

Since I wasn't a part of the camp going on, I spent my time helping out with whatever needed done around Camp de Cimes. In the past week and a half, I've done a lot of mowing and weedwhacking, helped to re-mortar a wall (hopefully putting up pictures of that soon), cleaned a lot of bathrooms, and done a lot of dishes. The work can seem mundane at times, but it's a huge blessing just to be here and do what I can to help out.

I've been fortunate enough to have some time to get out and see the areas surrounding the camp, as I'm sure you've noticed if we're friends over on Facebook. It's BEAUTIFUL here. Hiking around camp is a great way for me to clear my head and simply appreciate how much God has blessed me by putting me here.

In the next week, things will really start picking up here. We'll have a lot more staff coming, in preparation for the two big July camps. Once July hits, things will be crazy busy from what I've heard, so it might be more difficult for me to post updates, but I'll do my best!

Thanks a bunch for the prayers so far! It's hugely encouraging to know that there's people lifting me up back in the States. I'd apprecaite prayers for all the staff members coming in, and that they'd have safe travels. Also that all the campers coming would have their hearts prepared for the time here, and that they'd be deeply impacted by the teaching and overall environment. I think that's all for now.

Godspeed,
Ryan

A short glimpse into the French Alps

The beginning

Well, I’ve been at Camp des Cimes for three full days now, and it’s been pretty amazing. This is still downtime before the first camp starts, so we’ve just been working to get everything ready. On Thursday, I did some random chores around camp, such as filling in a basketball court and weed whacking, while others did some masonry on a building, others fixed a deck, and yet others cleaned. Friday, I had the pleasure of mowing the entire camp, and weed whacking what I wasn’t able to get to with the mower. It was a lot of work, but the weather was nice, so it wasn’t too bad. Today was an off day, so a group of us hiked up to a refuge in a nearby national park, and delivered a bible to the people working there. The Alps are insanely beautiful, as a video I took will show to a small extent. Tomorrow, the first camp, Refresh, begins. It’s a camp for missionaries to come to and… well… refresh themselves.

Thanks so much to everyone who prayed for my safety getting here – I didn’t have any major issues! I’d appreciate prayers for Refresh, and that it would be a beneficial time for all involved. Burnout is a huge issue for those involved in ministry, and hopefully this will be able to prevent that for those who come.

Godspeed,

Ryan

En route

And here we go! I'm sitting in Denver International Airport, waiting for my flight to Dallas. In Dallas, I connect with a flight to Paris. From there, I catch a train to Lyon, another train to Grenoble, and a bus to Bourg d'Oisans. Should be fun when I know almost zero French.

Any prayers for the trip would be greatly appreciated, especually making the connection in Dallas, as I only have an hour and need to go through customs. Yikes. Other than that, I'm stoked! Can't wait to see how God works this summer at Camp des Cimes!