Winter Blur

The new year has sure come at us rapidly! As I shared in our last email update, I (Ryan) had the chance to take a trip to Poland in January and that was tremendous. The picture above is from the grounds of Wawel Castle in Krakow. This picture is special because it represents long-lasting friendship. On my right is John, who himself is a missionary in Slovenia with Josiah Venture. He and I have been good friends since 4th grade, and I was so glad he could come spend time with us for a few days. And my friend Andy, who is the on the left side of the group (or the right side of the picture), has been a good friend since high school. Before the trip, I was only acquainted with Rob, who is next to me in the middle, but it was great to get to know him better over the week we spent together, as well. Friendships that last decades are an incredible gift from the Lord, and it was so fun to spend some good time together wandering around Poland, talking about life, family, work, and all the other stuff, too.

I arrived home from Poland, had a couple very busy days at home, then left with Mabel to travel north to Abbotsford, BC, in order to participate in Camp Days at Columbia Bible College (more about that below). After getting home from BC (and after spending a full week sick in bed), Leanne and I also were able to once again plan and lead our EBC Leadership Team Retreat for all the Pastors / Elders and Wives at Evergreen. We love planning and leading that weekend each year! It was a FULLLL January!

All of February has been leading up to this last weekend, when I had the chance to lead a ministry equipping event at Evergreen that we called Training Day. It involved 175 people getting better equipped to serve the Jesus in their families, in the world, and in the church. We had 14 different workshops and participants were able to go to 1, 2, or 3 of those workshops, depending on how they scheduled themselves. Our whole EBC staff worked together to make that day great, and it was so fun seeing the participants excited to be trained to be more helpful ambassadors for Christ.

Report from our trip to CBC

Mabel and I had a great time at Columbia Bible College as we represented Rock Nest Ranch at their Camp Days event (pic below). There were 16 camps, each with a booth set up in the cafeteria, all coming together to invite students to come serve at their respective ministries. I have to admit that it felt a bit competitive (or maybe that was just me!). When we arrived, we found our table waiting for us in the far, secluded corner of the cafeteria (we referred to it as the VIP Privacy Corner). We determined that we weren’t going to sit in the corner with dunce caps on, so rather than waiting for students to come to us, we presented ourselves to the students. At lunch, dinner, and then the following lunch, we worked our way around the cafeteria, table by table. We had to shut off all the internal voices telling us these students didn’t want to talk to us and just be extra bold in our conversations. We used a few entry points for conversation, including offering them “Exotic American Candies” (Zots), asking them to sign up for our prize drawing (Tim Hortons gift card, a T-Shirt, and a Coloring Book), and finally offering them Red Bulls if they would sit and eat with us and hear about the ministry. In the end, we came away with 23 student contacts, and I’ve followed up with all but one (one of the email addresses was written in chicken scratch, I believe). So far, those days at CBC haven’t yielded results of staff members, but we continue to pray that perhaps some of those contacts will someday come serve at Rock Nest Ranch. Our specific prayer has been for two students from that Columbia to come serve at Rock Nest, whether that is this year or in the future. And Mabel and I had a lot of fun interacting with students, and then also just enjoying a few days of one-on-one time together.

Email Outreach

For a short time, we thought we had teams lined up to come serve at Rock Nest for each week of camp, but a couple weeks ago we were told that one of the teams had to back out, leaving a bit of a hole in our summer staff. We are praying for a new team to come for Junior Camp 1 (July 8-13). Behind that prayer effort, I have been reaching out to churches. In truth, most churches already have summer plans nailed down by now. And it is common for youth groups to have well-worn paths for what their summers look like (camps, repeated mission endeavors, etc), so we are trusting the Lord to open doors if He has in mind to bring another team to Rock Nest this summer. We aren’t limited to Youth Groups, but rather, we also encourage adult groups and families to consider coming. In the last week I have reached out to 27 different churches, and I’ll probably look for the chance to connect with some more. I figure if you just keep “knocking on doors” of like-minded churches, perhaps that will bring us to the right ”doorstep” of a church that is looking for an opportunity to serve and to see their students discipled in a missions environment for a week.  

Pastor’s Conference

Next week I am going to a pastor’s conference, where I will have a booth and be making efforts to share about Rock Nest with a group of pastors who are gathered. Perhaps from among those gathered in Sequim, WA next week, we will find a group to serve. Or maybe it could be a connection point for individuals to come be a part of the ministry. At the very least, these opportunities give me a chance to let people know the Rock nest exists, so that perhaps there would be opportunities down the road, if not for this summer.

Rock Nest Travel Plans

One of our big questions to solve has been when to travel to Rock Nest this summer. We finally have settled on a plan, which is that I am going to fly up by myself on Tues, June 16. I will be there for about 3 weeks on my own, and then Leanne and the girls will drive up to join me in early July. This allows our oldest two, Mabel and Estelle, to participate in the Middle School Camp that is happening with the Evergreen Youth Group. We see the opportunity to be a part of this camp as something valuable for them. Leanne and I both have such great memories of youth group camps, trips, and retreats with friends who are still important in our lives today. And we want to see our girls in situations where they are challenged in their faith, and where they have other adults, in addition to us, who help them know and walk with Jesus. But just like last year, it will be a long time to be apart for our family. We do prefer to be all together!

Just Because

Last night was Pastor Night at Evergreen’s AWANA Program. For quite a few years, one of the highlights has been the Pastor Coloring Page. I thought I’d include the coloring page below, just because. I am grateful to work on a church staff at Evergreen where we enjoy each other, work well together, and support one another personally as well as professionally. I know that isn’t the case for every ministry situation, but we love what we’ve been given at Evergreen!

Big Decision Answers

We’ve shared about some big looming questions, and for now, we have answers to these questions.

1. What is a good long-term transportation option for our family?For this year, we will drive our RAV4, as we have in previous years. We do it all around town, and it’s no big deal, but it does get a little tighter when travelling 900 miles each way. Thankfully it’s a nice vehicle and we are grateful for that! It will be a relatively short drive home (no extra stops along the way), so we will be just fine. I imagine we will revisit the dilemma in the Fall.

2. What is a good long-term housing plan for us when we are at Rock Nest?
   For this year, the plan is to stay in the same house on Rock Nest campus that we stayed in last year. For a handful of reasons, it isn’t ideal, but even so, we are grateful for a place to stay. We might need to invest in some extra mosquito protection, because they seem to have some kind of super-highway into the house. We commonly woke up to discover that the mosquito brigade had visited us in the night. One of our girls, in particular, seemed to get “visited” the most!

Prayer Needs

• We need more staff at Rock Nest this summer. Please pray that a door would open for another team or two to come serve this summer, particularly during the week of July 8-13.
• Pray for our girls, Mabel, Estelle, and Rosie, that they would walk with Jesus. We see beautiful sensitivities to the Lord and young faith in each of them, and we are so thankful for that.
• Pray for the groups that are already planning to come serve at Rock Nest this summer, that the Lord would prepare them well! We are currently forming a team from Evergreen and praying that the Lord would put together a team that is excited to serve Him and love the campers.

Conclusion

Thank you for praying with us in this ministry! We look forward to sharing with you about the good work God does in and through the ministry at Rock Nest Ranch.

Ryan and Leanne Donovan