The Tale of the Concrete Pour

Early and still dark, my eyes opened to the realization of the rain pounding on the roof. Concrete day at camp and it was absolutely pouring rain. Noooo. God, you knew. Why today? Up the road, Marty was having the exact same experience from his own bed. Doesn’t it sometimes feel like God isn’t hearing us or might not care as much as we think He should? Boy, how wrong we are to think like that. He’s all about getting the most glory, so He keeps us on the edge of our seats, desperately needing Him so we can be in awe of Him.

We all went through our morning routines, getting ready, grabbing work gear and shuttling out the door. It might be raining, but we were still showing up. We drove up to the pad where the work was supposed to be taking place and found work crews huddled in their trucks, watching their weather apps predict rain all day. We sent texts asking people to pray, we sent out a call on social media to pray; please, God, stop the rain and allow the work to be done.

Do you see the light shining down on the concrete pad? Didn’t know it when the picture was taken!

What might have seemed forever was only a handful of minutes. With workers standing by, the pump truck arriving, multiple concrete trucks en route, and an audience on social media and text praying hard, we saw the glory of God. The rain not only stopped, but as if by some divine wind, the clouds cleared out and the sun was out ALL DAY LONG!!

Because of the sun, the temperature warmed just enough to move the process along rather swiftly. The hard work of the crew, the orchestration and timing of God allowed our slab to be poured before CWE arrives to build!

Every day before and after the day of the concrete pour we had rain upon rain upon rain. But for one important day God showed us He controls the weather, He provides all we need, He listens, is personal and more than cares. I’m so thankful we get to see Him working up close and personal. I’m so thankful for all of you who care enough to pray and share this journey with us.

Watch the video of the process up to this point! To God be the glory!

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Author & Photographer | Cassi

Seeing God in the Midst of Need

In preparation for the camper lodge to be built by CWE in a couple weeks, Marty has had the monumental task of getting the foundation completed before their arrival. Sounds easy enough. But it’s winter here in Robbinsville, in the midst of “Covid” times (which seems to make all the difference), and operating on the policies of local small town businesses (which means their time schedules allow for more flexibility). Needless to say, Marty hasn’t been sleeping much under the weight of this.

Do you ever struggle with the balance of trusting God to accomplish on your behalf and “being concerned” [read: stressing, worrying, etc] over accomplishing your part of the job? When we feel the pressure, the crunch, the squeeze, we tend to default into “I’ll Control This” Mode. We feel everything depends on us in order to succeed. True, Marty is responsible to do the work it requires to line up the workers, order the supplies ahead of them and follow a certain time table. Also true, Marty’s work fully depends on other people showing up and doing the work. Depending on others, even God, can sometimes cause us to feel stress because they are our of our control. Marty, in the midst of his “concern,” has been in a constant state of conversation with God, calling out to Him to provide and make things happen. Maybe that’s the secret: maintaining a posture of reliance on God’s orchestration and goodness, while releasing control and remaining faithful to our part of the job. In light of all this, we wanted to share this story of God’s goodness with you.

One day recently, Marty was feeling stressed about finding a plumber after the scheduled one had just backed out (due to health reasons). The dominoes, as it were, were already set up so this would affect everything else. Along with this, he was trying to hunt down supplies for the slab prep. Heading into town on an errand, his mind was consumed with these worries and more. Autopilot is an amazing (and slightly scary) thing when we drive, isn’t it? Before he realized it, “the truck” had headed through town and was going home! He finally “came to” and was about to turn back into town when he decided maybe he’d just drop in on some guys he knows working a job site not far from there.

While there, Marty ended up sharing his struggles. He mentioned having exhausted his list of plumbers and asked if they knew of any that could show up in a couple days. One of the guys that happened to be there that day casually said, “I’m a plumber. I can do it for you.” What? You’ve gotta be kidding me. Okay, how about this: where could he get supplies for the slab prep? Another guy said, “You can get it a welding supply house about thirty minutes out!” Seriously? The place we get CO2 for paintball? Oh, how God of Him. Flabbergasted is an understatement. Marty showed up to a job site he didn’t mean to drive to and had both of that day’s insurmountable problems solved.

_{^{The Fab Five who were God’s Provision!}}

Yes, we are to remain faithful to our part of the work God gives us to do, but even more so we are to fully depend on our good and very personal God to meet all of our needs within the work. Friend, we have seen many miracles and provisions and personal moments like these throughout our years in camp ministry at Whisper Mountain, yet we still become so shocked when He does it again. Maybe it’s because we know ourselves and how our faith can waver and how we struggle with switching the internal setting to “He is God” Mode.

Whatever insurmountable problem facing you today, remain faithful and fully trust your God to accomplish the work for you. For His Glory Alone!

We look forward to showing you the foundation progress soon! Until then, celebrate His goodness with us today.

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Author & Photographer | Cassi