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

Using What We Have

Have you ever had a dream or vision for something that you later discovered was blinding you from seeing what you already had right in front of you? Case in point: we are at the place in our ministry where new buildings feel like a pretty big need. One building is the lodge: this will double the amount of teens we can gather for teaching and worship times, will bring the full time staff offices and the camp store up to the center of camp activity, will open up another space for small group meetings, and will allow for a higher quality experience in every way. Building such a place requires dollars which requires fundraising which requires time. This is all still very much on our horizon, but is there a quicker fix utilizing what we currently have?

The Pack Shack is our answer! Formerly used to store equipment and be a quick shelter from rain, we are now working toward enclosing this space to become our interim gathering space with teens! By next summer, Lord willing!

Yesterday the concrete floor was poured! Did you see the process in our Instagram stories? If not, here are a few pictures to catch you up!

We have been asking for people to give to our concrete yard sale. This project required 25 yards of concrete and each yard costs $135. Thank you to each of you who have contributed to the pouring of this floor! [We are still short and will have more walkway space to pour when the building is done. If you feel like you want to be a part of helping us make the most of what we already have you can Give Now!]

Shaun had a good time recording some of the process yesterday during the work! We posted them on Instagram — if you want to go see them, head to our feed!

We are super excited to share the process of this build with you! Maybe you can learn from our experience in this too. Whatever you might be envisioning or feeling too far away from, make the absolute most of what you have now because it will serve as the stepping stone to the bigger picture later on! Keep going. Every step counts.

[Author: Cassi | Photo Creds: Marty and Shaun |