Men's Heart Conference.

Every year at Northland is hosted the Men's Heart Conference. It is a conference for Pastor's primarily, and for men in their churches.
Years ago, (this was the 24th annual) Dr. Les Ollila, our Chancelor, decided to act on the burden he had for men in the ministry. He understood how difficult the winter months can be, especially following the Holiday season, and how discouraged Pastor's can get. So he started the conference with the goal to reach those men.
The Camp Office, where I work, runs the conference. So this week has been a little busy. As much as I love the work, it tired me out, and I am looking forward to some rest this weekend.

This year we honored Dr. Ollila and his wife for 25 years of service. He is a humble man who describes himself as undeserving. And that is what makes him worthy of the award. A scholarship was given in honor of them both. Praise the Lord for his life of service that has impacted so many for the cause of Christ!

My sister wrote a post on her blog about brothers. I stole the idea.
She began by saying that she grew up with one brother, and was given 2 more after college. I was on the other side. I grew up with those two...
And so this weekend being milestones for both of them, I decided to share a little about it.
My older brother, Lincoln, celebrated his birthday on Jan 25th. He is older than me by 6 years almost exactly, so has always been someone to look up to. I am thankful for the way he has looked after me, and been everything a big brother needed to be.
Lincoln is married to Sheena, and they live in Scotland with their dear children. Layla is 2 and Elijah just a few months old. I have yet to see either of them, but look forward to that this spring hopefully.

Happy Birthday Lincoln! I love you so much!



Our family had another milestone this weekend. Kendrick, the family 'baby' shipped off to Basic Training for the Marine Corps. It is hard to believe, and yet its true. Below is an exerpt from Alisha's post on the matter:

At exactly midnight last night, 11pm California time, our phone rang. Matthew answered and this is almost exactly what we heard,

"This is Kendrick Rozelle. I have safely arrived at MCRD in San Diego where I will be until April 24th. The next time you hear from me will be by mail in about 2 to 3 weeks. I am in good health. This is Kendrick Rozelle."

That was it! Barked out loud and clear we heard him for less than 30 seconds and he hung up the phone. No chance to ask him if he was OK, no chance to tell him we had been praying and would continue to do so.....

Kendrick and I are the closest in age out of all of us kids. As a result, we were always 'the kids'. And while we aren't kids anymore, we're still close. It will be hard not talking to him during this time, but I am so proud of him!

Kendrick- I am praying for you. Stay strong in the Lord and in his Word and live every day for HIS honor and glory. I will be praying that you will be able to do your best! I love you!

"So, I heard about your good news....."

Today at brunch, a friend said that to me. And I do have good news in my life. Lots of it, but I will share just one part of it in this post.
Most of you reading this post will know the history behind what I am going to say.. and there is a lot, but suffice it to say, I am starting a new chapter in my life.
In light of that, I am going to tell you about my friend Phillip DeMarte. God has blessed me with a friend like him. He consistently points me to Christ and is an example to me of a person recognizing his imperfections, but willing to humbly be changed by God. He often shares verses with me, and we talk of God and his work in our lives a lot.
Phillip has surrendered to serving the Lord with his whole life, and is currently following God's leading to missions work in the country of Chile. While he prepares for that ministry, he is serving in his home church, Grace and Truth Bible Church, MN, as youth leader and servant.
So how did we meet? Phillip went to school with 2 of my brothers, Kendrick and Chad and my brother-in-law Matthew. He worked with them all as well in construction during those years. Kendrick introduced us due to Phillip's interest in Northland.
In between then and now, is a long story, but not important for this post.
2 weekends ago, I flew back from Christmas Break, and he came to pick me up from the airport. We had a fun weekend, and agreed to continue getting to know each other and to pursue a relationship. At this point we are trusting God's leading in each of our lives and striving to know HIM more as we know each other more. God has been faithful to both of us and we are excited to see how he leads us in the future.
So far, we have this one picture, so it will have to do. :)

the weather outside.

I would like to talk about how deceitful snow is. It really is sneaky. Last night, when I got back to my trailer (post on that coming soon)it was so many minus degrees. And although I knew the forecast called for snow, I didn't think of it this morning as I was getting ready. You see, snow falls silently. Even in a blizzard, the wind makes noise, but the snow just swirls.
Well- all that to say, when I stepped out the door this morning, there were about 3-4-5 inches of snow, and it was still coming steady.
There is a praise in that-- to snow, it has to warm UP. So we can be grateful for the snow...
there is one other thing though. There was a fair amount of ice on the ground. Walking was hazardous to our health... and now, the ice is still there, but covered up with snow. No warning- just crazy slickery ground under foot. So far, no falls, but a definite slip, and some very near misses... Keep posted.



This is a picture of the White Chapel-- not my own, but nonetheless, shows a little of the view from the Camp Office.

a rebuke....

so, now that both my sisters are going to be doing the blog thing, and seemingly very well- I want to be more on top of this thing... we'll see how it goes. No resolutions or anything, but keep up to date a little.
I could try to catch everyone up to speed on life, but that would take forever, and I wouldn't ever get there, so I am going to start right in with this weekend.

SNOW CAMP I
This weekend, we are hosting our first camp retreat of the 2009 season. It is only the first of many before the end of February. Hopefully I can let you know a little about each one.
We only have 22 campers this week, but they are a great group. Thursday (when they arrived) and yesterday, the temperatures were way below O degrees. They were troopers to go back and forth to the Dining Hall for most of their meals. A fair distance in good weather. We had many indoor activities obviously, but enjoyed some snow football, and tubing.
I was in a class this week, so I have been a little out of it, but last night, I was assigned to help Isetta (one of my co-workers) get the "snack". Which meant a trip to town! We always have a blasty-blast! One activity we do for our campers in the summer and winter is to allow them to order Taco Bell (Or we've done other restaurants) and then we bring it to them as a late night snack. Its really fun. So I got to go with Isetta on the town run.


Here we are with another friend Brittany on the left.





Well, there you have it, a little update on this weekend. I'll try my best to introduce you the reader- into my life.