Embracing the Love of Christ...

Hey everyone. This is week four of our second session here at camp. It's crazy that Saturday morning we will be saying goodbye to this month's summer staff, work crew, and assigned team and then saying hello to a brand new crew for our third and final session. Along with transitioning to a new staff, we will also be going back to WyldLife (middle school) camping for the final three weeks. This means going back to a slightly different menu in the kitchen, a slightly different program throughout the week, and shorter camp weeks in general (5 days instead of 7).

It will be exciting to head to session 3, but I know I will definitely miss my four AM cooks I have had the privilege to work with this past month. Their hunger to grow in Christ and their amazing work ethic each morning has been tremendously encouraging to me. With only four days left before they leave, and only just a few weeks for myself here at camp, I really want to focus and be intentional on every moment of each day. My prayer is that I will not let a moment or opportunity pass by to be intentional and relational to each person I encounter.

Christ is the perfect example of being incredibly intentional in relationships with those around him. And, being at camp this summer has reminded me of the many times I have sat in the club room here at TWL and have heard the presentation of the gospel to kids and leaders. Even though I have heard the story of the cross many times, each time I am almost brought to tears by Jesus' love for us through his death. My amazement continues when I think about the thousands of adolescents who have heard the same story this summer.

My prayer is that I can focus on the love of Christ in each moment of my last few weeks here at camp. I hope to constantly find ways to express this love to those around me. What a shame it would be if the story of Christ's love for us simply was a "good story that helped us get an emotional high on occasion." As believers it should always be our motivation to exhibit this love throughout our day. I encourage you to read through 1 John 3-4 to read more on this and then think about how this can be your focus in your daily life as well.

Be in prayer for the remainder of this second session and for the safe arrival of staff, volunteers, and campers this weekend for session 3. Blessings!

Story

Things continue to go well here at camp. Even though the days can be long sometimes it's amazing at how fast time flies by. For instance, today we were cooking biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs and all of us were amazed it had already been a week since we last cooked that same meal. With the time flying by, the reality is that we only have about a month left of our internship here at Timber Wolf Lake. And, this leads to only five weeks from me moving down to Georgia to work at Sharp Top Cove for a year. This is just crazy to me.

Thoughts of SharpTop and my arrival coming closer and closer makes me a little nervous to be honest.Yes, I am still very excited about my next internship. But, I know that I'll be stepping out of my comfort zone, which can be scary for anybody. I have come to realize that humans in general tend to stay close to the walls of safety and security whenever possible. What I'm learning though is that by not taking steps away from the "wall," I may be missing out on a bigger and better story.

Right now I've been reading through a book by Donald Miller called "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" along with our men's intern group. Miller's writing has been timely to me as I start looking ahead to an unknown future in the abstract world of post-college life. Miller writes how taking steps away from comfort and security can lead to challenges, stress, and opposition. In itself this may seem like a bad thing. But, really when it comes down to it, what movie have you enjoyed that had the main character live a non-challenging, comfortable life? Instead, any good movie has the protagonist have a goal in mind, and has to overcome great odds, challenges, etc. to reach that goal point.

So, what is my goal in life? Ha, I'm not sure I can sum an answer up for you in a short blog post. And, that's not necessarily because it would be incredibly long. But, more because I'm still trying to figure it out. However, I can tell you that with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength I want to serve God throughout my life. I believe I can do this by serving and encouraging people, which leads me to my current adventure in Young Life. I'm hoping that as my journey unfolds at SharpTop, God will continue to make clear the plans he has for me. And, I pray that God will give me courage and strength to take hold of the story of adventure he wants me to live.

Transitions...

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great Fourth of July holiday! Here at camp we've been pretty busy over the last few days. We recently just changed from session 1 to session 2 here at TWL. The changeover was a lot of work as not only did we prepare for new campers, we also had to prepare for new work crew, summer staff, and assigned team.

I'm definitely going to miss the people that spent five camp weeks here for session one. It was especially hard to say goodbye to the summer staff I had the privilege of working with in the kitchen. We had a lot of fun together in the AM, and it was great getting to know each of them and the journeys God has in store for them.

As quickly as we said goodbye to the session one crew, we were sent to greet the new group for session two. It was difficult to transition so quickly, but it has been fun getting to know the new peeps over the last four days. I'm really excited about our new AM crew and the community we will be forming over the next four days.

One exciting note is that this week my home area Eastern Ottawa is here with our Young Life high school campers. It has been a ton of fun seeing familiar faces amongst the leaders here and I'm hoping to catch up with them over the next few days before they take off for home.

Thank you for your constant prayers and support from back home! Praise God for this tremendous opportunity to serve at a place where adolescents meet Jesus Christ and grow in their faith! Continue to be in prayer for students as they come weekly from places all around the Midwest and learn what it means to trust others, trust their leaders, and trust Jesus. Also, be in prayer for our new assigned team, summer staff, and work crew here this session as they begin their four week journey. Finally, continue to pray for our intern community as we have hit the halfway point here at TWL. Pray that we'll continue to keep our focus on Christ, grow stronger as a community, stay rested, and have fun!

An Amazing Month!

Hey everyone! The last few weeks have been crazy busy, so I apologize in not being able to update more often. Let me give you a quick summary on what has taken place.

The first three camp weeks were WyldLife weeks here at Timber Wolf Lake. Each camp week is five days long and is packed full of outdoor games, free time opportunities at the blob, zip-line, rope swing, basketball, game room, etc. Also, each cabin gets the opportunity to climb the rockwall, go tubing on the lake, and venture through the ropes course. On top of this is the theme of program (Bear Claw Training Camp) which interacts with the campers throughout the week at clubs, meal times, and a variety of all-camp activities. Through all these events our hope is that kids will be able to have fun, gain trust in their WyldLife leaders and fellow students, and be prepared to listen and talk about the gospel message of Christ.

Somewhere in the mix of these crazy five day weeks, food service comes into the picture. It seems like a minor detail, but being able to serve kids through food is really important in giving each student and leader the energy they need to thrive at camp each day. Plus, we try to make the dining experience enjoyable for these kids with tasty meals. Also, we set up each area with round tables for eight or nine people each, which allows an opportunity for more bonding between campers and leaders through discussion (as opposed to the ever popular method of eating in front of a tv screen at home).

My job in the kitchen has focused on the successful preparation and service of breakfast and lunch to campers. I help lead the charge with our summer staff cooks in making meals such as french toast, ham and cheese omeletes, and pancakes. I have been blessed with an amazing crew of 4 summer staffers (plus 2 more who helped for the first three weeks) and it has been great getting to know each of them and their stories.

The third week of WyldLife I was really excited because the students from my area back home (Eastern Ottawa) were coming up. I really enjoyed being able to see familiar faces and hang out with our group of guys after I finished my work in the kitchen. For sure, I had to be careful not to do too much because a day of work in the kitchen can be exhausting enough even without plans to hang out with kids for six hours afterwards. But, I was able to get some good quality time watching them rock climb, tube, play two-hand touch football, go to a couple clubs, and eat a few dinner time meals with them. I think they all really enjoyed their week and I'm hoping they were able to explore further what it means to live a life walking with Christ.

Following my area's departure on Father's Day, we had our first high school Young Life group arrive for a six-day camp week last Monday. It has been extremely busy this last week with the largest number of campers ever at Timber Wolf Lake being on the property. With more people and bigger stomachs (high school students eat a ton more than middle schoool kids) we have ended up preparing a ton of food for each meal. Also, high school meals are a little more complex in preparation. We cannot just throw chicken fingers in the oven for lunch anymore. With a new menu to cook and more campers to cook for, we have had quite a few long days this past week. I give my summer staff crew a ton of credit for persevering through exhaustion and being able to continue to try their best to serve with their best of ability and have fun.

So, all of this leads to today the last day of this first Young Life camp week. Tomorrow we will get our second high school group in and then one week from now our first session will come to an end. This means that our summer staff, work crew, and assigned team staff will be leaving for home and we will be getting ready for a brand new crew to come in for session two in July. It's crazy that we only have one more week with our current summer staff. It has been such a blessing being able to work with them and get to know them. Pray that we will be able to really make the most of their last week here and serve to the best of our ability.

Week One has arrived!

The campers have arrived! Sunday, after months of anticipation, the first WyldLife summer camp week began here at Timber Wolf Lake. It was fun seeing all of the kids run off their respective charter busses and be welcomed by enthusiastic work crew and program members. As the week has gone on, I have enjoyed being able to watch these middle schoolers enjoy many of the activities, clubs, free time, and of course food that Timber Wolf has to offer.

It's going to take some adjustment for sure now serving over 500 people each week in the kitchen. Long days can be tiring, but I know that it will get easier as I find more of a rythym and get more familiar with our meals' recipees. It has helped a ton having great summer staff serving with me in the AM too. For the most part I have four college aged staff I supervised (Annie, Brett, Nicole, and Mitch). They have been great and have picked up on the ways of the kitchen really fast (sometimes even faster than me, haha ;). I'm looking forward to continue working and getting to know them during the next three weeks.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow evening, because the interns will meet again for the second time this summer for our small group time. The guys are reading Donald Miller's latest book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Just started reading the first four chapters, but it's looking like it should be a pretty good read. Also, on my own time I have been really enjoying Tony Dungee's first book, Quiet Strength. As a football fan, I love reading about Tony's journey through the football world, trying to continue to be a man of integrity and doing things the right way in both his work and family life.

Well, that's all for now folks (cue the looney tunes theme music). Enjoy the above pictures of where I work, the kitchen. And continue to keep in touch!

Brandon Tschirhart

Timber Wolf Lake

4909 North Morey Road

Lake City, MI 49651

Ready, set, ....

The preparations are in high gear right now as we are only four days away before our first wyldlife camp week here at Timber Wolf Lake. This past weekend we hosted over 200 volunteers from Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and beyond who came to help us clean, repair, and do maintainance all around camp. It was definitely a long weekend with an 11 hour day on Saturday and a 9 hour day on Sunday working in the kitchen. Some of the cleaning adventures I led included thorough cleaning in the cooler, the freezer, deep scrubbing grease off the hoods, power cleaning the floors, and cleaning the front line. Fun stuff! But as tiring as it was, we were able to get a lot accomplished because of the great attitudes and work ethic of the volunteers in the kitchen.

After the cleaning marathon was over Sunday I was able to head home for 24 hours to see the family. It was definitely great to hang out, have a home cooked meal, and play some board games together. Also, I was able to go to GR and catch up with some good friends, dominate some bean bag toss and have some delicious ice cream sandwich pie. All in all it was a good trip.

Then back to camp I went, ready to start our new week. It feels a bit wierd here because we are so close to the campers arriving. While we are busy with final preparations, everyone still knows things will change drastically once the assigned team, work crew, summer staff, and over 500 campers arrive shortly. It is easy to get anxious about what things will look like then. However, I have found quite a bit of encouragement from my devotions in Romans this past week. Here's one verse that stood out this morning. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have today.

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 15:5-6).

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

Hey everyone! It's hard to believe it's already been a week since I started this summer journey at Timber Wolf Lake. Each day I am reminded of how blessed I am to have this opportunity to serve in such a wonderful place.

Last week, our camp was hosting an inner varsity fellowship of Christ group from the University of Illinois. It was actually fun being able to jump in to things right away in the kitchen. I have the morining shift each day working from 6am to about 3pm. A quick summary of what my job looks like is putting away the truck load that comes twice a week, getting the summer staff started on cooking breakfast, start preparing meals for the next couple days, get lunch cooking, clean up, etc. I definitely enjoy having plenty to do and love being able to learn a whole new world in food service as well as having a leadership role too!

Along with learning the ropes in the kitchen, the past week has been great being able to build community with my fellow interns. After the inner varsity group left, we were able to have the weekend off from work. Some of the interns decided to take off for home, while the rest of us hung out together in beautiful Northern Michigan. Saturday our group went to Traverse City. We walked down the downtown area, and went to a few stores including a Backwoods outdoor store and Cherry Republic. At the outdoor store, I decided to buy a pair of Chaco sandals. While they are more expensive than flip flops, these shoes are perfect for me as I live the camp intern life for the next fifteen months. They're comfortable yet durable in the everyday camp world. At the Cherry Republic store our group was able to sample tons of cherry items including: cherry salsa, cherry jelly, cherry cookies, chocolate covered cherries, and cherry soda. It was all so good! I definitely recommend the cherry cream soda and the cherry boomchunka cookies!

Also, during the weekend we did not have meals prepared from the kitchen since there were no guest groups here. However, each day the property staff took turns having the interns over for dinner. Saturday we had pizza night courtesy of the Sharps (Guest Services Coordinator), Sunday we had hobo pie night at the Bartlett's (Landscaping/Maintenance), and Monday we hadan amazing pork loin meal with baked potatoes, salad, and strawberry pie courtesy of the Polls (Property Manager). All so good! Right after dinner Monday, we then broke up into teams of four and competed in mini games from the show Minute to Win it! Our team got second place out of four teams overall. Not too shabby.

So, as I said earlier I am continually reminded of God's glory each day at this camp. First of all, the beauty here is remarkable. I've attached a few pictures for you to see that compliment the scripture found in Psalm 19:1. Along with God's creation, I have also seen his glory through the people here at camp. It is such an amazing community of great people who genuinely care for others, have servants' hearts, and want to do their part to allow kids to be meet Jesus Christ. Finally, I have seen God's glory through prayer. One amazing story I would love to share is about my friend Zach, the video intern who is from Eastern Tennesee. Two nights ago he was very discouraged because he just found out a couple of his high school Young Life kids from home who were planning on going to camp in a couple weeks, were eight hundred dollars short of the amount needed. That's a lot of money to overcome in a two week time table to be sure. The only thing we really knew to do was pray. So at our morining devotional meeting, Zach asked for prayer regarding the situation. The next time I saw Zach was around 4pm and I decided I wanted to give ten dollars to help his kids. As I offered the cash, he smiled and said "Thanks man, but it's already taken care of!" It turns out that within 30 minutes of our prayer in the morning Zach had people here at camp giving him the exact amount needed including a 400 dollar check from one couple. Praise God for this tremendous blessing and for the opportunity Zach will now have to take these kids to camp to the exact same place he was led to Christ four or five years ago!

On that note I want to thank all of you for your support as well for my journey here at Timber Wolf Lake and my upcoming journey at Sharp Top Cove in Georgia. I'm getting closer and closer to the amount I need for Georgia and continually feel your prayers here currently at camp. Please be in prayer for me and the other staff as we prepare for our Young Life summer trips coming up in a couple of weeks. There will be a lot of work ahead, so pray for our persistence and patience with each other as we get excited for campers to arrive on June 6! I look forward to sharing more with you next week. Until then, be blessed by the joy of Jesus!