We've arrived!

Greetings from Bozeman, Montana!

We are thrilled to be writing you from our summer home here at YAA! We left PA on Wednesday, May 27, with our caravan headed West. My dad, Dale, and Lauren's sister, Heather, drove with us on our journey across the nation. It was a huge blessing to have the extra hands as we took our fleet of three vehicles and trailer loaded with our belongings towards Montana.

All told, it took us 44 hours of driving in 4 days to cover about 2200 miles. Our travels took us from Pennsylvania just past Chicago, IL the first night. The next day was a shorter day, leaving Illinois and heading through Wisconsin and into Minnesota. We were thankful to meet some dear friends for lunch in Wisconsin, which was a welcome break from the road. We then spent the night with some other friends in Minnesota. The third day took us through the remainder of Minnesota, across South Dakota and into Wyoming. We took detours to drive through Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore. Saturday we headed Northwest through Wyoming to Bozeman, Montana.

We arrived at camp Saturday afternoon and were able to take the next three days to settle into our summer quarters and regroup after an emotionally and physically exhausting previous three weeks. It was refreshing to wake up on Sunday and not have to get into the car!

The first of the summer staff arrived on Thursday, so it was awesome to get to put faces to names and share a meal with everyone that evening. Staff training started first thing Friday, which included all 18 summer and year-round staff members. We've been able to participate in a number of activities which have really helped the staff to begin to gel as a group. Saturday we took a twelve mile hike that took us over a ridge and down Cottonwood Canyon, right in the back yard of camp. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the 40-50 degree temperatures and snow! Sunday we awoke to about 2” of fresh powder, which although it is beautiful, was a surprise with only two weeks until the start of summer camp!

Please pray as the high school students in the Timothy Program, arriving Thursday the 18th., who are assistant counselors and help with the overall maintenance of camp. Pray for Josh as he works with them and alongside the other senior staff. Pray for Lauren as the health care of the camp is being developed and grown. Pray for us as we continue to learn what it means to be parents as we are involved in camp life.

We are praising the Lord for our safe arrival, a great staff, and encouragement from His word. We are currently just over 75% of our support goal, and are so grateful for His provision thus far. We are confident in our Lord to provide for our needs. Thank you so much for your gifts, notes and encouragement, we would not be here without you!

Ruth's update!

She's been crawling all over the place, every evening coming home with dirty knees and socks. We hold to the wisdom of Grandma Barb – a dirty baby is a happy baby! She is pulling herself up on everything that will hold her, and falling over when it doesn't. She's taken many tumbles, but she's learning fast. And yes, thankfully, she survived the car ride here!

Heading West

Spring has sprung, and I think it springs faster every year we get older. Outside, the little tiny white flowers that are scattered through our yard are coming up and blooming. Some would call them weeds, but our daughter loves them! Speaking of weeds, baby Ruth Elizabeth, who was born October 19, 2008, is growing fast. She has already outgrown some of her friends who are a few months older. She has been such a joy in our lives as we watch her grow and learn every day! Right now she’s so close to turning over by herself and will start some real food soon. And just this weekend her first tooth started to poke through!

After Ruth’s birth, Lauren has gone back to work as a full-time nurse, and Josh has been doing part-time work in a number of carpentry and woodworking areas, mostly working for a custom wood furniture builder. We’ve been able to share working and at home responsibilities, which has been great!

In the summer of 2007, we had an opportunity to work at a camp in upstate New York for the summer. Both of our skill-sets fit very well into camp life, which helped us make the most of that time. Prior to that summer, and much more since that summer, we have been constantly in conversation about where our goals and desires would take us, both vocationally and geographically. In a large part due to how much we enjoyed our summer at camp in New York, we’ve been exploring the idea of working at a camp that operates year-round. During the past few years, a number of our very close friends have made the transition into full-time camp ministry, and we’ve been able to visit to work and play along side them, which has renewed our desire to pursue camp ministry.

Through many conversations and prayer, we have made the decision to move to Bozeman, Montana and work at Yellowstone Alliance Adventures for the summer! We have been out visit Montana on four different trips, and to YAA on three different occasions. Two of the trips were to volunteer for work projects, and we will be taking a third team out for a work trip in May. We are excited to be working alongside Seth and Cathy Coates at YAA for the months of June, July and August, and we feel that the positions we have been offered at camp fit us well. Josh will be playing a key role in the maintenance and facilities department while also participating in various program areas as he is needed. Lauren’s primary role with be as Mom to Ruth, but will be expanding and updating the healthcare role at YAA.

YAA is a family centered Christian camp that resides just south of Bozeman, nestled into some of the mountains there. They have a full summer camp program which targets both kids and families, and their facilities are used year-round for retreat groups and community organizations. The camp was founded in the 1960’s, but has existed in its current form with a full-time director since 1995.

For the positions that we are taking, we are required to raise the funds that will pay our salary, as the other full time staff do. We also need to have people who would be committed to prayer for us and the ministry of YAA. With our previous experiences at camps, both as campers and as staff, we see the great impact that it makes in the lives of the children and their families that attend. We will continue to leave updates and pictures throughout our time in Montana.

Christmas pictures

Welcoming our new baby!

On October 19, baby Ruth Elizabeth Vinson was born! This much anticipated arrival came early in the morning. She was exactly a week late and we were getting a little impatient, maybe it was just me (Lauren). Josh and I had finished watching a movie on Saturday night and turned in around 11:30pm. Not an hour later, at 12:20am I was abruptly awoken when my water broke. Mild contractions started 15 minutes later and quickly intensified. We went to the Birth Center at 2:30am with the contractions closer together and lasting longer. I'm not sure the midwife quite believed me when I said the contractions were every 4 minutes and lasting 1 minute. I mean, I know I'm a first time mom, but I know how to read a watch! So we showed up there and she checked me and said "Oh! You're 6cm dilated! We'll keep you here." And so we stayed and the labor quickly progressed. I was imagining myself lounging in the hot tub for a few hours through labor, but the reality was there was no "lounging" during labor. I was in there for about a half hour before I got out and had to try something else to ease the pain. Josh had popped in the Gladiator soundtrack, one of my favorites, when we first got there, and it ran through just shy of two times before she made her entrance into the world. Ruth was born at 5:17am weighing in at 8lbs 4oz, and 20 1/2in long. She has a full head of dark hair and dark eyes. She is just beautiful. She's been a great baby, very content, eating well, and pooping a lot. :)
Josh has been an incredible dad. He was the self designated middle-of-the-night-diaper-changer for the first week as I was very sore and tired. He's amazing with her. I'm feeling better now, but we're still not getting a whole lot of sleep, which we expected. So that's it for now, she's waking up and will no doubt be hungry!

Hiking in the ADKs

Josh and I and our friends Matt & Nicole Welsh went hiking in the high peaks of the Adirondaks this past weekend. It was a quick weekend trip just to get out and enjoy life in the raw. I had the little one in tow (I'm about 5 1/2 months pregnant now), so Josh carried most of the weight in his pack, while I carried my ever-so-heavy sleeping bag, ground pad, clothes, and both our camp pillows. He's so wonderful. We did Haystack Mtn, and wandered down the the falls that were near our lean to. It was way too cold to swim, but the water was beautiful- crystal clear. Here's some pics from the trip...

Ultrasound

We had the 20 week ultrasound today. First of all, it's crazy to think that it's half way over already. In a mere 20 weeks, this baby will take it's first breath. Second, it's amazing to visualize the small wonder growing inside. The baby was so resting comfortably with it's legs crossed, just not wanting to wake up and stretch out. So we still don't know what we're having, it'll be a surprise in a few months! The ultrasound tech said she could take a guess, but it'd only be a 50/50 guess on the gender, which was our odds to begin with, so we'll just have to be patient. :)

Suhr Wedding

Garrett and Bethany Suhr's wedding in Harrisonburg VA. We came from all over the US to reunite to be a part of this day. It was fantastic to be among friends, to catch up and laugh together. Now that all the roommates are married off, we are looking forward to having reunion times when we get to hang out and relax together. We're not sure when this is going to occur, but someday...












Baby update:
The morning sickness is finally over, praise the Lord. The tummy baby bump is growing, but I still don't really look pregnant unless you know me. We have an appt for May 22 (our 4th anniversery) for and ultrasound to find out the gender. So I'll be updating you guys on that when we know!

Announcement!

Introducing baby Vinson!

I got an ultrasound done yesterday and wanted to share the picture with everyone! We don't know the gender yet, we'll find that out in another 6-8 weeks, but here's the little one! I think it's sucking it's thumb in the top picture.

I'm about 13 weeks so far, and only a little tiny tummy bump to show for it, but on the US I saw the heart beating! So it is really real, not just nauseated days and doctor visits. It's about 3 1/2-4 inches long and already it's little body is functioning at an amazing level! I was blown away by seeing this little living body in mine. Josh and I are both thrilled and looking forward to meeting the little one. The due date is October 12. We'll keep you updated!

so, it's been a while...

I know, it's been forever since we've updated this. We have been living life, working, and the like. Josh is finishing up grad school this May, he's downstairs reading so here I am. We just enjoyed about 3 inches of snow- the most we've gotten this winter, but it was 45 degrees today, so it only stuck around for 2 days. Unlike our parents in WI who are enjoying (well, maybe not anymore) a good 2-3 feet of snow for the last few months. And I think they're getting hit again, if I saw the weather correctly today. Enough jabber. Here's some pictures of good times we've had recently!

This is about 2 hours north of us at Rausch Creek Park- it's a giant playground for big boys. Josh and 2 friends took my Jeep for a day of off roading. They had tons of fun playing in the mud. I opted not to go this time, I'll go when it's warmer. We are a 2 Jeep family now, a Wrangler and a Cherokee. It's lots of fun, except at the gas pump.

This is our home. In August we moved into a duplex. This is an upgrade from the apartment complex where we share washer/dryer with 25 other apts. It's been a nice change. But, as all humans do, we are still wishing for more. Someday we want a yard and a garage. I know, lots of time...

Over Christmas our Young Marrieds class at church had an elf party. We had to dress up as an elf-something. Like, on the right, and elf-lifeguard. We ate, played a white elephant game (you know, oh THOSE wedding gifts), and hung out. We have an incredible group of friends.

We have said goodbye to some of our closest friends as the head in to full time ministry at camps out West- the Coates in Montana and the Hofferts in Wisconsin. This has been a hard time but the Lord is good. We love you guys!

Here's the progress on the next quilt. It'll take a while to do these edges...

back in the groove

It has been great being back home and reconnecting with friends and family. We continue to be reminded how blessed we are to be in this community. But, there are some things that take some adjustment after camp:

-we sang hymns all summer, at a fast tempo. it's takes some adjustment to sing them slowly now.

-driving.

-driving with other cars on the road.

-at camp we sang before every meal , now that's be a little hard with only 2 people.

-having cell phones.

-wearing shoes. (I think I wore sneakers maybe 5 times over the summer, the rest of the time it was Teva sandals. I think my feet relaxed b/c all my shoes were tight when I got home. Josh still doesn't believe me though :)

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of at this instant...

These are some fall fun we've had. We went apple picking with Sarah & Jesse Wells. We got a little excited picking the apples. We got 20 lbs. We made 4 pies and still had half the apple left over. So we fed our friends apple pie for the next few nights.

We had dinner over at Garrett's house. We had brats and hamburgers and dairy queen for dessert. We carved pumpkins which was a blast. Garrett and Beth had an issue with making stars that actually resembled stars. But they worked it out. Josh did a great job on cutting the top out with his saws all. I think he would have done more if the battery hadn't have died. :)

here's some more pictures from the summer...

in Montana

Camp is over, we are taking some breathing time. We left on Sunday, slept at the Wells' apartment - where all of our stuff was stored for the summer- and moved into our new apt on Monday. We had the help of the Wells and Eric to move in, then Becky, the Hofferts, and the Eads came in the evening to help organize everything. It was great! We love the new place. We are now mostly moved in, and left promptly Wednesday morning to go across country to visit Josh's parents in WI, then out to Montana to visit the Coates at Yellowstone Alliance Adventures. We have had a great time here so far! We just got back from 2 nights in Yellowstone National Park, camping and hiking with the Coates. We still have a few days which we are going to help with some work projects here and, who knows, probably play some more. We will be back in the PA area sometime on Wednesday. I'll be writing more when we get home...

Eric's update

Today the Guides got back from their high peak hiking trip.
They were all dropped off 10 miles outside of camp and ran in
(this was planned- they knew about it so they all had their
running stuff). So, my camera malfunctioned, so I don't have
great pics, but here's what I've got. He did great! I don't have
to official time yet, but I will let you know when I get it.

finally the pics!

ok, as promised, here are some pics from the last few weeks...

Here's a picture of Josh and his group that went to the high peaks during staff training.

Here are the nurses that are up there this summer. Not all at once, but we were able to snatch a picture on a weekend that we were all here.

This is one of the instructional areas -survival. (the instructor is teaching how to make a survival shelter). The boys love to come to this area.

Here is Josh taking a picture from Josh's staff hike in the high peaks in the ADKs.

Josh is on his way to his master's in fishing with this pike. We caught two pike in 3 casts, then nothing else for two hours. it was fun canoeing on the lake and talking, well worth the time.

Thank you for understanding how busy we are, we wish we were able to talk to everyone more often. Camp life is keeping us busy! We are so blessed to be able to be a part of this community for the summer. We are half way through 2nd session and have 2 more sessions to go (which means 5 more weeks). We appreciate your prayers!

so, this whole technology at camp thing isn't really happening. there is one computer at camp that has dial up, so slow! and the library has extremely limited hours. so, sorry these are so few and far between. but to get on with it...
we are having a fabulous time here. (oh frustration, i can't get this computer to load the pics that we drove the 20 minutes into town to do, so, maybe next time and i only have 15% battery)
Josh had a great time on the staff hike a few weeks ago. It has been such a blessing to see all these godly men interacting and loving the Lord. We haven't had any major injuries, a few stitches, and big bruises. I am trying to learn camp nursing, it's just so different. i feel like i'm not really using the skills of nursing that i have, but maybe it's just that different. it's been awesome getting to know the other staff wives and the staff kids. sarah and i started a girls book study on sunday mornings, we've really enjoyed getting to know their hearts.
please continue to pray for us and our marriage in the business of camp life. pray for safety as always, us and the Wells have enjoyed healthy blessings so far.
we loved having the Hofferts and Garrett up this past weekend! it's was great to have familiar faces around. we hiked up chimney mountain and explored the caves in the surrounding area. it was a blast!
weather has been good, a little on the cool side for me-perfect for Josh. in my book you shouldn't have to wear jeans and a sweatshirt all day in july! :) love you guys! I'm down to 9% battery, so I have to sign off, maybe pics next time! I'll work really hard to... and I'll have lots of 'em!

4 days til the campers come!

Hard to believe it's been 3 weeks since we got here! It's been great getting to know all the staff here, I can now say that I have all their names down, all 80 or so of them. We have a few more days of staff training left, then the kids show up on Saturday. I have been filling the role of nurse and camp store manager. It's been busy, a lot of copying and filing in the health center, and a lot of counting inventory in the store. I am feeling a little inadequate in the health center. Most of the staff coming in are ankle and knee pain, rashes, and other random stuff. Mostly my answer is - here's some Motrin and ice. Not exactly my area of expertise. I have been to the health center in town with one guy's injury, the Nurse Practitioner there is super nice, so that's great. Josh is very busy with...everything. He's always busy with something. He's having a great time getting to know the guys. He loves to step into their lives, applying what he has learned in school, and being the man that he has grown into in the last few months. He just got back from the staff hike, which they had a blast. All was safe on the trail, praise the Lord. That's all I have for now- the library closes in a few minutes. I don't have any pics either- I'm not sure yet how the library feels about me uploading the pictures onto their computer. We love you all and miss you! Thank you for your prayers!

at camp

Work weekend is over. Josh worked on the 'gazebo', which is really a large log garage/storage shed. It was begun last fall, this year the rafters were completed and it's ready for the roof now. I did lots of work in the health center, getting ready for the summer. I also did the inventory for the camp store.

We moved into our cabin for the summer, the Lookout. It is right on the waterfront of beautiful Lake Whitaker. It's about as big as our apartment, but a gajillion times more beautiful and way cooler! Here's a picture of the living room, and a picture of the lake as I'm sitting on the front porch- my view every morning.

I am sitting in the livingroom as the director, Josh, and the 3 section chiefs plan staff training at the director's house in Albany. We'll return to camp on Sunday when the entire staff arrives and the summer fun begins! The campers arrive in another three weeks. Pray for safety as staff training begins, relationships, and growth. We are excited to get to know all the guys and invest in their lives. We are getting to know the 15 guys that are here already since work weekend, there are about 65 more coming. That's a lot of names to remember!