Dear friends, family, pastors and churches,
There is so much for us to be thankful for. First, Celia and Eli are both doing great in school. They are excelling in their classes and doing well on each and every assignment that the teacher presents. Now if only we can have them do their homework without being reminded 20 times, then everything will be all-right! At the beginning of October, Rita went with 10 ladies from our church and was a camper at camp. Probably the last time she will be at Barakel as a camper. I went for the first men’s retreat, yet it was Tom Harmon’s last time of speaking at camp. But I watched God call 3 men to himself for salvation on Saturday night! God used Camp Barakel that weekend to rescue 3 men from the clutches of Sin to eternal life in Jesus Christ!!
Secondly, on October 20th, 2019, Rita and I happily celebrated our 13th year of marriage together. We were able to have family watch the kids while we went out for the evening. We really enjoy being together and to still date my wife is an amazing thing. I get to keep knowing her more and more. Daily, my prayer is to be a Christ-like husband to my wife. To lovingly lead her, to help raise our kids like Jesus would want us to, and to sacrifice my needs for those of my family. Sometimes I fail, but Grace is something that keeps me moving forward.
Third, and this one is really tough for our family. We had a beloved dog, Duke, that we loved a lot. He was family. We had Duke years before even Celia was born. We kinda used him as a test. If he could survive under us, then maybe we could have kids. At least that was my thinking. One of us got old quickly. Sometimes it seems so unfair to see it coming. Why a really good thing has to come to such an end. Duke was 12 years old, and his heart was just giving out. The day we lost Duke was devastating. We all cried. It was a tough weekend. But one thing for sure is that it reminded me of Jesus’ sacrifice for mankind. How can one go through this life, not sure of where he is going after he dies or have any hope for eternity? It boggles my mind. Thank you God for Jesus and my redemption! I couldn’t do it without Him!
On Tuesday, October 29th, we had the opportunity to go the annual Barakel board meeting. As all things Barakel, they started with a meal. We talked with many families, some we already knew and some we met for the first time that evening. We ate our dinner with Kathleen Anderson and the Bennetts; both other families raising support to be at Barakel full time. We then sat through their meeting; electing officers, going over the budget and other camp business. We watched as they elected some new board members to help oversee the running of camp. Congrats to all the new trustees, and thanks to all the ones who served previously.
We had the opportunity to share with the whole group of different churches and pastors that we were currently 41.31% funded to get to Camp Barakel. What was amazing was that we set a goal of being at 30% by the end of October. Well, God came through mightily. Within a day it shot up another percent. So, currently we are at 42.8% of our budget. Praise God! I never thought it would come this fast. Of course, Paul Gardner, at the meeting, said that at this rate, “We should be up there by January!” Of course we would love to be there by then. Camp would love for us to be there asap. Camp and the board do not want to have the current staff become “burned out” by taking on all the other responsibilities that we, 3 families, will be helping out in. It is vital that we continue our support raising. To get to camp to serve, to share in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to relieve the stress from the other families. The Camp Director should not be cooking. His wife should not be cooking. The programmers should not be managing the East Side Dining Hall. That falls on me. But that cannot happen till we are fully supported.
Would you please prayerfully consider partnering with us to make this happen? All donations are tax-deductible. Right now, we don’t require any money to be sent. Just pledged support from you. We are looking to set another goal of being funded to 50% by Thanksgiving! We believe that God will be faithful to meet all our needs. Please reach out to us or Camp Barakel if you have any questions.
With much love in Christ,
Dave and Rita Miron
Website: Barakelcampcooks.com
Email: campcooksblog@gmail.com
