Dear Friends & Family,

Every year in May we “graduate” our Trailhead students and send them off into the world.  For me, this is often a difficult moment. I have been doing this long enough to know that the cultural shift they are about to undergo is an abrupt and challenging one.

I have come to see this transition in paddling terms. Much like an eddy in a river, Forest Springs is an anomaly. It’s a place where the cultural currents oppose the raging cultural river “out there” and where the gentle current will draw you into safety even if the water is thundering only feet away.

In a kayak or canoe, an eddy can provide a temporary place of rest, even in the midst of a chaotic and noisy rapid. From the eddy I can catch my breath. From the eddy I can gain perspective on what’s happening in the river without the risk of being washed into danger.  I can plan and prepare.

Trailhead is like this.  Students often enter this cultural eddy exhausted. The currents of cultural pressures have taken their toll. The paddlers are weary of the fight.  Often, they have been losing. We are blessed at Forest Springs to be able to offer this protected eddy, where perspective can be gained, wounds healed, convictions built. In Trailhead, God’s word is applied to all of life, and this cultural current invariably brings growth in any student willing to engage.

But then they leave…

Leaving the calm of the eddy and re-entering the current is called “peeling out” and it’s a tricky maneuver. The river wants control and exerts great force. Leaning the wrong way or entering that current unaware can end in disaster. In the river, as in life, knowledge and skill are required to negotiate the currents. Passivity will be the downfall of any lazy or ignorant paddler.  

When I read Matthew 13 (the parable of the sower) and I reflect on the factors in life that can stifle or kill the growth of the gospel, I see the faces of past students who came and grew and are now doing battle with tribulation, persecution, “the deceitfulness of wealth” or “the cares of this world.”  It makes me feel a bit helpless and it makes me want to pray. Would you mind keeping our 2018/2019 students in your prayers this Summer as they “peel out”?

Here they are with the paddles they made. It was a great project, but a reminder as well of their own responsibility to give direction to their lives. At this age it becomes difficult for anyone else to paddle for them on the river of life if they are not engaged in the effort.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Dan, Laura, Charlie, Mason & Nora

Greetings from the Northwoods!

Winter brings a surprisingly full schedule for Forest Springs and the Jacobsons.

At camp, the winter retreat season is a two-month flash of activity. In fact, it is probably our most concentrated schedule of the year in terms of numbers of people served. They come for the ski hill, for good food, and time away from distractions. Youth Pastors bring their groups for the unique opportunity to build relationships and take advantage of a more focused teaching opportunity than is often available at home. A lot of ministry will take place here this winter. There is much to be praying for.

Our trailhead crew is over half way through their nine-month gap year, and they are doing great. It’s been a full Fall semester of trips, projects and classes designed to raise and wrestle with life’s “big questions.” There have been both smiles and tears along the way. I am hopeful for each of these young friends. I believe the foundations are being built that will hold them firm against the wind and waves of life. Please pray for them. There are many questions still to answer, and life is often overwhelming in this stage.  If you are here this winter, keep your eyes out for name tags that say “Trailhead student.” They may be serving your meal, cleaning your room or greeting you as you arrive.  Feel free to ask them about their experience here.

Because the schedule at camp keeps the students busy for the next couple of months, I am able to focus on teaching preparations and hiring for the Summer Adventure Program. Unforeseen opportunities continue to present themselves in the area of formal teaching.  I get asked to fill a pulpit now and then, and will teach a week-long world view class again in February at Montana Wilderness School of the Bible. Of course, as I work with 18-25 year-olds, officiating weddings has come up as well. I did two last year and am planning for one this coming March. I feel blessed to be able to serve in these ways where the schedule allows.

The Jacobson household is NEVER quiet. Charlie, Mason and Eleanor (Nora) are all capable suppliers of decibels. I have to say, my dear wife Laura is as gracious and patient as they come. I don’t know how she holds the place together with these three active youngsters. It’s hard to know how much of this craziness is supposed to be “parented” out of them.  Does anyone know?

What I do know is that God has blessed us with the opportunity to spend a couple of formative decades with each of these three creative and enthusiastic children. He has also charged us with the responsibility of being their first representatives of the love, nature and discipline of God.  We don’t know how to do it. Please continue to pray for wisdom and God’s provision of patience and kindness for our parenting (and a little bit of peace so Dad can think).

This fall marked 11 years of marriage and 10 official years of service for us at Forest Springs. It’s hard to quantify the value of all the things that have happened along the way.  They have been the best years of our lives.  We are grateful for each other, and to have been able to be a part of ten years of wilderness ministry, the creation of Trailhead followed by six years of directing that program, and countless other opportunities to serve, learn and participate in the unique ministry of Forest Springs.

Thanks to all who have encouraged, prayed and helped fund this ministry. Please trust that we are are more grateful and glad than our inconsistent updates are able to communicate.

May the Lord grant us each grace for the journey in the coming year. Love, the Jacobsons