He is here!

After five years of childless marriage, God chose the first semester of the first Traihead year to bless our family with a new little man. We are grateful! Please continue to pray as we learn how to care for him and balance this new blessed responsibility to those we are already carrying.

His name is Charlie Schaeffer Jacobson and he was born Thursday at 8:46 am. He was 8lbs 15oz at birth! Mom his doing well and impressed the nurses with her upbeat attitude even during labor. I have a great wife and little Charlie will have a great mother!

On the Trailhead front, We have just finished a week it the apologist Reuben David. He did a great job of introducing the big questions of life, and revealing the Christian approach to answering them. Dr. Dan Hayden arrives on Sunday, and will be here for three weeks.

This is a great privilege for us. Dr. Hayden always does such a tremendous job of teaching these subjects. You can read about his book Did God Write the Bible? here :http://www.awordfromtheword.org/did-god-write-the-bible 


                                              

For any Trailhead parents who are interested in following the program, we have just launched an "official" Trailhead blog on the CFS website. You can find it here: http://www.campforestsprings.org/trailhead/blog

I will continue to post here as I have been, and this blog will probably be updated more often, but that blog may have additional specific information about the Trailhead program.

Still no baby news...

Canoe update! The guys are doing a great job, and really seem to be getting into the project. We are still working on the girls :)

Once again, this is HALF of the canoe. The two halves will be joined at a center bulkhead (far right in top picture). The canoe should be able to handle about 15 people and have a total length of about 33 feet!

Everyone made it through the Desiring God conference safe and sound. It was great to hear their reflections as they each brought something different away from the experience. Each speaker was unique and some definitely taught closer to "their level" than others, but the student all did a great job. They have each chosen one additional CS Lewis book to read during October. I look forward to hearing their reports in November. the lectures from the DG conference are available at www.desiringgod.org.

SORRY. NO BABY NEWS YET!

This week will be odds and ends, but next week we will have our first guest lecturer. Reuben David is Christian apologist and speaker. He will be with us for three days, and will teach two classes each day. This will be a great opportunity for the students to ask their toughest questions and reflect on the unique challenge of presenting Christ in this culture. See his web page here:  http://www.reubendavid.com/

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8 (focused on students… all other staff and guests welcome)

9:00 a.m. – Faith and Reason: Is Christianity compatible with science?         

1:00 p.m. – A Case for Absolute Truth  

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9 (focused on students… all other staff and guests welcome)

9:00 a.m. – The Pursuit of God

Finding your identity, acceptance and significance in Christ

1:00 p.m. – Jesus in the mall of gods

Exploring the uniqueness of Jesus among world religions

THURSDAY, OCTOBER  10 – For all staff

9:00 a.m. – The world of worldviews: What is it and why should it matter?

             1:00 p.m. – "Multiculturalism and Christianity"

“Reuben David was a visiting scholar with the Wilberforce Forum for nearly 2 years.  We respect him and appreciate him and his keen mind.  He has a broad knowledge of international culture and world religions and is an articulate defender of Christian faith”— Charles Colson, Prison Fellowship 

 

 http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/lewis-live-stream-free-for-all

Students left for the Desiring God Conference today. This link will allow you to watch the live stream of the event. We are at home because our due date is TOMORROW.

Friends and Family,

Ever since we entered full time ministry, we have been promising people that we would someday blog more regularly. Unfortunately life got BUSY and keeping up with the ministry itself seemed to often prevent keeping people updated on what was going on.

Now, however, with the Trailhead program kicking off a month ago, I feel that I would be negligent if I didn't buckle down and do this. There are just too many people praying and wondering about how things are going. I will try to blog weekly. We shall see how that goes!

So far things are good!

 As with any human endeavor, it has been imperfect and the learning curve (for us and the students) has been steep. There are definitely "first month things" that will look different next year, but the students have had grace with us. We are enjoying the group.

As the first month has passed, we have settled into a schedule that is somewhat predictable and consistent. Students are digging in to their classes which include a CS Lewis crash course in preparation for the Desiring God Conference this weekend, A "Mining God's Word" Bible study methods course at the local church, and an application discussion group we are calling "Gospel and Life". They also had their first session with Defining Point Consulting and learned their key strengths (and each other's). This was enlightening for all.

Not a bad classroom!

After the conference, we will swap out the CS Lewis material for guest lecturers (Reuben David and Dr. Dan Hayden) for the month of October.

In addition to classes, students have trained, served and had their "testimony canoe trip". Hearing the story of each life reminds me how diverse we are, yet how there are common threads woven through each life. God has done remarkable work to assemble this group from all over the country (and beyond). We are excited to watch his plan unfold as we go forward.

Of course, construction has also begun on the giant canoe. This is going to be HALF of it!

Prayer Requests:

Continued unity and sensitivity to each other.

Our baby due any day!

Wisdom as we try to lead and direct this new program

Meet the Trailhead class of 2013!

We are enjoying our first weeks with these students!

Esteban Alvarez—Bogota, Colombia

He enjoys playing drums, soccer and any sport.  He likes to fill out Sudoku.  He also loves to listen to music in English and in Spanish.   

    

Matthew Fetzer—Oak Lawn, IL

His hobbies are reading, running, exercise, tennis, archery and chess.

Tyler Johnson—Windsor Locks, CT

He has been studying to be a carpenter for the last 4 years.  He is loving and funny and people love to be around him.  He loves playing any sport.

Eric Hoyt—Berryville, VA

He’s very athletic, and enjoys playing soccer!  He also is passionate about music and has a natural ability to play piano well.  He wants to use this gift to glorify God.

Tyler Morecraft—St. John, IN

He enjoys shooting, fencing, airsoft, rock climbing and survival skills.  He’s also a media volunteer at his church.

Brady Reetz—Hudson, WI

He likes to work with small engines.  He also has wood-working experience and skill.  He finds great pleasure in fishing and is working on reading his Bible in chronological order.

David Schutt—Sandstone, MN

He enjoys fishing and playing video games.  Being outdoors with friends on a canoeing or backpacking trip brings him joy.  He has done a lot of that with his dad.

Jalene Vegter—Avalon, WI

She loves photography!  She has been very interested in it for the last few years and has had the opportunity to have people want her to shoot their senior pictures, family portraits, engagements and weddings.  She also enjoys hiking and outdoor activities.

Ashley Vorwerk—Jackson, WI

She enjoys reading and writing songs and poetry.  She loves being outdoors, biking, camping, and swimming.  She is good with children.  She also likes to bake and is good with cleaning.  Music is something she is passionate about and she loves to sing and praise God with the gifts He’s blessed her with.  She has a good sense of humor and enjoys planning social events with her friends.  She loves to take pictures.