A glimpse of Summer

Jacobson Family— May 2015 (photos by JaamesStokesPhotography)

To our friends and family.

The transition from Spring to Summer means an annual ministry change for us. After a challenging and fruitful year, the Trailhead program finished on May 10th.  We rejoice with these students over the times of growth (both in them and in us).  With a few weeks to change gears, the Summer Wilderness Program kicked off on May 25th.

During the next few months, we will facilitate hundreds of experiences in the woods and on the rivers, with a staff of 8 trained wilderness guides and groups of students coming from as far away as Missouri. As I write this, we are preparing for a week during which we will juggle four separate trips taking place at once.

We are always amazed at the effectiveness of wilderness ministry. Jesus so often taught outdoors, and used creation to emphasize God’s power and provision.  As you pray this Summer, please keep in mind the young people we will serve here at camp, many of whom will spend more time with their Bibles (and less time with their smartphones) than they ever have before.   Even though the trips are only a week long, when free from addictive distractions and immersed in God’s created world, real questions about life often surface.

Please pray that we would be ready with Biblical answers that bring truth to young lives, and glory to Christ.

We are glad to report our second son, Mason is doing well. Mason came about six weeks early, and lived at the NICU for the first three weeks of his life.  We saw much of God’s goodness during this time—and so many of you were a part of that. He is now four months old and is a healthy (and smiley) little boy. We are very blessed and grateful.

Charlie is talking up a storm and is a funny, curious little boy. The other day he asked "where did God go?" A big question for his 20-month old mind!  He loves all animals, but he definitely seems to like giraffes the most.

Laura is a trooper and an amazing Mom. With two boys under two, she has her hands full at home right now. As I watch her listen, teach, prepare meals and read thousands of stories, I realize often that these are two very blessed little boys.

We definitely have our sleepless nights on occasion now, but we love this phase of life and enjoy watching these little guys learn about their world.

May God bless you,

Dan, Laura, Charlie & Mason

Congratulations, Friends!— May 2015

Summer 2015 Adventure Ministries Team

Reflections from one of our Trailhead students this year!! :

“Who am I? That’s the question isn’t it?  I didn’t know the answer to that question

before Trailhead, but a few possibilities came to my mind if I thought about it.  I was a

misfit.  I was broken and I knew that there wasn’t a place for me.  I was a slave with

shackles on my soul that I could not break free of no matter how hard I tried.  I was

sinking and I couldn’t do anything about it.  That was before I had a personal

relationship with my God.  It was easy for me to identify myself with my parent’s faith

and not have to forge one on my own.  I could hide behind the fact that I was raised in a

Christian family.  I did not know who I had “worshipped” on Sunday for my entire

childhood.  But God knows the truth.  I can’t run from him, I can’t hide from him, and I

can’t fight him.  He knows I’m not perfect.  He knows that I can’t do this on my own as

much as I act like I can. He tells me who I am, and he tells me that Mathew 6:26 was

directed at me when Jesus said “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap

nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more

value than they?”  And this got me thinking during my year at Trailhead, about who I

was, who I am and who I want to be.  I was a kid who had been running, hiding, and

fighting for a lot of his life.  I was a kid who had fallen into a pit of despair, and the more

I tried to get out, the deeper the pit became.  I was an enemy of the cross who took

Christ’s sacrifice for granted.  But I am not who I used to be.  I am not the slave to sin

that I was before.  I am not in that pit of despair anymore, and I refuse to fall back into it

because I am not a bird, and my Heavenly Father will feed me even if it’s not in the way

I thought he would.  I am a young man of God.  I am a young man of God who can’t do

this on his own, a young man who needs help from his brothers and sisters.  I am a

young man of God who is not running or hiding anymore, but I sure am fighting. I am not

fighting for the reasons I was before and I am not fighting with guns, swords, or my fists. 

I am fighting for my soul, to make sure it stays in the right hands, because my hands

cannot keep it safe.  I am fighting to make sure that I am bearing God’s image with

honor, love, and compassion.  The weapons of my war are not carnal or material.  They

are from my Father in heaven.  I bear the Shield of Faith and wield of the Sword of the

Spirit.  He alone can sustain me, no matter how much the world wants me to think that it

can.  I can do all things through he who strengthens me.  My battle cry is “Alleluia” and

my marching tune is the sweet sound of Amazing Grace.  My chains are gone.

 I am free.”

Merry Christmas!

Jacobson Family — Nov 2014

(photo by JamesStokesPhotography)

Merry Christmas from the Jacobsons!

It is always fun to reach this time of year, and have the excuse to see family and rejoice for the grace and blessings that have come with the last year.

As the time passes, and our Ministry at Forest Springs continues to teach us things about life, Christmas takes on a different feel. We are truly convinced that Christ’s arrival brought with it a new hope, and a new reality.

As we process the questions and struggles of this young generation, I am reminded of my favorite (heads and tails above the rest) Christmas song, “O Holy Night.”  There are tremendous reminders in these lines that we have heard so many times:

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

What a tremendous day in the history of our world! What tremendous news to share with young people today, who often do not feel the worth of their own souls.  When confronted with the pain and cynicism so common with today’s youth, I do sometimes feel that the world has grown weary once again. But what tremendous joy we find in those moments when minds begin to believe in Christ’s work, and hearts experience that new morning, and that new “thrill of hope”.

At home, we are enjoying being parents of Charlie more and more all the time. He chatters quite a bit and is walking wherever he goes now.  If you run into him and he grabs at your shirt, he is probably searching for your belly button. If he sticks his cup (or his banana) in your face and says “dah!” it’s because he wants to do “cheers”.  He is enjoying his position as the only child, but will be challenged in April when his little sibling arrives!

We wish all of you a Merry Christmas. May this season be one of true hope and joy!

Dan, Laura & Charlie

Trailhead Cross Country Ski Class—Dec 2014

In The Thick of It.

The last few weeks have been full of activity. The students are doing great. I really mean that. We have been blessed by their attitudes and willingness to pitch-in where needed and dig-in where their classes demand it.

We are almost half way through several of the fall classes, and with all we have going on, it will be a stretch to fit everything in. Students get their biggest break of the year for Thanksgiving, and will return to a full month of classes and Dinner Theatre before Christmas.

In addition to the "book learning," the students have been able to maintain cars (oil changes and tire change), Use a chainsaw, and bake pies with Ted Nast. Their building is progressing slowly as we have had over a foot of snow now!

 How many guys does it take to change a headlight?

 Rosie tackles the tire

Alex changes oil!

Please pray that the Holy Spirit would accomplish His work in the lives of the students, giving each of them a true desire to live for God's glory in their self-glorifying culture. 

This year's students in last year's canoe

Another month has passed without a blog post, and if I let it go any longer, it will become overwhelming. A lot has happened in October. Students have served, learned, built (parts of) buildings, cooked a lot of meals, listened to lectures on the history of the Bible, camped in sub-freezing weather (some of them), and started to figure out how hard it can be to live closely with people who aren't like you. All of these things are sanctifying in some way. 

Please pray for a deep and genuine understanding of God's love, and the true understanding of the good news of the gospel. This is the truth that can change everything. 

A few pictures:

 Sarah and Sam working on the Flambeau cabin

 Alyssa helping with a concrete slab on the new generator building

 More concrete!

 Alex and Alyssa on the canoe trip

 View from the campsite. The weather was great on the canoe trip.

The guys groups had some great guys-only discussions. I enjoyed the time spent with these young men.

This week the students begin three classes:

1. Personal Finance

2. Inductive Bible Study

3. Gospel application class

All of these classes will go until Christmas. Please pray that they will learn and be blessed! I will try to update this blog more regularly from here on out!

We have survived the first two weeks! This might seem insignificant, but the first two weeks of Trailhead can be rough. Students settle into new housing, try to figure out how to share space with 10 other people, adapt to a new culture, learn how to do about 6 different jobs around camp, write a constitution for group behavior, and do many other things all while adjusting to living away from Mom and Dad, which makes this an emotional time for some.

It is my assessment that this group is doing an amazing job so far. They are getting along for the most part, and tackle each new challenge with a good attitude. It has been a blessing to guide this particular group of students through the boot camp that is the first two weeks.

Whats next? We leave tomorrow for a four day canoe adventure in the Sylvania Wilderness in Watersmeet, MI. Trips like this require teamwork and communication. There will be discomfort at times, and attitudes can be stretched. These types of experiences build connections between people. For some of the students, this will be the highlight of the year. For others, they will be glad to just survive. For all of us, there will be memories that will lay the foundation for truly solid friendships as we go forward this year.

When we return, we will settle into a more normal routine, and classes for the fall will begin.

Here are a couple of pictures of our little cabin on the Flambeau River. Students insulated the cabin Friday in preparations for the pine carsiding that we will install soon. We used polystyrene on the lower 4 feet to help keep the mice out.

It's going to be a cool little prayer cabin when it's done.

Meet the Trailhead class of 2014!

(L to R: John, Hannah, Adam, Sam, Rosie, Andrew, Sarah, Alyssa, Dan, Theo & Alex)

We are so excited to be beginning the Trailhead year and getting to know these students as they get to know us and each other!  Just a bit about each:

Theo Ambrosius—Beaver Dam, WI
A few of the things he enjoys are fishing, hunting, reading, snowboarding and
music.

Alyssa Beth—Kenosha, WI
She has many hobbies such as hanging out with friends and family and playing
sports. She doesn’t give up on things and is protective of people, showing
kindness toward anyone. She plays tennis, basketball, soccer and is involved
in drama. She also plays the drumset and the djembe.

Sam Burkhalter—Neenah, WI
Some of the things he enjoys are camping, hiking, riding bicycles, piano,
building, sports, learning, doing new things, boat riding, cooking, fishing, star-
gazing, swimming, photography, acting, farming and caving.

Rosie Day—Janesville, WI
One hobby she really enjoys is singing. She sings anywhere and anytime, and
is on the youth worship team at church. She loves being a part of that and
seeing so many people worshiping the Lord together. Another hobby of hers
is writing, and she enjoys escaping into the world of her writing.

John Kollmorgen—Hayward, WI
He enjoys swimming and biking. He also likes building and constructing
things. He enjoys small projects like building shelving for a room or a drink
holder for a car, as well as building with Legos. He is also good at puzzle
solving, and is a good servant leader.

Alex Lawrence—Overland Park, KS
She is a very creative person. She enjoys any activity involving art such as
drawing, painting, and photography.

Andrew Lower—Waldorf, MD
He enjoys working with his hands. He likes to take things apart to figure out
how they work and put them back together, and is happy when they work.
He played soccer and baseball. Spending time outside in the woods, climbing
rocks and just being outside bring him joy.

Adam Prins—Isanti, MN
He loves to play sports. He runs, and was in cross-country in high school. He
also likes to listen to music and play video games. He enjoys hanging out with
friends and playing board games.

Dan Schweitzer—Winfield, IL
He enjoys soccer, wrestling, skateboarding, music and reading.

Sarah Tschanz—Blair, WI
She enjoys photography, working with animals, working with people, caring
for people and making crafts.

Hannah Wetzel—Stevens Point, WI
Some of her hobbies are digital photography, photoshop, writing, reading
and ice skating. She sings, is organized, does childcare and is good at being
sensitive and empathetic toward others.

Sometimes our worst idea and our best idea turn out to be the same idea. That is how I feel about the giant canoe. Like all bad and good ideas, at first it only seemed like a good one. Why not have the Trailhead students build a giant canoe? Who wouldn't want to do that?

Trailhead students, as it turned out.  This was a bit frustrating, but not their fault.

So a couple of them helped, and Jesse Schutt and I carried most of the load. I think the students learned things about wood skills and tools. I definitely learned some things about leadership, and the assumptions I make that can get me in trouble.

After almost a year of work and reflection, the canoe finally made it to the lake today. So far, so good. It was still floating on top of the water last time I checked.

Hoping to come up with more good ideas than bad ones next year. Thanks to everyone who helped with the boat!