On Wednesday Red Cliff Bible Camp, a ministry near and dear to my heart, suffered a tragic loss. At some time in the morning, a fire started in the main lodge, and unfortunately, everything from the newer lodge addition and the recently reconstructed kitchen was completely destroyed.
The memories created in what was once the lodge, span generations and have left countless impressions on its many visitors. Many Red Cliff campers will remember the immensity of the recent lodge addition, as faithful servants and workers spent years planning and building the lodge to expand the capacity of the camp to minister to more campers. The upper floor of the new addition had been filled with original photos of campers throughout the years, and reminded us of the precious moments spent at camp. The weight of this loss is so deep that it cannot possibly be measured in either monetary or sentimental value.
I surely cannot comprehend the monumental impact Red Cliff has had on my life. Sitting on the lodge porch in the scorching heat of summer with friends I could trust to care for me and consider me, those were the moments that taught me the love found in the body of Christ. Through the years, I shed many tears while confiding in my friends around the lodge fireplace. I shed tears for my friends and the battles they were fighting. I shed tears through my struggles with loneliness, depression and insecurity. I shed tears while reminiscing on the loss of my father, only a few months after his accident during one of the camps he loved so dearly.
Red Cliff camps had a phenomenal impact on my life as an individual, but the impact it had on my siblings and I, through the influence of my father, is unfathomable. My father first started attending Red Cliff camps when he was a child, and it was there that he dedicated his life to Christ and made the decision to devote his life to ministry. The significance of the decisions he made at Red Cliff never completely left his mind. He lead our family faithfully, and as my siblings and I grew older, we were heavily encouraged to attend the same camps he did. He knew how important that time in our lives would be, and he knew that the camps and leaders at Red Cliff could drastically change the direction of our lives.
The staff and the camps at Red Cliff have always had the ability to bless, encourage and uplift families and campers when they are in their darkest times. My dad believed in everything that Red Cliff is as an organization, and in some of the hardest times following his sudden death, I could still find comfort in the network of believers I knew from my times at camp.
Now the camp itself is facing an obstacle that seems insurmountable, and the staff and families are feeling an incredible loss and burden, and for every moment the Red Cliff family pulled through for other people in their times of need Christians familiar with the ministry also need to be there for our family at Red Cliff. We are a family. We are the body of Christ, and while one of our members is suffering we all need to be a part of restoring their ministry.
Please be in prayer for the families, staff, and campers who are being affected by this horrible loss, and if you feel lead to donate to the reconstruction project attached is a link that explains more about the project and connects you to a paypal page.
http://redcliffcamp.org/lodge-project/
