The Smoke Signal

Posted By Sam Brock on July 22, 2010

All summer we have been working on a dvd that will try to capture the essence of being a camper at Ironwood. It is harder than I thought to try to give you the full experience. How do you record relationships being built, God working in hearts, and the enjoyment of good food, fun games, and a safe environment. The Nickel Tour of Ironwood is desiged to share some of the different types of camps, the reasons behind why we do what we do, and answer some of your questions about what is offered and what it looks like. In the next few weeks we will add these to our video tours. This video project has given me the opportunity to reflect on what camp is all about. Today our goal was to take a few pictures of our staff with campers. It was easy. Everywhere we looked there were counselors talking and playing with campers. We walked into the Cattleman’s Lodge and once again campers and counselors. We went to the store and the Meetin’ Hall and again . . . campers and counselors. Of course the video has plenty of pictures of facility but if you get a chance to see the Nickel Tour of Ironwood I hope you see that Ironwood is made up of a bunch of people that happen to be working with God to build people.

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Posted By Sam Brock on July 13, 2010

As many of you know we are hoping to restore the Rivertown boardwalk to its original glory. We have had a pledge to match giving up to $62,500 for a total of $125,000. We believe that we need a good chunk before we get started. As of today a little over $17,500 has come in (which will get matched). The dilemma is the knowledge that God rarely gives it all before you get started but we don’t want to force something He has not chosen to provide yet. Our goal is to keep taking the steps that a wise steward would take all the while being content if God wants us to wait. Today we have committed to another piece of the puzzle and we look forward to how God continues to provide.

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Posted By Sam Brock on May 3, 2010

Preparations are in full swing for the upcoming summer camps.  A couple of weeks ago we identified 33 projects that we are hoping to have finished and ready to go for our campers.   Installing the new oven, building a new shooting range, finishing the MoJava River Coffee Shop, adding 3 haywagons, and a shade out at 1 Buck Crossing are a few of the highlights.  After a week we had knocked 3 off the list and it looks like another 3 or 4 will get finished this week.  We are excited about all the improvements that are happening for the summer.  A few things you can look forward to this summer include:

·         A new and improved horsemanship program – we have spent several weeks working on some of the details to make program better.  This change will include overhauling all the level books. 

·         We ordered more laser taggers.  We now have enough to play with a group of 20 and we have added laser grenades and a medic station and an ammo dump.  It will give us all sorts of options for the next year of laser tagging

·         Pyrite Pete’s Porch is almost finished and gives everyone a place to hang out after they buy their refreshment at the new Chuckbox.  In the old west on the cattle drives the chuck wagon was outfitted with a chuck box in the back.   The chuck box was the cooks kitchen on wheels.  What used to be the corner store has been moved and set up now as the Chuck Box

·         1 Buck Crossing is the name of the new location where the junior higher camp out.  Last year we camped at the Red Rock 80 and this year it is at the 1 Buck Crossing.  The 1 Buck represents the price we paid for the 80 acres and reminds us of how God has provided.  The shade overlooks the Mojave River and the view is amazing.  This new location gives more options for hiking and exploring and overall we are thrilled with the new place. 

·         Restrooms, camp fire pit, light poles, and extra space in the game room are all additions to Ike’s Roost

·         Archery range improvements, crossbows, targets, and a new store area are all additions to Rivertown

·         Game room addition, larger auditorium, old west photos, and laser shooting gallery are all additions to Broken I Ranch

If you are not signed up for summer camp, don’t delay.  Several are completely full and we hope to see you here this summer.

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Posted By Sam Brock on January 30, 2010

Eating begins with your eyes – just ask any 3 year old.  If it doesn’t look good then there is no way that it is good.   A feast is something to behold not just consume.   The plate, serving bowls, dining room and everything you notice as you walk in are the beginning of the meal. 

Eating continues with your nose.  Smelling is a major determination of whether or not you are going to like something.  Notice how many times before a bite is even taken that someone comments on how good it smells.  There is a reason that a bunch of the possible candle smells revolve around food.  At Ironwood there are few things better than the smell of the bar-b-que.  We know we’re in for a good meal the moment we smell the mesquite wood on fire.

Sell the food with your service – The way you serve the food reveals the quality you believe the food to be.   

Leftovers are the insurance that everyone got enough – have you ever thought about the little detail that Jesus had leftovers when he fed the 5000.  If anyone could have known the correct portion to fix it would have been Jesus but it looks as if he meant to have leftovers.  Leftovers are not a bad thing.  They are a sure sign of full tummies.

Variety makes everything better – Manna was described as something wonderful but the steady diet of the same thing was a stated reason for discontent.  Variety is work but it helps every dish you serve taste better.

All theses ideas are wrapped up in a old western phrase, “Good Grub and Plenty of It”.  Our desire is to make every meal something to talk about (hopefully not with a mouth full of food).

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Posted By Sam Brock on January 30, 2010

Uncle Wally’s has moved!  We have made a permanent change of location in order to better place our store.  Over the years the Whistle Stop has housed 4 train cars each with a different purpose.  The caboose was used during the summer as the express line for drinks and snacks.  The Santa Fe Fridgerator car was used as Uncle Wally’s.  We have moved both over to the ticket office which is the room right next to the Pony Espresso.  This is going to allow one person to operate both Uncle Wally’s and the Pony at the same time.  This is helpful during small camps or slow times.  This is the first step to a long process of restoring the boardwalk of Rivertown to it’s original glory.  In the next couple of years we hope to complete a remodel of Rivertown that will add many features.

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Posted By Sam Brock on January 30, 2010

Wow!  What a month!  From January 1 until now we have seen over 4000 man hours of time volunteered.  We are working on several projects that will need to get finished by summer.  The following is a list of a few of the things we are working on. 

• Expansion of the Broken I Ranch auditorium - What used to be called the Hacienda is now called the Rendezvous and we tore down the wall to the Corral and increased the size by almost 50%.  On the side we added a chair storage area and a sound booth.  This will greatly enhance the Broken I Ranch Junior program.
• Chuckbox and Pyrite Pete’s Porch - the offices that we moved out of last year are now getting their own overhaul.  The office that I used to have will now hold a Foosball table.  In the corner we are adding a little concession stand called the Chuckbox.  As you step out there is now a 700 square foot porch that will give plenty of shade.
• Restroom at the Twig - We needed a place close to the Twig and this modern day outhouse has 3 separate rooms and 1 storage area.
• Twig landscape - we are finishing up the fire place, outdoor torches, flagstone and lighting.  It is becoming a great place to just sit back and relax
• Mo’Java River Coffee Shop - the old registration office will eventually become our new coffee shop and store for all your souvenir and refreshment needs.  Plenty of room for sitting around with friends and a newly expanded book store will be a huge help to Ike’s Roost.

We want to thank our volunteers for their help on these projects and many others (sewing, painting, cleaning, framing, computing, etc.).  The past few weeks have been unbelieveable to see what the Lord has done through his willing workers.  Thank you!

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Posted By Sam Brock on January 5, 2010

Boom! The new year is underway and things are happening at a furious pace here at Ironwood. January is busy month as we host two weeks of volunteer workers and put together two very exciting weekends that routinely go over a 100 campers (Singles Retreat and Youth Winter Rendezvous). This week we have several projects open. We are working on a restroom near the Twig at Ike’s Roost. We plan to call it Ike’s Palace. It is a building in the shape of an outhouse but there are actually three separate restrooms. We are also expanding the Hacienda to add another 650 square feet to the auditorium. For you old timers out there it will be back to the original Fort size of the ’80’s. Broken I Ranch Juniors will definately be able to use the extra space. In order to make the auditorium bigger we had to take out the Corral which held the game room and Corner Store inside. We are moving those things over to the old offices that we moved out of last May. Of course that will also require a bit of a remodell as well as a added shade to the front of the new store area. The porch/deck/shade will be 20×36. And if all that is not enough we plan to upgrade all our computers to Windows 7 and Office 2007 this week, build over 40 picture frames, paint signs, build a fire pit, and install the torch lighting around the Twig. We have a couple of projects that we have put off until we see how these progress. By summer time we hope to have gutted out the old registration office and put in a new coffee shop, redo the shooting range,  and redo the slide. If your church wants to plan a short mission trip or you have a few guys who want to help out please give us a call.  There is plenty of work to be done. 

We thank the Lord for the opportunity to keep improving His camp.  We really do feel the weight of being a good steward of what he has given us.  He has given us so much!!

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Posted By Sam Brock on November 10, 2009

Mr. Wayne was taken on for support as well as Mr. Butch and Mrs. Erin.  It is always exciting to add churches to the team.  Each of our staff is missionary supported and can not be here without the generous help of churches and individuals.  Torrey and Jalene Jaspers are our news staff members and also in the greatest need for support.  We are praying that they can raise a total of $1700 a month.

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Posted By Sam Brock on November 10, 2009

Why a sabbatical?  What is the value?  How does it work?

A sabbatical is a noncash benefit that Ironwood gives to its staff who have served for more than 10 years.  Each decade we are able to take a sabbatical.  The first one is 8 weeks and the second one is 12 weeks.  A sabbatical is not just a long vacation, it is not an extended family visit or the opportunity to get a second job.  The sabbatical must be planned and designed to be a benefit to you and your family.  It is not the easy thing to do.  The sabbatical should not be the answer to poor calendar management or a persons inability to say no.

Cindy and I wanted to do a sabbatical for several different reasons.  First we wanted to visit several of our supporting churches that are a distance away.  We do not have a furlough program and so this was going to allow us to stop by churches who have been a part of our ministry for years.  Secondly, we wanted to visit several colleges and be with our kids as they were evaluating this next step in their lives.  Third we wanted to stop by and see family members with our entire family.  Fourth we live in a fairly remote area and we wanted to expand our childrens world by seeing big cities, different homes, and unique cultures.  Fifthly, we wanted to just enjoy being with our kids for an extended time.  They range from 11 to 16 and this is a perfect time to laugh, play, and travel together.  Sixth, we wanted to visit a couple of camps and see how they do it.  We spent a total of two weeks at two different camps.  Lastly we wanted to make sure that folks at Ironwood knew how to do our jobs.

So how did it go?

We loved it, but we’re glad we don’t do it for another decade.

Big things that we learned or were reminded of:

• We live for a cause.  I wanted to go back to work because what we do makes a difference for all eternity.  As much fun as it is to go out to eat and visit Times Square and see the sites of our capitol, those things pale in comparison to the value of just working with people.
• We appreciated the Ironwood ministry that realizes that our life should not be consumed with just our Ironwood ministry.  The opportunity to spend time with our family was rich and enjoyable.
• Value of a home.  A home has little to do with size and niceness.  Home is a comfortable place where you can let down and rest.
• We work with our friends.  There were so many people we missed and wanted to see and be around. 

Little things (if there is such a thing)

• Hospitality is a fine art. 
• The trip there can be a fun as getting there
• Good sleep can be messed up by a 100 different things
• Waffle house makes good waffles

One of the greatest things for Cindy and I to see was our children appreciating where God has put them.  By the end of the trip all of us wanted to see the desert, feel the sand in our shoes, sleep in our own bed, eat our own simple meals, go to school, go to our own most favorite church.  In a world where so many are discontent it was great to come home and love where and what God has given us.  It was a great lesson for Cindy and I, absolutely invaluable for our children and was pounded in over the course of eight weeks.

So why doesn’t everybody do this?  Think about this statement . . . too tired to run and too scared to rest.  Many folks know they have been on one track too long and too hard.  They are worn out but they won’t stop to rest.  Why not?  They are too scared to rest.  Scared that it might fall apart.  Scared they won’t have a place when they get back?  Scared of what others may think or say.  You don’t have to take 8 weeks to rest.  Start off by just taking a day off from the single track you’ve been on.

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Posted By Sam Brock on November 10, 2009

Wow!  So much to share.  First me and my family have been gone on an eight week sabbatical that has meant that very little has been added to the smoke signal.  We’ll try to take care of that in the next few weeks.  Although only gone for 8 weeks it seems like it took 4 weeks to get ready to go and it is going to take another 4 weeks just to catch up with everything I have missed.   Here is a rapidfire list of many of the happenin’s here at Ironwood.  The Institute of Ministry and Ministry Bound crews have been amazing.  Their willingness to jump in and learn and work hard has been such an encouragement.  We are working on a 1500 square foot back yard at the ministry shop.  We used the brick from the glen and are now in the process of putting in arbors and a unique fence.  We want to get a bit more done before we take any pictures.  The staff home that is near the ministry is starting to make progress again.  In the last month the siding has been put on, a door added to the garage, plumbing and electrical is nearly finished, and the heater has been installed in the attic.  We are praising the Lord for the financial gifts that have allowed us to keep moving.  We are hoping to have all the mechanicals and insulation done by mid December.  Just a few weeks ago we sent out a letter sharing the needs.  We have seen a little more than $12,000 come in so far which has enabled us to fund 12 staff housing projects and keep the new staff home moving.  We are praying that God will provide the remaining need.  The wood shop is getting an overhaul.  We have taken the back storage area and turned it into a wood shop and the main shop is quickly becoming a cabinet shop.  The card board baler has been installed and it definately squishes whatever you put in there.  We have been able to put in some video conference equipment that allows us to have Mr. Nathan teach one of our classes here at the same time he is teaching in Arizona.  The summer staff scholarship need has been totally met as well which is a huge answer to prayer.  September and October had a total of 15 camps of which both the Men’s Retreat and Women’s Retreat were at near record numbers.  As I look through the surveys and see answers to the questions of how I plan to go home different I see that the Holy Spirit has worked in each campers life in a unique way.  It is obvious that taking the time to consider the Word of God free from the distractions of a busy life is something that all of us need every once in a while.

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