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"Out of Egypt" 2012!
"I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.
Then you will know that I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians."
Exodus 6:7
Then you will know that I am the LORD your God,
who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians."
Exodus 6:7
Open House! May 26th at 4 pm
Ladies and gentlemen! On May 26th and 27th we will be celebrating the grand opening of New Hope Bible Church of Irasburg and an incredible new facility for River of Life. This wonderful new facility, the work of many years of planning and sacrifice, will be used to bless our area churches and the children and parents of our beautiful town and region. Come and enjoy the new facility, fun and a meal on us! See you there!
Our Story
Allen & Darleen Bacon
Few people know the "whole story" of how Darleen and I came to River of Life Camp back in the spring of 2007. Just finishing up a wonderful time of ministry at Union Baptist Church, Pastor George Lawson asked me (Allen) if I would consider being the Program Director for the summer of 2007. At the time I was building garages with a friend from Lyndon Bible and decided that being Program Director was more in my line of gifts and abilities than swinging a hammer. Just five weeks before the camp season started, then Camp Director John Kelley resigned due to health reasons. I was thrust headlong into taking the lead role for the summer! Although I had had years of experience with Word of Life camps and had run one and two week camps at Summit Grove Camp and Conference Center in New Freedom, PA, for a couple of years when I was senior pastor at Holliday Alliance Church....I was not totally familiar with River of Life and their "style" of camp. Commuting from St. Johnsbury that first spring, working as part time music director of then Brownington Center Church (now New Hope Bible Church of Brownington) and putting the finishing touches on t-shirts, program and volunteers....I had my hands full! Looking back ... Suzanne Cartee, the River of Life Secretary at the time, was my life saver! Suzanne was expecting at the time and shortly into the summer was put on bedrest which threw Darleen into the mix as well. Many a day I would come home to our empty apartment above the horse barn (Darleen and the kids were still living at our home in St. Jay) "buzzing" with exhaustion. That first summer I was running from one activity to another just "learning the ropes" and getting through the day.
At the end of our first summer, Darleen and I sat down to assess where we were in the process of this new and crazy ministry. Many parents had expressed concern over the turnover of directors at the camp and their desire to see us stay. After recognizing that our gifts and abilities had been used to create organization (Darleen) and give the camp some vision, we talked about the possibility of staying. At that time we threw out the "five year" mark as enough time to give the camp the stability it lacked as well as the organization and vision to keep it going. Last year was our fifth year with River of Life! Can you believe it? In that time God has used us to make sure that the legal paperwork is in order for insurance purposes, get the registration process honed down so that things can be filed and found when needed, have first rate t-shirts and themes throughout the years, establish a counselor training week and the needed upgrade in counselor maturity including having full summer counselors the past three years. We have been able to add paintball guns, water totter, zorb ball, low ropes course and this year another horse camp. Also new this year is our wonderful New Hope Bible Church of Irasburg or the much awaited Multi-Purpose Building! You go, God!
As many of you know, our nest has been becoming emptier and emptier over these past five years. With Jon the only one at home, our hearts have been turning back towards the full time ministry of the pastorate. Allen has greatly missed speaking every week, visiting those who are discouraged or ill, and shepherding a flock like he's done off and on for the past 25+ years. His resume' is out in the south....and we are praying that God would move us wherever He knows our gifts and talents can best be used for His kingdom...with not a little bit of hoping that He will also get us nearer our children and grandchildren who are currently in NC and PA.
So....the question is.....will the Bacons be at River of Life this year? Your guess is as good as ours. For now, we work as if we are...and we pray accordingly. Pray for us to follow God's footsteps well. It's been a privilege! ~The Bacons
At the end of our first summer, Darleen and I sat down to assess where we were in the process of this new and crazy ministry. Many parents had expressed concern over the turnover of directors at the camp and their desire to see us stay. After recognizing that our gifts and abilities had been used to create organization (Darleen) and give the camp some vision, we talked about the possibility of staying. At that time we threw out the "five year" mark as enough time to give the camp the stability it lacked as well as the organization and vision to keep it going. Last year was our fifth year with River of Life! Can you believe it? In that time God has used us to make sure that the legal paperwork is in order for insurance purposes, get the registration process honed down so that things can be filed and found when needed, have first rate t-shirts and themes throughout the years, establish a counselor training week and the needed upgrade in counselor maturity including having full summer counselors the past three years. We have been able to add paintball guns, water totter, zorb ball, low ropes course and this year another horse camp. Also new this year is our wonderful New Hope Bible Church of Irasburg or the much awaited Multi-Purpose Building! You go, God!
As many of you know, our nest has been becoming emptier and emptier over these past five years. With Jon the only one at home, our hearts have been turning back towards the full time ministry of the pastorate. Allen has greatly missed speaking every week, visiting those who are discouraged or ill, and shepherding a flock like he's done off and on for the past 25+ years. His resume' is out in the south....and we are praying that God would move us wherever He knows our gifts and talents can best be used for His kingdom...with not a little bit of hoping that He will also get us nearer our children and grandchildren who are currently in NC and PA.
So....the question is.....will the Bacons be at River of Life this year? Your guess is as good as ours. For now, we work as if we are...and we pray accordingly. Pray for us to follow God's footsteps well. It's been a privilege! ~The Bacons
Welcome Aaron & Sarah Warner!
Last fall, the board hired on Aaron Warner, River of Life's very first director as the new director to take our place should the Lord call us on before this new camp year. For those of you who may not know, Aaron is a long time veteran of children’s ministry. He was the original director of River of Life when it began. He has been a fixture on the pastoral staff of Lyndon Bible Church for the last eight years. He is known for reaching out to the needy children of his area. Over the past few years Aaron has been responsible for the ongoing effort to send literally hundreds and hundreds of campers to River of Life to be impacted by the gospel of Jesus Christ! Is it any wonder that we believe that God has given us the ideal candidate to take over the reigns of River of Life? He is full of excitement, ideas and experience. Already God is using Aaron's fresh outlook to start an All Summer Day Camp to minister to the many parents in the area who have need of someone to watch their children all summer long. Aaron has also been busy making it possible to register and pay for camp online as well as developing our $12 in 2012 donation campaign. Be sure to check out our donation page to see all our options! Aaron and Sarah have a brand new little guy, David...check out his pics on his facebook page and say "Hi"!
Spring Cleanup Days!
Now ... Some of you are asking ... “How can I be a part of this great year?” I’m glad you asked that question! There are lots of ways. For starters, on June 2nd and June 9th we will need people to clean cabins, rake leaves, cut wood, put in the Blob and a whole host of other things. And that’s just for starters! All throughout the summer we will need counselors, cooks, nurses, maintenance people, horse barn help and help to run activities like paintball, archery, rifles and all the other fun stuff that goes on at River of Life.
Camper Parent Input
Please let us know what your favorite activities are. Please also feel free to write to me at director@gmail.com and tell me your ideas for fun activities. I am always open to suggestions!
Please let us know what your favorite activities are. Please also feel free to write to me at director@gmail.com and tell me your ideas for fun activities. I am always open to suggestions!
