Hi everyone! May, June, July & August were some really great months even in the midst of some hard things too.
EQUIP 24′-25′
May was the last month of EQUIP 2024-2025. Part of me feels like they just got here a few short months ago, I’m not even sure where all the time went! It was a really great year with these guys, I mean we already miss them!
May 8th – 9th they went on a short camping excursion on the Appalachian trail. It was quite an adventure to hear about! The people that went were Nolan, Justin, Donny, Aiden, Caleb, Sam, and Isaac. I guess it must’ve rained pretty hard during the night and in the morning because they came back Friday and were all soaked! It was an adventure they won’t soon forget!
May 23rd was the EQUIP Graduation dinner. That was just a beautiful evening. Nolan talked about the year, all they did, and memories we have. It was a great time of fellowship with the students, their families, and people who got to pour into their lives this past year. Aiden got baptized!! That was really awesome to see too! Ahh it’s just been so great having them around and it’s been an honor to push them towards Christ!
So where do they plan to go now? Caleb and Sam plan to work for a Christian camp in NY. It’s a camp Caleb has connections with. They need help with maintenance and keeping up with the grounds. They started that on June 2nd. Aiden went back home to Michigan and has a job working for a garage. Isaac went home to Canada and plans on looking for a welding school to further his education in that trade. Partner with us in praying for them! My prayer for them has been from Ephesians 3:14-21. Specifically that they would become more grounded and rooted in the love of Christ and that they would be complete in Him (Colossians 2:9-10). We are all going to miss them! It was an honor to get to know them and go to Mayreau with them!!
John’s Celebration of Life
Saturday, May 17th was John’s celebration of Life. John Debkowski was one of our full-time staff members who went to be with the Lord April 9th. I remember the morning I got the news. For a moment I was sad, but soon my eyes were filled with tears because I knew there isn’t another place John would want to be than talking to Jesus face to face! The service was beautiful, it was basically person after person with the same testimony of who John was. Common things that were said repeatedly were “John never had anything bad to say about anyone.” “I don’t remember him ever having a bad attitude.” “John didn’t even know how to complain.” “He talked so much about how much he loved his kids.” When so many people say the same things about a person and it’s the same thing you’ve experienced about them you have to believe it was real for them. The way John lived wasn’t him just trying really hard to put on a fake front to “look good”. It wasn’t him trying to “fake” something he wasn’t or put on his best Christian face. It was real! It was who John was because John wasn’t alive anymore. He had been crucified with Christ. I think of Galatians 2:20-21 which says “I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, and the live which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness comes through the law then Christ died in vain.” I believe John’s life was an incredible example of how this verse is lived out. He lived dead to himself, his past, and the man he was before Christ; and he lived alive to God by faith! His life and the way he lived encourages me so much! It tells me that real transformation is possible and it isn’t just for some people but anyone who is willing to live dead to themselves and alive to Christ; for anyone who is willing to deny themselves, pick up their cross and follow Him!
Staff Retreat
June 10th – 13th we got to go to Three Springs Ministry in Morris PA. The staff retreat is always a great time! We played volleyball, basketball, rode horses, ate good food, had worship time, played board games, went swimming, did camp fires, and had a movie night. It was a lot of fun! I appreciate getting to hangout when we’re not working. It’s more relaxed and with all the time we get there’s plenty of time to spend with the people who you don’t regularly see during the work day. It was a really great time of fellowship and building community!
Millville, NJ Mission Group
June 24th – 30th a youth group came from Millville NJ. It’s a youth group that did a mission trip with us! They came first thing in the morning for worship and devotions and then spent half the day here serving. We did various projects with them like cleaning, landscaping, washing cars, picking up branches, and getting ready for the Fun Fest.
Mission Group from Nick’s Church
July 14th – 18th we hosted another group from Grace Community Church. They primarily helped us with preparation for the Fun Fest since they came the week of the event. This specific group of people have been coming now for years, so it’s always great to see them again and catch up! We played board games, had good fellowship, did a worship night, and got to serve together.
Fun Fest!
The Fun Fest was a fundraiser we had on July 19th to raise money for the mechanic shop. It was a super fun day of good carnival food, fun games, and great fellowship! We had about 60 volunteers that day that made it all possible! The event was mainly planned by Danielle, Hannah & Kate Everett. They did a fantastic job of putting it all together and thinking of all the things she did!
We have been renovating above the mechanic shop to become the new offices, and an EQUIP class room. So we wanted to raise money to make it look nicer and be more functional for greater amounts of traffic. We almost raised enough to pay to pave around the new offices! So we continued to pray asking God to provide the funds and He did! The parking lot around the mechanic shop is now paved and it looks so much nicer!
EQUIP 25′-26′
August 4th Robbie and Charles arrived, and August 21st Malakai arrived! Robbie is from Missouri, Charles is Lancaster PA, Malachi is from Colorado. Malachi is actually Logan Brennan’s cousin! Logan was a student we had a couple years ago. So far they seem to be settling in quite nicely. They are all really excited to work in the mechanic shop.
Prayer Requests
- Pray for this year of EQUIP for God’s will to be done in their lives. Pray that they would also just have more of a desire to know God intimately and to seek Him above all else.
- EQUIP is going on their first mission trip to Colorado September 9th – 16th. Pray for the trip all around, but that their relationships with each other would deepen too!
- Pray for the renovations above the shop that they go smoothly, and that all the funds would be provided!
Praises
- We have another mission group on the schedule! December 12th – 14th. We look forward to having the Boys’ Brigade here again!
- Labor Day weekend Wyatt and I went tent camping near Cherry Springs state park which is Northern PA. We had an awesome time! I never knew there were so many stars! We did lots of hiking, fishing, and star gazing. The weather was perfect and the nights were clear. It was absolutely beautiful! If you like star gazing, Cherry Springs state park in Potter County PA is the place to do it!
- We have all our volunteer cooks back in the kitchen!! Over the summer a few of them stay home with their children and boy do we miss them! I just want to thank God for all the volunteer help we have in Hospitality alone! They are a huge blessing to me and the entire ministry! So a huge thank you to Chris Kraemer (cleaning), Heidi Gamble (cook & grocery shopping), Amanda Cunningham (cook), Debbie Pete (cook), Linda Smith (cook), and Becky Lengel (cook).
Thank you all so much for your support both financially and through prayer!
Would you join Sandra as a monthly supporter so she can continue the work God has started? She would be honored to be able to share the experience with you and make you part of the team. As she shares how God is working and the impact she is having on His Kingdom, please pray and ask God if you should partner with her as a monthly donor/supporter.
