Dear HYC Partner,
Over the past month four men I know have passed away. Two of them are HYC Staff alumni and two of them from my church family.
Two of the passings were completely unexpected. Dan Brandel, a staff member from the 70’s was one of those men. While on a missions trip to Africa he was involved in a car accident that took him from this earth to eternity.
Whenever I thought of Dan, I always thought of someone who got absolutely everything out of his talent for God. As a kid I remember watching sporting events at HYC in which Dan would be unbelievably competitive with a burning desire to win. I’ve always admired guys that competed hard in sports and then carried that over into other aspects of their lives. Dan certainly did that with his commitment and desire to see his world changed through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The other gentleman passing away unexpectedly was a member of my church. JD Ferguson was a few years older than me, no “major” health issues, and certainly not expected to pass away any time soon. He went to church Sunday morning, a wedding reception later that afternoon, and simply didn’t wake up after going to bed.
James 4:14 says, “you don’t have a clue what tomorrow may bring.” (Walker translation) That was certainly the case for Dan and JD.
Lora, Morgan and I spent last weekend at HYC. I spent some time blowing leaves away from my cabin while it lightly snowed around me and even though the calendar said it’s May, I’m not sure if I believe it. Roughly month before campers arrive, the buildings are all in need of a lot of work.
For starters, there’s a large piece of land here where a Miracle Building used to be. Work has begun on the rebuilding project, with a 2022 spring deadline.
The Rec Hall has restrooms being installed and will need to be cleared of all other furniture and games to make room for seating, since it will serve as our “auditorium” this summer. We also need somewhere to store the stuff that needs to come out.
The Sweet Shop needs booths removed and seating for dining put in – and somewhere to store the booths.
Camper cabins are being worked on. Bunk beds will be delivered soon with 60 or so new mattresses.
The Fellowship Center needs to be transformed to serve as a Rec Hall/Sweet Shop.
It would be quite easy to throw in the towel, close it down and say ”let’s wait til next year." We’re not doing that. I read earlier this morning that, “the significance of your calling rules out retreat.”
The Green Berets have a motto: “Improvise/adapt/overcome.” That’s our plan going into this summer. It won’t be perfect and it may not be exactly as I would like it, but the summer of 2022 isn’;t promised to any of us – including the kids coming to HYC as campers. They need Christ. Now.
Thank you for helping make this summer happen at HYC.
Sincerely
Craig