Olympic Refuge

“Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.” (Psalm 84:3,4)

Barn Swallows in their secure nest.

The Refuge has truly been a refuge for this barn swallow family. They picked a location totally hidden from the outside, but visible from the inside of the building - underneath the balcony above the main entrance. The swallows gained even further support for their largely mud nest when they chose a large screw sticking out on which to base their home! But the real miracle of our little mosquito-eating guests (if only our other guests could perform such a helpful service for mankind) was the timing.

The babies’ heads were visible over the edge of the nest, and the mother, father, and we believe some siblings busily fed them non-stop for about two weeks. During one of those weeks, Wilderness Northwest Camp (next to us) was in session, and the focus of Outdoor Life (led by Jim and Robbie) was BIRDS!

Jim as Spotted Owl, being interviewed.

Thus, FIVE tour groups of children were escorted into the building and seated quietly on the floor where they could watch first-hand the feeding by the adult birds. It was the first time many of the children had seen such a thing and all of them were in awe at this amazing sight. (By the way, these swallows will continue to be welcomed guests at The Refuge - one family of five consumes 8,000 mosquitoes a day, and we DID notice a significant decrease.)

Along with these special guests, we’ve had other guest/volunteers from as far away as Norway!

Elizabeth Edgren waters new grass.

In early spring, the OCF group from Whidby Island cleared an area east of the building. Jody Weed removed stumps and leveled it, and now the extended lawn is a reality. We are in the process of planting trees around the edge at present.

Another guest/volunteer came all the way from New York State in the spring - Chaplain Ted Roloson. We put him to work immediately on the new children’s playhouse - situated near the pond. He did an amazing job, getting the largest part done before he left, and even talked about building one for his own granddaughter back home.

Then Dave Gibson built the casement windows - all nine of them with panes (possibly some of the other kind of pains too!) The interior of the playhouse has two lofts and is stand-up-able for even adults who are children at heart.

Dave has the added help of grandson, Sam, all the way from Germany.

Judging from this picture, the playhouse will get great use!

During camp at Wilderness Northwest, the Duckabush House hosted both Counselors in Training (CITs) at night, and the nursery for staff workers during the day. Currently the Duckabush House is filled with members of the Scott family. Dave Scott is a pastor from Puyallup. He attended an elders’ group retreat here in the winter.

The Scott family goes on a hike to Murhut Falls.

Dave and Diane Gibson have been steady volunteers for the past few months, coming out once a week from Olympia. While the antique staircase seemed a daunting project to us and everyone who saw it, Diane took it on with just one look that said, “Piece of cake!” Her secret ingredient? Howards refinishing “rub.” Slowly but surely, she is turning the finish into a warm and glowing look - which really enhances the staircase. Lots of elbow grease, but she keeps at it, and even roped her daughter, Bonnie, into a day of work.

Dave, not to be outdone, tackled tiling the sunporch floor. This 8′ X 23′ surface was done totally on his knees. We think a little prayer went into this job as well!

What does the rest of the summer look like here at The Refuge? Several church/chapel picnics, and several large families coming for rest, recreation and retreat. In addition, one family (the Bublats) are coming for a “working vacation!” We are truly touched by this gift, as we are for all volunteers.

Of course, we will be hosting the third annual Pastors’ Retreat on Labor Day. If you are a pastor, youth worker, or Christian Educator, you are most welcome. We just need to know you’ll be coming.

One other bit of good news is that we met our challenge and then some! Praise belongs to the Lord for this great miracle. More about that in the news letter soon to come out.

Not near God’s altar, but as close as they could come!

Along with the swallows who chose to build their nest near the altar of the Lord, we here at The Refuge choose to stay very near His throne as well, and praise the Lord for His mighty deeds - both great and small. Hope that’s where you are too!

Robbie

Recently, as the outside log & board and batten siding is nearing completion, folks who’ve come by to visit, have made comments like, “very impressive” or “good looking building.” Inspectors and engineers have also commented positively. Several of our contributors, to whom we’ve sent pictures, have spoken about the beauty of the building. When we receive praise like that, we are inclined to feel good about the project and the way it is going - slowly (as in very slowly) but surely.

But then suddenly, we are brought up short, when we realize that whatever has been accomplished so far is solely God’s Doing! He has been the “Driving Force” behind everything. He provided the idea in the first place! He worked the miracles that made it possible for us to proceed. He is the one who put it in the hearts of those who agreed to serve as Board members. He is the one who energized our many volunteers. He is the one who has moved our dedicated supporters to provide the financial resources. He is the one who enables us to keep going - looking to the day when we will open the doors to serve Him.

All of us - managers, board members, contributors, volunteer workers and other ” praying friends” need to be reminded from time to time that The Refuge is God’s Doing in His Time and ultimately, it is for His Glory. Hence the title of this post - “Soli Dei Gloria” For God’s Glory Alone. Let’s go public with this statement, lest at any time, any of us (partners in this venture) are tempted to think that we’ve done it. Sure, in a sense, thanks to all of you who give and help and pray, we have done it - or more properly - are still doing it. But it has only been because God has enabled us to do it.

Now having said all that, it’s important to note that we’re not done yet. We’ve still got a good ways to go. As I write this we are about to get our final “revision” plans which incorporate the many changes that we’ve made as we’ve gone along. This will enable us to complete the roof over the great room so that we are truly “dried in”. It will also mean final approval of our sprinkler system design and then, following that, our mechanical design and permit for our heating, cooling and venting requirements.

Two weeks ago we ordered all the cultured stone (river rock) for the central four fireplaces, which will enable us to get started applying “facia stone” (stone veneer) to this massive structure. For those of you who might be worried about a smoke-filled great room and lobby area, we’ve been “exercising” our two Rumford woodburning fireplaces, and they are working beautifully. Smoke goes up the 30 foot high chimney flues and only heat flows into the room. This past week volunteer Jan Friend and I poured the first of the three concrete slabs for the three stone hearths.

We’re scheduled to pour the others next week. (The in-room fireplaces will not have stone facia hearths but tile instead). We’re especially grateful to Ron Kingham and Dave Gibson who constructed the hearths and helped build the forms for the concrete slabs.

Ron and Cathy Kingham

Dave Gibson helps cut boards.

Then today, thanks to a special “window of opportunity” we ordered the remaining windows for the great room west wall. These windows soar up to the top of the cathedral ceiling in the great room 21 feet above the floor. They form an Eastern Cross with their upper and lower cross beams (already in place). This special order will be ready in 30 days, about the time we hope to have the final great room roof in place. Some dear friends recently gave us a contribution to cover the cost of these eight large windows. We are thankful indeed for their kindness.

Meanwhile the (somewhat) tedious task of cutting out and staining the balcony railing boards (hearts & crosses) and battens for the exterior upper story cedar planking, proceeds apace. Very labor-intensive, but something that volunteers can do well.

Winter has come to The Refuge in force. Because temperatures in this valley tend to run about 4-5 degrees lower than the surrounding area ( such as along Hood Canal) and winter sun only penetrates for 4-5 hours per day, our snow (deposited via 2-3 snowfalls of late, is still on the ground and our driveway (aka as sledding hill) has remained snow-covered (and not accessible for vehicles without chains). Needless to say, the younger set, such as Wesley, Nicholas & Peter Kosierowski had a wonderful time speeding down the hill on sleds and mini-toboggans, not always making every turn. Jerry & Diane Kosierowski worked alongside Robbie and me felling trees and clearing brush. The boys helped too, taking a break from sledding.

Late update: Due to warmer temperatures, wind and rain, most of our snow is now gone. But up on the mountains and hills around us, it is an everpresent reminder that it is, in fact, winter at The Refuge.

Robbie takes a ride with grandson Daniel.

UP-COMING EVENTS & ACTIVITIES: On Friday, 25 January, Robbie hosted the first (of what will eventually be many such activities) “cookbook giveaway.” Thanks to a gift from Elaine Davia, The Refuge has so many cookbooks that we can share them with ladies from the valley. Then in February, two groups will be coming to The Refuge; Faith Presbyterian Elders retreat at Duckabush House, and the Whidbey Island OCF Bible Study Group. The latter group will be coming to help us with various projects. They are a fun group to have out here to work.

A NOTE OF THANKS! As many of you know, back in early November, I (Jim) fell asleep at the wheel of The Refuge Van, ran off the road into a ditch and totaled the car. Happily, I walked away without a scratch (praise be to God). But, no more van - what to do? Then some very kind friends donated a 1999 Mercury Villager Van to The Refuge so we would have transportation in carrying out Refuge activities. This was no hand-me-down junker. This was a top of the line vehicle with relatively low mileage. What a Christmas present to The Refuge and to us. We are still thanking God for these generous friends and their timely gift. Here is a picture of the Van with its new owners (Actually The Refuge owns the van).

VOICES FROM THE REFUGE: About the time we get the first of the Tales From The Refuge series published, we plan to also release a CD with Grandpa Edgren reading some of the tales (with the voices) to include the first published tale. If you are interested in receiving such a CD, let us know.

VOLUNTEER WORKERS ALWAYS WELCOME: Since we have plenty of work to do inside the building, as well as much clearing and picking up as a result of winter storms outside, we can use volunteers regardless of the weather. But we do need to know in advance when you are coming and how many of you, so we can plan accordingly.

A group of volunteers move tables and help ‘winterize’ the Refuge.

OUR MAILING LIST: We only mail our newsletters to folks with whom we’ve had contact. We do not take the “blanket marketing” approach to getting the word out. Except for this website and “word of mouth,” we trust God to bring people into our circle of Friends of The Refuge. We do not solicit. So, if you read this blog and want to be included on our mailing list, please let us know and we’ll put you on our list. We encourage folks to read our Statement of Faith before getting involved.

As we mentioned at the beginning of this blog, our purpose is to Glorify God in whatever we do and how we live.

SOLI DEI GLORIA

Robbie & Jim Edgren, Hosts

Dear Friends:

In our most recent newsletter (August 2007) we talked about the importance of keeping a journal on God’s faithfulness to us - to recount His gracious provision over the years that The Refuge has been in the making - and to chronicle our progress and the involvement of our faithful supporters and volunteers. So, we thought that we would begin with our September blog to tell The Refuge Story; (Past); to talk about where we are in the process (Present); and to lay out for you some of the plans for current and future ministry.

The Board Members break ground and ask for the Lord’s blessing on the Retreat Center.

As many of you know, we’ve been at this project of building and developing The Refuge Retreat Center for a number of years, having begun the process of acquiring land and forming a board of directors in 1999, just 8 years ago. To some folks this seems like a long time to be about this task. And from time to time, we too, get impatient. But, given our founding principles (incurring no debt and building only as God provided the resources) it isn’t such a long time after all. In fact, it’s just a fleeting “moment” compared to Noah’s construction project which took 120 years. There’s no time like God’s time. So, we press forward at the pace that He has set for us and rest in His perfect will for The Refuge.

The great blessing in all of this is that we’ve been able to have a viable Ministry out here at The Refuge even though the main building is not yet completed. Those of you that have been out here know that having Duckabush House available as well as the beautiful environment surrounding us, has made it possible for ministry to take place. Since we last wrote on this web page (August 8th) much has happened that you should know about. Duckabush House continues to serve as a place of “refuge”, relaxation and rejuvenation for families, couples, individuals and groups.

We hosted two large families (Roths & Hastings), several short visits from old friends (Sherrards, Prouts, Struthers), missionaries-in-residence (Bemenderfers), father-son work group (Blais, Quarto & Steinborn families) and of course our Annual Labor Day Pastors & Wives Retreat. Twenty-eight folks (including supporting staff) were present for that one-day retreat, led once again by Carl & Betsy Armerding, which proved to be a refreshing time of singing, teaching, sharing, prayer & fellowship (not to mention the great food prepared by Robbie with help from Dottie Cole and Sharon Bridwell).

At the same time, thanks to the volunteer efforts of Jan Friend, Ted Roloson and Diane & Dave Gibson, we were able to complete the staining of all the logs (to include final protective coating), the boards and battens and about half of the cutting of the balcony and porch balustrade pieces (hearts & crosses). We are still waiting for final inspection of the north end of the building exterior framing before we can apply the remaining pre-stained log siding there, but that should be forthcoming shortly.

In our August newsletter, we mentioned opportunities to fund specific projects - among them the north handicapped entry door - which we estimated would cost about $2500 to build. Well, here’s an example of God’s provision. No sooner was the newsletter in the mail than some dear friends committed to underwriting the entire cost of the door while another couple gave an additional $500 which we will use to install automatic handicapped-access door openers for those approaching by wheel chair. God is good. We give thanks for those who listen to His voice and become His instruments.

At the end of this month we will be providing a quiet time of retreat for a young wife and family welcoming back their husband/father from Iraq. We will continue to minister to wives and families of deployed service members in the days ahead. We will also be hosting a group of pastors from Mason County for a one day Prayer Retreat in October. An event to which we are looking forward with anticipation. So, as God continues to shower us with “minor” miracles, He likewise brings folks to us for ministry - both theirs and ours.

We are also looking forward to a time of great enjoyment when we get to host five of our grandchildren out here at Duckabush House for a week. For many grandparents, having their grandchildren with them for any period of time is a “chore” at best and a difficult time at worst. But, we are happy to report, having Joshua, Rachel, Daniel, David and Sarah with us is always a joy. We thank God that we are so blessed.

Well, I think this is enough for this time. Next installment we’ll talk a bit about our “founding fathers” and how The Refuge came into being - as well as how God met us in a wonderful way to confirm those early decisions.

Sincerely,

Robbie & Jim Edgren
Hosts at The Refuge

For the past six weeks we’ve been privileged to have Chaplain Ted Roloson, US Army, Retired, with us out here at The Refuge as a volunteer worker. Ted is on the pastoral staff at Victory Highway Wesleyan Church in upstate New York, and was able to take time off to help us out here. His help has been invaluable, particularly since he has so many construction skills and is, like some of our other volunteers, a very hard worker. He’s also a dear friend.

We were talking recently about how working on a project such as The Refuge can be a ministry - both to the organization and to the person volunteering. As we talked, I asked Ted if he would write something up for our blog/newsletter on the subject. So, here are some of his thoughts:

Each day that God gives us is part of a plan for our lives. His purpose for us is to become more like Jesus as we serve him by helping to advance His Kingdom. Some people are content to live selfishly seeking pleasure as they travel to and fro. Others are idle and waste opportunities as they sit back simply rocking away in their chairs. Neither find joy or satisfaction.

Jesus’ Word gives direction for purposeful living and finding real joy. I’ve learned the truth of Jesus’ words - “It is more blessed to give than to receive” and His direction to use our God-given gifts and talents for His glory. I’ve found real joy volunteering by visiting the sick and shut-ins in hospitals and nursing homes, putting roofs on houses after Katrina, or cutting trees after a tornado in Missouri. In each situation I’ve come away feeling that I’ve received more than I’ve given.

There is also joy and blessedness in volunteering at The Refuge. First, I’m blessed as I realize that I can have a part in providing a refuge for the needy Christian Community. Second, I’m blessed as I see God provide for this faith venture in both small and big ways. I’ve found joy in making new friends and seeing others encouraged. As I do some of the menial tasks I feel good because I know it frees up the contractor to do what only he can do. There is joy in seeing tasks completed (i.e. getting the logs and cedar siding stained). There is joy in using the richness of God’s blessing to help advance His kingdom.

Finally, there is real joy in working in the beautiful Olympic Mountains, enjoying meals together (and Robbie’s great cooking)and watching a beautiful building take shape. We can all be blessed, whether we pray, give or labor, we’re equally part of a great work.

Someone said, “If not me, who?” “If not now, when?” The need is great. There is real joy in praying, giving and working. Some can do all three. I am truly blessed as a volunteer and consider it a privilege to serve my Lord and Savior in this way.

Ted Roloson

Chaplain Ted Roloson puts a corner balcony banister in place as Tim Edgren assists from above.

REFUGE MAIN LODGE - PROGRESS TO DATE:

Here are a couple of pictures of the Main Lodge as seen from the south, showing log and board siding in place with balcony railing also in place. Note our signature design of the Maltese Cross and the Heart in our balcony railings. The balcony that looks out to the South is known as Grandma’s Balcony because this is where Robbie will display and nurture some of her best cascading flowers from flower boxes to be installed below the railings. This area gets a lot of sun, and we think that a beautiful floral display there will be an inspiration to all who see it.

As I write this, we continue to apply stain to the logs and the vertical cedar boards and battens and should be getting the finishing touches to the roof early next week. That will still leave us the great room roof to complete, but with additional volunteer help we hope to be dried-in before winter. Also within the next two weeks we expect to work on the main entrance structure and install the main entrance door. So, we press on toward completion of the main lodge. God is faithful and He continues to provide for us.

Samuel Edgren helps with the balcony.

Our next newsletter should be out within the next three weeks.

Thank you for standing with us in this Faith Adventure.

Robbie & Jim Edgren

Over the past several weeks we’ve been privileged to have a number of volunteers out here at The Refuge helping us in various ways. They range in size from 50 lbs to 500 lbs and from age 4 to who knows how old. Most of our volunteers are very helpful - but some of them (the 500 lb variety) are often less than helpful.

They mean well, I’m sure, but they can be downright destructive. As soon as some volunteers plant, these big (and smelly) volunteers arrive to pull-up what has been planted. They usually come late in the afternoon or evening, and hang around all night. We could do without this kind of volunteer “labor” - I think you know who we’re talking about - the “Elk-qaieda.” (They do bestow one benefit. They help fertilize our grass - if you like that kind of fertilizer).

But enough about them. Recently we had a family commit to spending the better part of a day (in the rain) pulling weeds (oregon grape & blackberry thorn bushes) and then planting small fir trees. From the youngest to the oldest, spirits remained high - though we all were a bit soggy by early afternoon - so we went inside and played games.

The past couple of weeks Chaplains Jan Friend and Ted Roloson have been out here staying at Duckabush House and helping with a number of projects - to include the staining of the hundreds of logs needed for the exterior siding. They also installed guard rails along the road over our culvert and replaced our meadow fence. (The elk had pushed down some of the fence posts and cross rails). They (Jan & Ted - not the elk) have been a tremendous help to us in so many ways.

We thought you’d like to see the latest pictures of the main lodge. Note the new balcony under construction. We call this our “Romeo & Juliet” balcony, since it is high enough to preclude any climbing up. Seriously, it will provide additional light on the upper stair landing. We can already see the mass of beautiful hanging geraniums cascading down in the Alpine style.

Well, getting back to the subject, the bottom line is - we can use volunteers - all ages, all sizes. Come on out to visit. We’d love to have you.

That’s the latest from The Refuge. Thanks for stopping by.

Robbie & Jim Edgren, Hosts