Olympic Refuge

In our last posting (July 14) when we spoke of hot weather in late June, we expected things to cool down a bit. Well, it didn’t happen. Instead it got hotter still, and these past four days we set new records for summer heat in the greater Puget Sound region. Fortunately, out here on the Olympic Peninsula (in these mountain valleys) we run about 5-10 degrees cooler, but it is still very hot. We’ve now had enough days of bright sunshine to be in a full scale drought. Grass burning up and trees beginning to show the signs of lack of water. Everything dry and brittle with lots of dust. Feels and looks more like Texas than evergreen Washington. Fortunately, we have the water to rescue the trees (young trees not yet established) but “watering” is now a big part of each day to preserve what God has given us in the way of natural beauty.

Our work at Wilderness Northwest (children’s day camp adjacent to us) this past week went well. In five days we presented 18 sessions on outdoor life to the children. Good weather, good behavior, many Bible verses learned, three girls baptized - overall a great camp (largest ever). The camp director, Jody Weed (also Refuge Vice President) did a great job of pulling it all together - with the help of many dedicated folks to be sure. Both Mark & Alan took time off from the Refuge project to assist in the camp. We praise God for His blessings on the lives of these children. Ministering to children whose ages range from 6-13 is a tall order. But it was obvious that God’s hand was in it.

Children of the Refuge, testing one of the support beams for structural integrity

As to progress on the main lodge - the roof rafters are almost all in place and about half of the center section of the roof decking has now been laid, so the roof is about 75% complete. Our goal is to have the main lodge “dried-in” by the end of August. Main electrical power lines are now in and boxes mounted. Almost all of the interior framing is completed. We still have the south stairway to complete before we can begin putting up the exterior log siding. We will be taking full advantage of the dry weather, although we’d appreciate it being a little cooler.

The south-facing ‘wall’ of the main lodge presents a daunting drop to workers on the third story and roof.

Again, we mention our first Pastors’ Retreat (spouses included), scheduled for September 4th (Labor Day). This will be a no-cost, one-day retreat for pastors in the area, to introduce them to the ministry of The Refuge and provide a relaxing day away from the cares of the church. Our speaker is Dr. Carl Armerding, founding president of Regent College (Vancouver, BC) and longtime director of the Schloss Mittersill Study Centre in Mittersill, Austria. Dr. Armerding is also a member of the board of The Refuge.

In August a number of folks will be coming out to help us - some from the East Coast, and we look forward to having a “full house” so to speak, here at The Refuge. We will also be visiting several area pastors to present the ministry of The Refuge to them. We will encourage them to make use of the facilities currently available even before we are fully operational.

If you are interested in knowing more about this ministry and what we offer, please contact us. Or, if you are within range, come out for a visit. But please let us know you are coming so that we can properly host you.

Well, that’s it for this time. We’ll keep you posted.

Robbie & Jim Edgren, Hosts

In our last posting in June we were lamenting that summer had not really arrived, but were thanking God for the warm dry weather in May - which meant progress. Then came the rain in early June. But, in late June we had a run of very hot weather (hot for us, at least) which slowed us down a bit, but enabled us to move forward with the third story framing and rafters. Now, as I write this, Mark & Alan are at work on the final roof decking over the remaining portion of the main lodge. Yesterday we had our first rain in almost three weeks, which was good for our trees, shrubs and grass, but made work on the roof more challenging.

A tranquil moment at Jeannette Pond

We include these detailed description of our progress for those of you who have been praying for us and have invested time and money, so that you’ll know what’s happening. We are also asking for special prayer for safety for our workers on the roof, as it is dangerous work, far above the ground. We pray for them each morning as they begin work. God has been good to us and we are thankful that we have had no accidents hindering the work or causing serious injury.

An early stage in the Main Lodge construction

We’ve enjoyed hosting a number of visitors in the last month or so. We welcome these visits, but do need to know when you are coming so we can lay out the “green carpet.” We’re looking forward to various friends coming to help work on the project and now have two RV sites hooked up with power and water, thanks to Ron Laughlin & Alvie Short. As always there is plenty to do on a project of this magnitude.

Progress continues on the first floor

Our first Pastors’ Retreat (spouses included) is scheduled for September 4th (Labor Day). This will be a no-cost, one-day retreat for pastors in the area, to introduce them to the ministry of The Refuge and provide a relaxing day away from the cares of the church. Our speaker is Dr. Carl Armerding, founding president of Regent College (Vancouver, BC) and longtime director of the Schloss Mittersill Study Centre in Mittersill, Austria. Dr. Armerding is also a member of the board of The Refuge.

This next week, July 17-21, Robbie & I will be helping out at Wilderness Northwest Christian Day Camp (our neighbors), as will our contractor, Mark Pomerinke and our two workers, Alan Reimann & Greg Burt. This means a temporary halt to work on the main lodge building, but this ministry to children and young teens is of primary importance and is a part of what we are committed to, here in the valley. We’ll charge on again with renewed vigor, being spiritually refreshed, on the 24th.

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With the third story nearly framed, we turn our attention to the roof of the center section.

We close, once again, by asking for your prayers. This is a critical time for us as we are now facing some major expenses in the development of The Refuge. The electrical and plumbing work as well as the septic and fire-suppression systems are “big ticket” expenses that will hit us all at once. We’re trusting God to provide the resources, and He will, in His good time. But, this is also an opportunity for you to be a part of His provision, by praying and investing in this ministry.

Well, that’s it for this time. We’ll keep you posted.

Robbie & Jim Edgren