2012-12-16 Cook's Short Order Update

We have been working for a couple weeks (among other critical things) on a different email format. We hope to send it out this week. We appreciate your patience as we get this new format wrapped up.

2012-11-27 Short Order Update

Cook's Short Order Update
Finally, a few moments to write an update.

Thanks giving. Giving thanks. Time with family and friends. We enjoyed a feast with our staff (and some additional family and friends) at Camp David of the Ozarks. Later that evening we helped serve a feast of thanks and worship and food at our church. Saturday was just our family, just the six of us helping prepare the meal, making the house look warm and homey, sharing the day as family.

While we are being stretched in ways that are uncomfortable to painful, God has shown Himself to care for us abundantly. Seeing God's care is where we want to find ourselves, even in the discomfort.

Please pray as we minister this weekend in Rolla. The city is hosting a parade and Camp David of the Ozarks will be in it. What a great time to share in the community.

We rarely ask you directly for anything but maybe that's wrong. If we don't ask, you won't know our needs. So, let me share some things and ask you to pray diligently that God will supply.

We are currently at 22% of our needed monthly living expenses. Bruce is seeking part time jobs that allow us the flexibility to serve at camp during retreats and take trips for recruiting and fund raising, Please pray that we will find work that alleviates our financial burden. While we are thankful, the substitute bus driving is not very substantial.

Michelle is seeking to start a business producing homemade crafts and such. While we are not counting on this for living expenses, it could help when things are very tight. Pray for God's blessing as we plan.

Please know that when God graciously supplies our support need we will budget for these things just like anyone else. In the mean time, we believe our God will meet these needs through people who can't support us on a monthly basis.

We hope you won't see any of this as complaining. God has been so good to us. We have a warm home, we have free heat (takes some work getting the wood cut and stacked), we have food, we have a vehicle that runs great, our kids are serving God joyfully. We are able to obey our Savior because we love Him.

Thank you, each of you who gives and prays, for being so faithful to us through our 3 years of full time ministry. We love you.

Bruce Cook

Staff Ministries Director

Camp David of the Ozarks

573.364.2786

For Michelle (my best friend), Bryan (22), Nate (20), Caleb (17), Kaitie (13), Seth (10)

Find out more at

www.campdavidozarks.org

2012-11-07 Cook's Short Order Update

There we were, in the emergency room, wondering, "How are we going to pay for this?"

Our support raising trip has been exciting. Several hours from our first stop in West Virginia our van electronics quit. It's quite noticeable while you are climbing a steep hill, cruise is on, CD is playing, and all of this quits. We shut everything down and nervously proceeded. A few hills later it happened again, only this time, the engine died as well. 70mph, full van, no power steering... I put the van in neutral and restarted it. It worked! So, what's going on? We will make it?

We sent out a request for you all to pray. You did. Praise the Lord for technology! God provided and we made it safely to Mount Tabor Baptist Church, Beckley, WV. We shared our burden for serving with Camp David of the Ozarks and rested Sunday afternoon. After the evening service we visited with some friends, ate way too much and came back to the church apartment.

For no apparent reason I began coughing (heavy upper respiratory congestion) and itching in my hands. My hands and feet began swelling quickly. This has NEVER happened before so we decided to seek medical attention. I was given allergy medications and steroids and sent home. By Monday morning the swelling was mostly down. But the van was still being really cranky.

It turns out that one of the bolts on the battery cables was stripped. Replaced that and Chevy Astro seems to be happy.

I am spending most of Tuesday and Wednesday hanging out at Appalachian Bible College visiting with students. Pray that God will send us (CDO) many great young people to serve as counselors next summer.

We spend the evening with Bryan last night, sharing our ministry in Fellowship Bible Church tonight, enjoying WV Thursday, heading to Indiana on Friday, sharing our ministry in Pine Ridge Bible Church Sunday and World Missionary Press on Tuesday.

Happy Birthday to our middle child, Caleb. He turned 17 on our way here. We celebrated his life by attacking him with silly string and a cookie cake in the van. We love you, Caleb!!!

Thank you for being faithful pray-ers,

Bruce Cook

Staff Ministries Director

Camp David of the Ozarks

573.364.2786

Michelle (my beautiful best friend), Bryan (22), Nate (20), Caleb (17), Kaitie (13), Seth (10)

Find out more at

www.campdavidozarks.org

Special Update - 2012-11-01

We are sending this as a special request for prayer. We are leaving for West Virginia Saturday, God willing, but have a small mountain of stuff to accomplish for this trip to be worthwhile. Will you pray that God will give us efficient thinking, and help us discern what is really important in the next 2 days?

Thank you for partnering with us,

Bruce for Michelle, Nate, Caleb, Kaitie, Seth

Short Order Update - 2012-10-29

The Pizza Inn fundraiser last Monday was a great success. Our (Camp David of the Ozarks) goal was to purchase 64 chairs for the Dining Hall/Chapel. God was gracious and He raised enough money for us to purchase 96 chairs! So grateful for the guests who ate at Pizza Inn and the 25+ volunteers that made it possible.

We are preparing for a two-week support raising trip. So much to do.
Prayer Card update. Check. Getting those tomorrow! Excited to get this new one out. We think you'll like it.
Prayer Letter - working on that. Some new things; we hope you enjoy it. Hopefully getting this out before we take off for WV.
Furnace fixed to keep house from freezing. Check. Using the advice from a friend at church we should be able to have this keep our pipes warm while we are gone. Wood heat has its disadvantages.
Oil for furnace - working on that tomorrow.
Redesign Display table - working on that tomorrow and the rest of the week.
Design new church presentation - working on that all week.
Pack - let's not go there... 
Finalize travel plans and dates to be where we think we are supposed to be - working on that.
Prep van for 2500 miles - working on that this week.

Help with Kidfest in our church this Wednesday - outreach to community during Halloween activities. 

Will you pray for us as we head out this Saturday? God has called us to serve with Camp David of the Ozarks, to reach children of prisoners with the hope that Jesus gives. Will you pray that God will help us serve Him well on this trip?

We have a number of churches lined up for this trip:

11-04 am - Mount Tabor Baptist Church, WV

11-04 pm - pending

11-07 pm - Fellowship Bible Church, WV

11-11 am - Pine Ridge Bible Church, IN

11-11 pm - pending

11-13 am - Presentation at World Missionary Press, IN

If you know of a church/family/home group that would be interested in our ministry to children of prisoners in Missouri, please let us know. We need many faithful prayer warriors to carry on this ministry.

Thank you for being faithful with us,

Bruce

Staff Ministries Director

Camp David of the Ozarks

573.364.2786

Michelle (my best friend), Bryan (22), Nate (20), Caleb (16), Kaitie (13), Seth (10)

Cook's Short Order Update - 2012-10-24

What a super weekend. 14 teens and young adults converged at Camp David of the Ozarks to be challenged to identify the "One Thing" that is holding them back from moving forward for God. Through group Bible Study, small group Bible Study, personal Bible Study, personal solo times, group challenges, worship, prayer, intentional planning, our prayer was for these teens and the full time staff to grow and change. The focus was on changing any thought pattern that does not line up with God's Word and developing a SMART plan for success. God blessed us with a beautiful weekend for this event.

We have a number of churches lined up for November.

11-04 am - Mount Tabor Baptist Church, WV
11-04 pm - pending
11-07 pm - Fellowship Bible Church, WV
11-11 am - Pine Ridge Bible Church, IN
11-11 pm - pending
11-12 am - potential presentation

We are working on a new prayer letter and hope to have it out the first of November. We are also working on updating our prayer card. We hope to have both of these out to your mailbox the first week of November.

We spent Monday afternoon and evening at Pizza Inn in Rolla, MO. More than 25 volunteers served for the benefit of Camp David of the Ozarks, to make guests of Pizza Inn feel welcome, special, and experience God's grace, while also raising funds for new chairs for camp. "Thanks!" to all who gave much time and energy to make this event happen.

If you know of a church/family/home group that would be interested in our ministry to children of prisoners in Missouri, please let us know. We need many faithful prayer warriors to carry on this ministry.

Thank you for being faithful with us.

Bruce, Michelle (my lovely best friend), Bryan (22), Nate (20), Caleb (16), Kaitie (13), Seth (10)

Cook's Short Order Update 2012-20-08

There is frost on the ground and the wood furnace is pushing warm air through the house. Summer appears to be over. But that does not mean an empty schedule. Far from it, as we hit the road to recruit staff, raise our support, and plan for retreats and next summer.

We will be in West Virginia and Indiana during the first and middle of November. Would you pray that:

1. God will keep us alert on the road

2. Help us see opportunities to share His love

3. God will bring in support quickly
4. God will help us find great young people for next summer

In a couple weeks Camp David is hosting its first October Advance. So often we have events at camp, we get charged, we go home, we resume our routine. The drive for this event is to find one fundamental thing in our lives that is not submitted to God and invite Him in to that area. Pray for us as we plan for this impacting time, October 19-21.

If you know of a church/family/home group that would be interested in our ministry to children of prisoners in Missouri, please let us know. We need many faithful prayer warriors to carry on this ministry.

Thank you for being faithful with us,

Bruce

Staff Ministries Director

Camp David of the Ozarks

573.364.2786

Michelle (my best friend), Bryan (22), Nate (20), Caleb (16), Kaitie (13), Seth (10)