A Fruitful Fall

I can't believe that summer has come and gone! It was an amazing 6 weeks of camp for our family. The best to date! This year I was able to serve as camp nurse, giving me hands on experience with the ministry of Eagle Bay. I have fallen passionately in love for the work here that we have been called to do. It is an amazing and exciting ministry, with many obstacles and huge blessings! Being able to build a deep relationship with the staff and campers was incredible. I loved all those great teens that served with us this summer and the amazing kids that came to camp. We were so thankful to see campers having an amazing "camp" experience but most importantly to see many of them put their trust in Christ. We are blessed to have such an incredible job!
On another note, Jon and I have huge responsibilities when it comes to raising funds for camp. It sometimes can be challenging and discouraging. We face fear at times that without enough support that we would eventually loose this incredible opportunity to serve the kids in the interlake. We are driven to pray feverently and our dependance on Christ is often tested through these times. We are however encouraged that many of our friends and family members have committed monthly to the support of the camp and our family. We are so grateful to all of you who have made this ministry a priority in your own lives. Your gifts are so very appreciated and we are so very thankful to all of you.
As I write, Jon is off to British Columbua. He just finished driving 20 hours alone and I just heard of his safe arrival. Please pray that he gains knowledge and wisdom as he attends the conference, that he enjoys some time of rest and that he will return home safely on friday. Pray for Aaron and Thesalee as they run camp this week.

Today I sat for a few minutes to ponder the summer and I am encouraged by the amount of kids that God has let us minister to. There were over 120 kids for our resident camp program and we have close to sixty more in our new day camp program. God graced us with safety this summer. We had very few accidents, and almost none involved campers.

God also gave us a great staff this summer. There was a small group from the Montreal area. They came a week before the campers to help finish the theme decorations and film a skit for the kids. We also had a great time bonding together as a team. It never got really hot this summer, and we had a bit of rain, but God blessed us through it all.

The first week of camp was almost perfect, the campers were well behaved and all of the activities ran smoothly. Chapel went great and the kids seem interested in what was said. There were a few first time professions of faith the first week. The second week was good as well, we had a couple of discipline problems, and it was a little harder to get the campers settled down for chapel, but all in all another successful week as we had a few more professions of faith. The third week, however, started out rough and only got worse. Chad and I felt that our whole week was consumed with discipline problems. We went from one camper to the next trying to get them to simply join their group. If we weren’t doing that we were breaking up fights or dealing with sick campers. We had no idea of why all these kids decided to act up at the same time. Luckily for us my wife Nicole has been here all summer taking care of the camper’s medications and doing our camp nursing, and we have had two lovely ladies doing all of our cooking for us. We also had a guest speaker who did an excellent job. After all was said and done I figured that we would just call that week a bust and move on, but God had other plans. Out of the ashes of what could have been a blown week I found out that we had more first time professions of faith than the first two weeks combined. Isn’t it amazing that God works miracles when we are at our worst. I don’t even know if you would call it a miracle. Things like that are just what God does. Week four was like week one. We had older campers that week ages 12-14. It was a blast. Chad and I got to shoot fireworks off the top of the climbing wall, what a blast…. (Sorry, that was lame). The kids were able to grasp some deeper concepts and had a much longer attention span. At first we were worried that they wouldn’t participate in the activities or games, but we couldn’t have been more wrong! They jumped into camp with great zeal. We played games and sang and had a great time. Several more campers accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

This summer’s journey has been amazing for me. That brings me to why I am writing to you. SCA Eagle Bay is in serious financial straights. I have written before about the loss of most of our support base, and how the addition of me to the staff has burdened the budget. To this point we have been able to rely on a surplus in the budget to make ends meet. Unfortunately, we have had to make several repairs and upgrades recently that have dried up that surplus. We have also been neglecting preventative maintenance to keep our spending down and I fear that will become apparent all too soon. I am asking that you prayerfully consider joining us in reaching the children of the Interlake area whether they are on reserves or farms or in small towns. If things continue the way they are going we will be facing a $23,000.00 budget deficit by the end of the year. This deficit is due solely to the addition of my salary. To give to SCA Eagle Bay or to support Jonathan and Nicole Welch go to www.scainternational.org or give me a call at 204-449-2293

Dear Friends, April 2009
The date says “spring” but the thermometer is still in “winter.” Yes, we are still dealing with snow and cold temperatures. But summer’s coming!SCA Eagle Bay Ministry Centre & Camp had two great Snow Camps this winter. There were new and returning campers from the summer. And plenty of snow to play in. Chad Bruneski (Associate Director) and I have been very busy with summer preparation for camp as well as attending various conferences. Twice we have been to Winnipeg to set up a booth for SCA at Missionfest in February and then Promise Keepers in March. We attended the annual general meeting for the Manitoba Camping Association and the Spring Forum for Christian Camping International. I spent 10 days in Toronto at the end of January to meet with other Ministry Centre directors for our annual conference. So we have been busy as you can see.However, though God is blessing us with encouragement, we are still battling several concerns that require prayer. There is ongoing opposition from many people that want to see this camp fail. These people come under the guise of innocent accountability, but their true motivation is vengeance. Please pray that God will protect the camp and us from their slander.On another note, there has been some confusion regarding our financial situation. SCA Eagle Bay has a surplus at this time and is healthy financially. However, I personally am feeling guilty for not pulling my weight in drumming up support. In the past, SCA missionaries were required to have at least 80% of their support raised prior to beginning work. Due to the extraordinary circumstances when I was hired, that requirement was waived. I am receiving my full salary but it is taking a toll on the camp’s operational budget as I have only raised around 15% of that salary. I am asking those of you who are receiving this letter to pray about supporting us in an ongoing manner. God is providing for all of our needs and blessing us amazingly. By supporting us you will be freeing up assets at SCA Eagle Bay to go toward upkeep and new development at the camp, and most of all, new programs for the kids we serve. If you are already giving, I thank you with all of my heart for supporting us in the work of Christ.May
God bless you.

Here is a direct link to donate to SCA-please specify that you would like your donation to be designated to Jonathan and Nicole Welch

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=d9912

Jonathan M. Welch
Director SCA Eagle Bay Ministry Centre & Camp

In Response to a Legacy

The other night I watched a video about the life of Billy Graham and about the legacy he has built. Part of me would love to have that type of legacy. Fiery preaching in front of millions of people. How cool would that be? But then I contrast that with a video that my own Granfather gave me this christmas. A video that he put together with some help of people at his church. I am reminded that my Grandfather's legacy means more to me than that of any great evangelist. Why? Because this man's legacy is me. If it were not for my grandfather's faithful life of prayer and following Jesus Christ I would not be who I am today. My Grandfather raised my father to love Jesus and in turn my father raised me in a faith that was grounded in scripture and focused on a loving God. I also know that this Man of faith that my children call "Opa" has spent much of his life in prayer for me. He has prayed for me in tough times and prayed for me in good times. He even prays for me when life is not going well for him. Opa has told me that he looks forward to the day when he will be in glory with his savior, but he also has said that as long as God keeps him on this earth even if he can do nothing else he will pray. What a legacy to have. So many people owe a great big thanks to Opa for his years of unselfish service for Christ and for his prayers on their behalf, but you will never see him asking for thanks. Opa sees prayer as his duty; like a soldier doing his job. The only difference is that Opa enjoys talking with his heavenly father. I have felt that prayer and I know that God has used Opa's prayer in my life. Now that I have children I know how important Opa's legacy is and I plan to continue it in my life and in the life of my children. Thank-you Opa for lifting myself and my family before the Lord of all creation in prayer.