Worth it All
August 3, 2021
Have you ever worked very hard at something – an endeavor that deeply mattered – and nothing seemed to go as planned? You adjusted, pivoted, regrouped, refocused, and tenaciously kept at it because you knew that it just had to get done. After all the work, and with things in place, things changed yet again, and you adjusted once more. And then – finally – what you were to trying to achieve came to fruition, and because it mattered so much you were able to say with satisfaction that it was WORTH IT ALL.
That’s how the summer of 2021 feels to me. Our Mount Hermon staff team met for months-upon-months to do what it took to get camp open for summer. We adjusted, pivoted, regrouped, and tenaciously kept at it because we knew that the result would be WORTH IT ALL.
The first day of Family Camp was Sunday, June 13. It was so good to see families on the Meadow, kids jumping in the bounce house, little ones having their faces painted, summer staff dancing on the stage, meals being shared, friends and family reconnecting. We began the week by eating our meals outside and wearing masks when gathered together due to Covid restrictions. And then – two days later – all of that changed. We could now eat inside. Masks were mostly off. Campers didn’t need to be pre-tested before arrival. All of that work, those hundreds-upon-hundreds of hours logged to figure out how to pull off camp, were mostly no longer needed. And then came Friday night when person-after-person shared at Victory Circle how God had touched their life that first week, and we were reminded that it was WORTH IT ALL.
As the summer has progressed we have seen God work powerfully in the lives of so many people of all ages. Parents needed desperately to take a safe and meaningful vacation with their children. Teenagers needed to connect with other teenagers without staring at a screen. Children needed to laugh and enjoy their counselors after being cooped up at home and away from their school classrooms for a year. And adults needed to get refreshed and renewed by Jesus in the majestic beauty of the redwoods. All that work was WORTH IT ALL.
And – most importantly – numerous people of various ages gave their lives to Jesus Christ this summer. People’s eternal destiny have been changed due to a week at Mount Hermon!!! This is the unmistakable work of a loving God who reaches out to sinners and provides the free gift of salvation and eternal life. My simple conclusion about all the work that was put in was that it was WORTH IT ALL.
I am deeply grateful to a lot of people who worked incredibly hard to have the doors of Mount Hermon open this summer. Thank you to my staff executive team of Bryan Hayes, Bill Fernald, Jeremy Bentley, Nate Pfefferkorn, and J.R. Loofbourrow, who worked long and hard to see this summer come to be. Thank you to the thirty-eight staff who remained from the pre-COVID staff (over 300) who kept the grounds, facilities, vehicles, accounting, Adventure Recreation and virtual ministry going. Thank you to our Board of Directors and Trustees who provided wise and godly counsel each step of the way. To you all I want to say, it was WORTH IT ALL.
I want to thank you – our faithful Mount Hermon donors – who gave generously and sacrificially to proportions never seen before. Your prayers, encouragement, notes, phone calls and tangible support not only helped us survive a crisis but are allowing us to thrive on the other side. I cannot put into words the depth of our gratitude to you. In case you might be wondering, I want you to know that your sacrifice was WORTH IT ALL.
And most of all I want to thank the Lord, our protector, sustainer, and provider. Mount Hermon is Your place, and it is our honor to serve You and support this, Your work. To You, Lord, I say, on behalf of us all, You are WORTH IT ALL.
To God be the glory, great things He has done!
