Three Springs Ministries had a great camp summer! God was faithful again to bring so many young people to us to hear and experience Him at summer camp. The highlight for me was planning and leading a backpacking wilderness trip to Wyoming with 14 other teens and young adults. What a beautiful part of the country that I had never seen. We were awed by God's creation through the sights of the Rocky Mountains and also some wildlife that we normally don't get to see. We praise the Lord for the safety and times of learning together of our Creator and Savior.
The fall season for us at the Inn is crazy! It starts at the end of August and will stop briefly after this weekend. I looked back at our calendar, and we had 20 different groups retreat with us during that three and a half months! Many of the groups were back-to-back with less than 24 hours to re-group for the next, but with God's strength it seemed to go very smoothly. It's hard to believe that we are just about to the end and ready for a 2-week Christmas break. We will be heading back to S.C. for a very much-needed time away with family and friends.
During that busy time this fall, we also had a very important date on our family calendar. Evelyn Claire Rickert was born to us September 30th! God really answered prayers in that we were able to go in for a scheduled delivery on that Sunday. Kathryn's mom came up to be with the kids while we were at the hospital, and Kathryn did a great job during the labor and delivery. Evelyn was just over 7 pounds, and both Mom and baby did fine. There were some questions during this pregnancy about the development of the baby due to some unique circumstances. This resulted in numerous moniterings and ultasounds, but Evelyn has been very healthy and a wonderful blessing to our family! Her siblings can't get enough of her!
This is the year for our bi-annual Live Nativity at Three Springs which is the big event of the season. With about 150 people involved, 12 productions, and 1,000+ people who come through, you can imagine it's a lot of work. The farm turns into a life-like reproduction of Bethleham complete with animals, Roman soldiers, shepherds and a very special young couple who will become parents to a very special baby. This free drama has had great success in years past and we are praying that God opens the hearts of all those who come through, especially those who may be hearing and experiencing the Gospel message for the first time. Just today, Nate and I picked up two donkeys, three sheep and two alpacas that will be part of the drama.
Tomorrow the camel will arrive, ready to make it's first acting debut! We are all looking forward to this weekend! We will be housing people at the inn, who will be coming from afar for the drama. At least WE still have a few rooms available at our inn (Ha Ha).
We trust that you will not lose sight of the true meaning of the season as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas from all of the Rickerts!
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