Rosie's 18th Birthday in Western Colorado

Rose turned 18 while we were gone over the weekend to the Western Colorado Holiness Campmeeting.

We'd been planning to go for months, especially after being invited to stay at Ranch Haven where there was an extra apartment at the end of the main ranch house.

The Saylers felt God leading them to renovate this ranch into a retreat for missionaries and a place for conservative holiness youth camps and camp meetings.

Sunday morning Danny and Hannah went creeping around looking for new birds that they enter into their detailed notebooks of birds. Behind them is a huge apricot tree that is dropping ripe apricots, 

drawing a mama dear with her fawn that morning.

We enjoyed the messages by Mark Cravens, the singing of Jerald and Becky Glick, and most of all the fellowship of so many friends there. 

What a blessing to again get to visit with Nathan and Amy Bryant, who have just accepted the call to minister in Gallup, NM, where Jonathan has gone on at least two or three Mission Helps trips when Dennis Gardner was there, who has since passed away. There is a lot of excitement about the Bryants accepting that call.

Carrie was convinced to borrow a violin of Katie Sayler's, and to play with the musical instruments for the services. This was in the morning service.

The two made great friends. Here they are getting ready before the afternoon service.

Some of the kids there got together in between services to play a game.

The afternoon service was the final service of camp so that different ones who travel in from a distance can get home.

We got a family picture for our 25th anniversary, (which is at the top of this blog) and the children sat around on the ranch house deck visiting and eating snacks later that evening.

Views from the ranch.

Exploring the ranch

This was the bed for Jonathan and me upstairs. There were beds for exactly nine upstairs, and we got to sleep under these antlers!

Across the way were the old stables which have been renovated into the most charming dorm rooms with rustic cabin decor.

This room is "Moose Lodge," so of course it is decorated with moose decor.

There were Pine, Deer, Bear, and this room is Mountain View.  Jonathan is capturing a photo of a HUGE moth. We couldn't get over the amazing creativity this family has used in literally transforming a Colorado ranch into a place with countless possibilities.

An unfinished mural on one of the walls.

The huge old barn is being used for a tabernacle.

The "prophet's chamber," for the speaker or evangelist for events.

I needed a little quiet time while others visited, and I slipped away to see and get snaps of the amazing sunset in western Colorado.

Through the split rail fence

When you turned around, this is what was behind you.

While the children who enjoy music played indoors, the dads and a couple boys sat around a little campfire and visited.