January 2026

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It has been a few months since we have provided an update on the goings-on here in West Michigan, so let's get started...

Released Time

BRRRR!!!! It's been a VERY cold January so far with lots of negative windchill temps and many school closings. We had an entire week off of school last week due to the Martin Luther King holiday and four consecutive snow days. As I write this, we are again experiencing a snow day and finding ourselves in need of rescheduling classes! Despite the challenges, we are grateful for the open doors we are given through the Released Time education laws in Michigan that allow us to do what we do!

Students who participate in our Released Time program can earn "Camp Cash" which gives discounts towards our own Day Camps and Adventure Camps, as well as discounts with our local camp partners. We already have a few Released Time students that have earned their first "Camp Cash" coupon and have signed up for our camps this summer (see below). Maybe that's one benefit of the cold weather - it gets us excited for summer camp!!

Starting this fall, we are planning to add after-school Bible clubs here in West Michigan! It has been difficult to get traction with the Released Time format, and we believe adding a weekly after-school option may be more appealing to families who do not wish to send their kids off-campus during the school day. Please pray with us as we lay the groundwork for this in the fall. We will need more staffing, and more funding to rent the classroom space.

Book Clubs

Over Christmas break, our bookworms read Sweep by Jonathan Auxier. We learned about sacrifice, friendship, and living a life of purpose through caring for others. One of the characters, Toby, was trying to encourage his orphaned friend Nan who had said she was just trying to get by and stay alive. His response highlighted a main theme of the book:

“Keeping alive isn’t enough. You have to live for something. You need purpose.” - Toby Squall

We expanded upon that theme and learned that, as Christians, we have a purpose that is tied up in the great commission which tells us to go into all the world and make disciples. It's not just enough to "stay alive" - we need to live as people who have been given purpose by our Creator.

Next up: Pax by Sara Pennypacker

Mail-based Lessons

It has been a while since we have given an update on our mail-based lessons. We recently have seen an increase in the number of students participating in this facet of our ministry thanks to a new volunteer who has taken this on and has given it a great deal more focus than we were able to. We have approx 10 students who are now faithful participants, and a slew of others who have just recently signed up!

The lessons we use are graciously provided by a ministry called Bible Educational Services and are available from Pre-School all the way through adults. For students, we provide "Camp Cash" coupons for every three lessons returned. If you or someone you know might be interested in being a part of our program, you can visit www.cbmwmi.org/bibletimereg

Summer Ministry

We opened our summer camp registrations on January 1st, and have already had numerous signups! We are planning two day camps (one elementary, one jr. high) and an adventure camp for students 3rd-8th grade. This year, we will have two volunteers who were themselves campers in our programs! It is so rewarding to see students who "give back" to the ministry! Very soon, we will begin our planning cycles for these camps - pray for wisdom as we decide upon themes and creative ways to draw in these students and present to them a life-changing gospel message!

Camp dates this year are as follows:

Adventure Camp : Jun 28 - July 1

Jr. High Day Camp : July 13 - 17

Elementary Day Camp: July 27 - 31

More information and signups are at www.cbmwmi.org/camps

Dollar-a-Day Challenge

For those who haven't heard, we are starting a fund-raising campaign to help with our ministry expenses this year. This is NOT for our personal support, it is for the ministry itself. If you'd like to help us in this way, please visit www.continuetogive.com/cbmprojectmichigan

Here's a few more details from our flier...

We also keep our Amazon Wish List updated for those who like to contribute towads specific ministry needs. Scan the QR code below (or click here) to help in that way...

Event Calendar

(ongoing) Released Time classes

Feb. 19 : Book Club

March 8-11 : CBM Directors Conference

March 13,14 : Church Ministries Conference

March 19 : Book Club

April 16 : Book Club year-end party

April 30 : Released Time classes end for the school year

June 28 - July 3 : Adventure Camp

July 13 - 17 : Jr. High Day Camp

July 27 - 31 : Elementary Day Camp

Personal Updates

Life is good! We feel so incredibly blessed with the family God has given to us.

Much of our newsletter is focused around the ministry, but we wanted to include just a few quick snippets of what is going on in our lives and the lives of our kids (and grandkids!)

We are working on a few big projects around the house. We are converting a small closet into a pantry, so that we can move our existing pantry unit out of the kitchen. The space where it now sits will be the place where we move the fridge to, and THAT space will hopefully become more counter space down the road :) We are also finishing off some areas in our basement for some potential temporary "house guests" in the spring - which segues into....

Brandon and Nayab are moving east! They would like to be in Michigan, and Brandon already started interviewing for church ministry positions. Nayab is also interviewing for a fully-remote position using her biblical counseling skills. Their plan is to move at the end of May. Both have enjoyed their time in Denver, but also look forward to being closer to family.

Cameron and Tori are expecting their third son in late April. The pregnancy is progressing well. They moved to Norton Shores last year and are enjoying their new home. Cameron is working for EV Construction and enjoys doing some updates on his own home in the evenings. Cayde and Solomon are loving the large space, especially the finished basement Cameron has created for them!

William and Emily are also living in Norton Shores. William's on-site training as an air traffic controller in Muskegon has ended, and he is now a full-fledged controller! William enjoys cooking, and has blessed us many times with food prepared on his smoker which we are more than happy to provide space for while they are living in their apartment. Emily is still working as an interior designer in Grand Rapids and enjoying her job. She is preparing for a major certification test in April and has spent many hours getting ready!

Justin and Fallyn are living in Pennsylvania, and are both very involved in the camp where they met (and where we served). Eliana is now crawling and growing like a weed. We had an opportunity to help them with an overnight winter camp a few weeks back and really enjoyed our time together. Justin is looking for work in his field, and is currently working on a few freelance film jobs.

We had the WHOLE CLAN here at Thanksgiving and got a chance to have a more formal family photo taken. We are grateful to Katie Wolfis for her expertise behind the lens!