Jared & Kim

Meidal Baby #3...

2012-01-09T09:52:00.000-08:00

Aswe havebeenprayingoverthelastfewmonthsaboutthefutureofourfamily,Godhasledustothedecisiontohaveanotherchild...butthistimethroughadoption!

Eversinceourbeginningofourmarriage,wehaveoftentalkedaboutadoptingatleastoneofourchildren. Now,sincewealreadyhavetwoofourownandwe'renotsureifwewantmorethanthreekids,weknewweneededtobeseekingtheLord'swillmorethaneveronthisissue. GodhasmadeitclearinourheartsthatHehascalledustopursueadoptionwithournextchild,specificallyadoptionthroughthefostercaresystem.

Thereare63,000childreninthefostercaresysteminCalifornia,with12,150childrenwaitingforadoptivefamilies.Wecan'tthinkofabetterwayforourfamilytopracticallyliveoutChrist'sredemptionandlovethantorescueoneoftheselittleonesfromanabusiveorunsafefamilysituation,orachildhoodconsistingofmovingfromfosterhometofosterhome. God hasblessedussothatwecanblessothers!We have several friends and family who have chosen this route for atleast one of their children, and they have been huge examples to us. It is comforting to know we will have their encouragement and supportduring this time.

We have chosen a foster care agency and have begun the process to get certified as foster parents. Our goal is to have our certification completed (or at least most of it) by June. Since our summers can be unpredictable and crazy, we are going to wait until August to receive a baby. We are requesting an infant, as young as possible, boy or girl, any race.

Once ababygetsplacedinourhome,therollercoasterridebegins!Itcantakeayearorlongerfortheadoptiontobefinalized,andduringthattimethepossibilityexiststhatparentalrightswillberestoredtooneorbothofthebirthparents,andthechildwouldleaveourhome. Weareveryawareoftheemotionalriskwearetaking,andIdon'tthinkthereisanywaytobepreparedinadvancetodealwiththeseemotions.BUTGODhasgivenusthisamazing,encouragingpromiseinIsaiah58:7-12:

"Isit not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poorwanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Thenyour light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing willquickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
andthe glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then youwill call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and hewill say: Here am I.

...ifyou spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needsof the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
andyour night will become like the noonday.
The LORD will guide youalways;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
andwill strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-wateredgarden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your peoplewill rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-oldfoundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorerof Streets with Dwellings."

Wecantrustthat,becauseweareobeyinghiscommandtoloveandprovidefortheneedy,Hewillbeourguidethroughalltheupsanddowns. Weshouldbefarmoreafraidofnotobeyinghiscallthanofwhatmighthappenifwedoobey! We are excited to see how God is going to work in our lives through this process.

Weare so blessed to have family and friends who support us in so many ways. We ask that you will be praying for us, the child who will be placed in our home, and the child's birth parents over the coming months. Our heart's desire is that God be glorified!

THANKFUL.

2011-11-21T08:21:00.001-08:00

Something we do not do enough (although we think it all the time!) is to thank all of our faithful supporters. As we complete our sixth year of ministry with World Impact at The Oaks, God continues to confirm our calling to remain steadfast in this exciting area of ministry to the urban poor. Part of his confirmation comes through our financial support--our support level has risen over the last couple of years to be consistently at 80-100%. THANK YOU to those of you who give so regularly and generously to our support. Not only is your financial support a huge help in our day-to-day lives, but it is an even bigger encouragement to our hearts.

Our last five years of ministry here have been full of exhilarating joys (what can be more exciting than seeing God transform lives before our very eyes?) and tremendous challenges (camp ministry demands much energy and time!). But through all of these joys and challenges YOU have been there for us! In our most difficult, tired moments, we have received our monthly financial statements with so many of your names on them, and we are reminded of the beautiful fact that...we are not in this alone--it is a team effort!

Over the last year Jared and some other leaders of The Oaks have been working to revise our camp mission statement. They came up with something that sums up very concisely what we aim to do here:

Changing lives.
Impacting communities.
Pursuing God's heart for the poor.

If you are our supporter, prayer warrior, family member, and/or friend (many of you are all of the above), then you are a part of this very mission. Your prayers, support, and love are vital to the work God is doing here.

Thank you!

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you...because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:3-4)

In July, August, and September 2011....

2011-09-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

God once again used The Oaks' summer camps to change MANY lives!
We had an awesome group of summer staff who set a high standard and served sacrificially.
The Oaks celebrated 25 years of ministry!
The Andrews Family, from our home church in Winona Lake, Indiana, spent a week volunteering and serving their hearts out! It was so fun to have all five of them here.
We added another LIT (Leader in Training) to our adopted family: Shelley!
We had tons of fun with our adopted LIT's this summer. Our two oldest daughters, Tatiana and Victoria, graduated from the program after working hard for three years. We're sad to see them leave, but excited to see how God will use them. Micah still talks about how much he loves "Tati, Shelley, and 'Toria!"
After the summer, we spent ten days in Washington visiting Jared's family...being away from camp and with family encouraged our hearts and blessed us beyond measure!
Several weekends of family camps were held at The Oaks in August and September...allowing more urban families the chance to get away and spend family time together.
We spent a week at the beach for our own family retreat.
Micah turned three and is now officially a "big boy."

summer staff commissioning service

Our LIT adopted family

Tatiana, me, and Victoria at the LIT graduation

Micah and Joey enjoyed our weekly camp carnivals...and of course the sno-cones!

Heidi (Kim's summer staff prayer partner) and Joey

the three boys enjoying some of NW Washington's beautiful wilderness!

our beach bums looking bummy

Summer Camp Countdown...

2011-06-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

In one week, we will have dozens of little first through third graders traipsing around camp...learning about Jesus, trying new adventures, and having tons of fun!

Some of our 1st-3rd grade campers from last summer.

As our summer staff have been arriving over the last month, we have been overwhelmed by God's provision of such an awesome group! Going into another summer facing program leadership transitions, we knew it was going to be important to have a summer staff who are solid, focused, and somewhat low-maintenance. The Lord has blessed us with above and beyond what we had asked...each of our staff are highly motivated people with great leadership potential and, most importantly, a deep love for the Lord. We are so excited to see how God is going to use them this summer and how He is going to work in each of the campers' lives. Last week they all spent a week at the World Impact ministry center in Fresno, gaining some experience in urban life and leading sports camps in several local parks.

A few of our summer staff in action at a park in inner-city Fresno.

A little boy and his dad at one of the sports camps our summer staff put on in Fresno.

Our theme for the summer is "ROOTED," based on the parable of the sower in Luke 8:4-15.

"Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." (Luke 8:7-15)

In talking with World Impact staff in other cities, we've learned that one challenge that inner-city Christians face is keeping themselves rooted in their faith. Although they may have a desire to grow deeper in their relationship with the Lord, they are often surrounded by influences and "thorns" that pull them the opposite way, choking their faith and keeping them stagnant.

Please join us in praying for each week of camp--that the hearts of all of our campers would be as good soil, which "hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop" (Luke 8:15).

God has placed many of our campers in strategic positions in which to share His love to the poor and needy. Our prayer is that they will be rooted so much so that His light shines through them, yielding a crop of new Christians in the inner-city, "a hundred times more than was sown!"

June 28-July 1: 1st-3rd Grade Camp

July 3-8: 4th-6th Grade Camp

July 10-15: 4th-6th Grade Camp

July 17-22: Junior High Camp

July 24-29: Senior High Camp

Consider Creation.

2011-05-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

(Romans 1:20)

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world.

(Psalm 19:1-4)

Outdoor Ed season is here at The Oaks! As Jared focuses on teaching the kids some pretty interesting things about our little corner of Creation, we wanted to share a few of them with you.

Read, thank Him, laugh at the humorous details of these creatures, acknowledge His fingerprints all over them, and let yourself be amazed by Him.

The Tarantula Hawk

Yes, we have tarantulas here at The Oaks. I actually don't mind them--after all, they don't pose any kind of threat to humans. But I do have a problem with these interesting, creepy wasps. They sometimes swarm toward me while I'm running, and twice we've even had them in our house (although thankfully they haven't been as large as the one in the photo to the right)! Not only do they have one of the most painful stings of any insect, but the type of life God has chosen for these wasps is strange, to say the least.

The female tarantula hawk preys on female tarantulas. She captures, stings, and paralyzes the spider, then either drags the spider back into her own burrow or transports her prey to a specially prepared nest where a single egg is laid on the spider’s body, and the entrance is covered. When the wasp larva hatches, it rips a small hole in the spider's abdomen, then plunges into the spider's belly and feeds voraciously, avoiding vital organs for as long as possible to keep it fresh. After several weeks, the larva pupates. Finally, the wasp becomes an adult, and tears open the spider's belly to get out. The wasp emerges from the nest to continue the life cycle.

Velvet Ants or "Cow Killers"

Sometimes we see these when we are out hiking on the trails. They look kind of like little red walking cotton balls. Although they look like fuzzy ants and are often called "velvet ants," they are actually not ants at all--they are in the wasp family. Jared has experienced their intensely painful sting a couple of times, which is supposedly strong enough to kill a cow! The ones we have seen have been about a half an inch long.

Jewl Beetles or "Fire Beetles"

These beetles are fascinating! We have yet to see them around here but we have heard about them from local firefighters. Instead of flying AWAY from wildfires, like most "normal" creatures do, these bugs fly straight toward the fires! In fact, their very existence depends on forest fires. The fire beetle breeds in and eats the bark of smoldering coniferous trees.

The fire beetle is equipped with super-sensitive receptors that help it to sense infrared radiation, allowing it to detect a forest fire from up to 50 miles away. As soon as a forest fire is detected, the beetle (along with swarms of other fire beetles) makes a bee-line for it. Once they arrive on the scene of the fire, the female uses her infrared detectors to find a still-smoldering tree in which to lay her eggs. The beetles don't have to worry about predators, since all other creatures are quick to flee the scene of the fire. They are also protected from tree sap and toxins which would normally harm them--since a burning tree is left defenseless.

Scientists are fascinated by these beetles and have been researching them for years in hopes of mimicking their infrared radiation detection for military and fire-detection purposes. Its interesting how humans can work so hard to try to "copy" elements of God's creation...and how effortlessly He created them!

Horned Lizard

I like to call these "miniature dinosaurs." They are so small and cute. But if they were large they would be quite scary! These are fairly common around The Oaks. The photo to the right is one that Jared found while on a hike with some campers last summer. The most distinctive attributes of these lizards is that when threatened, they inflate their bodies so as to look like spiny balloons. Or, as a last resort (campers think this is SO COOL), they will squirt blood out of the corners of their eyes for a distance of up to five feet. This confuses their predators and tastes bad to some of them. Of all the ways God could have chosen to protect the horned lizard from predators, this has got to be the most creative!

There are many other interesting things I could share about our "neck of the woods," but we don't want to scare you all away! I guess its true that many of the creatures here are not cute and cuddly...but they do reflect the awesome creativity of God, and should lead us to pursue a greater respect and awe of Him.

Short Update

Thanks for praying!

Our two newest full-time staff members, Robert and Dave, are moving here this month and will be filling our Youth Ministries and Adventure Director positions (respectively). We're so thankful for God's hand in guiding as these two men were interviewed and chosen for the positions.

Three more weeks of Outdoor Ed, and then...summer staff arrive! Almost all of our summer positions have been filled. Pray for Jared and the program team as they face another "transition summer" of having new staff overseeing the summer program. Pray for all the kids as they register for camp...for God to nudge the hearts of those kids He wants to come.

Please pray for wisdom as we try to balance family life and ministry. Spring and summer are always a difficult transition here in that there are always increasing demands and opportunities to serve...we often feel pulled in a thousand different directions! Pray for a healthy balance of working and resting, as well as spending time together.

We'll leave you with a couple of recent photos of Micah and Joey.

Since our last post…

2011-02-26T13:30:00.001-08:00

Since our last blog post, we have:

taken two trips to Indiana
connected with many family and friends from the Midwest
visited several colleges to recruit summer staff
celebrated Joey’s first birthday
hosted and programmed The Oaks’ annual Winter Camp with 330 teens
had two snowstorms at The Oaks (not including the one we’re having as I write this!)
celebrated Jared’s 30th birthday
hosted the Leaders In Training retreat
hosted the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches southwest focus retreat, including several friends and pastors we know from the Midwest and Southern California.
~~potty trained Micah~~ (Okay, we’re still working on that one. Hopefully we’ll have finished that up by our next post!)

And this is only a partial list! Phew. As you can see, things here just do not slow down in the winter. In spite of the busy-ness, we are SO THANKFUL to call this place our home and to be surrounded by such adventure and beauty. Seeing God at work in the lives of so many campers is such a privilege.

Here are some photos from the last couple of months.

Winter Camp:

And here are the Grace Brethren leaders playing human foosball:

One of our snowstorms (view taken from behind our apartment):

View from our drive “down the mountain:”

The boys in the wagon they got for Christmas:

Joey’s first birthday party (celebrated in Indiana with lots of family!)

The boys enjoyed LOTS of snow on our February Indiana trip!

Here are some ways you can be praying for us.

The Oaks’ Full-Time Staff Needs. The Oaks is in need of two major full-time staff positions: Youth Ministries Director and Adventure Director. Both of these positions we need to fill as soon as possible in order to most effectively carry out the programs we have planned for the next several months and for the summer. Spread the word and let us know if you have any contacts for us! And please be praying for our current staff to be able to juggle all these responsibilities as we wait for God to reveal his will in his perfect timing.
We also are looking for local individuals to help us in many ways through hourly positions (outdoor education, food service, landscaping).
Our Financial Support Needs. Right now our support level is at 71%, and we are hoping to raise it to 100% by the end of the year. Thank you to so many of you who give so faithfully and generously! We are humbled by God’s provision through you. If you have not given to our ministry and would like more information on how you can start giving, contact us or click here.
Strength and health for the busy months ahead. Outdoor Ed camps (which Jared leads the programming for) begin the end of March and run through the end of May. We have three new camps coming this year, which is a huge blessing! But we also have less staff than usual to help out. Pray for provision and strength during those busy weeks.

December Update

2010-12-09T20:33:00.001-08:00

“Christmas at The Oaks” Weekend

Things are getting festive around here! Last weekend was our annual “Christmas at The Oaks” weekend, where hundreds of families from inner-city Los Angeles came up to spend the day on Saturday and Sunday. This event is programmed by The Oaks, and thankfully we had about 150 volunteers to help us pull it off! Because of the help of these volunteers and our own staff, we were able to offer a huge range of activities, including:

Adventure Activities (paintball, zip line, leap of faith)
Several holiday crafts
A family photo booth
Cooking classes
Worship services
Archery
Hayrides
Karaoke
Dance Dance Revolution
Free CAbi Clothes Shopping
Free childcare
Christmas movies
A HUGE turkey dinner with all the trimmings

Jared and I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from summer camp and meeting some new families who had never been up to The Oaks before. It is always a blessing to hear the stories of our inner-city guests and how God has changed their lives. They have struggles and hardships (as we all do!) but it is exciting to see the hope and the joy that they now have in Christ. Many of them have come to know Christ here at The Oaks. What a PRIVILEGE it is to be part of a ministry that God uses in such powerful ways!

Here are some photos of the weekend (first ten photos courtesy of our friend Doug Peters from World Impact Los Angeles).

Pray for World Impact’s St. Louis Ministry

On another note, World Impact’s ministry in inner-city St. Louis can use your prayers! Recently, thieves stole copper from the air conditioning units at the St. Louis Ministry center. The vandalism will cost close to $200,000 to repair and replace.

The following week St. Louis was rated the most dangerous city in America. As if to underscore this, Randy Riggs, a St. Louis missionary, sent World Impact’s president Keith Phillips the following email:

"Two people shot and killed near the center last evening in two different shootings that police think are connected. The first was a 14-year-old boy, who was shot and killed about a block away; the second was a 20-year-old several blocks away. They happened within 10 minutes of each other.

The week before there were shootings across the street from our missionary homes - one victim was involved with our ministry.”

Please pray for peace in St. Louis--and for safety for all who live in this community. Pray for the World Impact staff to have peace and wisdom as they minister in this dangerous city.

Upcoming Events and Prayer Requests

Please keep the following requests in your prayers!

Provision for our Youth Ministries Director Position (for more details contact us!)
Planning and details for our Winter Camp coming up January 15-17.
Safe, hassle-free travel (if that is possible with two small children) for our family as we travel to Indiana for Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Meidal Family!

September Update

2010-09-15T20:11:00.001-07:00

Family Vacation Camps

This past weekend was one of our big family camp weekends. Almost 400 people from inner-city Los Angeles attended! Family Camp at THE OAKS is so much fun—the program is designed to be a “family vacation” for families who rarely, if at all, leave the confines of their urban neighborhoods. It is a chance for them to spend some quality time together as a family in a safe environment and experience things together they wouldn’t normally experience—such as…riding a zip line, shooting archery, playing paintball, jumping off a 30-foot pole, painting pottery, petting snakes, the list goes on and on! We run the programs for two of these camps each fall, and many other inner-city ministry partners bring families up and run their own family camp programs throughout the year. This year several people who came up with World Impact’s Los Angeles ministry were baptized in our pool (photo below).

Volunteers

Here at THE OAKS we are blessed to have a huge volunteer network that helps in a wide variety of ways. Here are just a few recent examples of how volunteers have contributed to our ministry:

Last weekend for family camp, a group of 70 volunteers from a Santa Clarita church (Grace Baptist) came up to run the carnival for us. We put on a carnival for every family camp and almost every week of summer camp. It is quite a production, including bounce houses, a dunk tank, petting zoo, face painting, games, mini-train rides, and lots of carnival food. The volunteers came up at 8am, ran the carnival from 9:30-12, and had everything cleaned up by 12:30! We couldn’t put on such a large event without their help.

A group of boy scouts from Simi Valley have been coming up every few months for over two years now, helping to maintain our trail system and develop new trails. A couple of Eagle Scouts have built trail kiosks which have greatly improved the professionalism of our trail system.
Roving Volunteers in Christ’s Service (RVICS) and volunteers from the Mobile Missionary Assistance Program (MMAPers) visit us every winter for several months and help out with all kinds of projects on camp.

New Staff!

It is so exciting to see how God works in the lives of people to bring them into His service. In the last few months we have had three new staff families join our on-camp team at THE OAKS.

Paul and Carole Meitler, and their four girls (pictured below), moved on camp in May and are already in the full swing of responsibilities and involvement. They moved from their comfortable suburban neighborhood in Ventura County after Paul left his job in business management because he felt God calling their family into urban ministry.

Mario and Heather Currado and their two children (pictured below)just moved to the camp last weekend, after a year of support-raising and waiting on God’s timing for their service here. We met Mario and Heather four years ago at church, and soon after Mario involved himself helping in Outdoor Ed (one of his passions) and then working for our maintenance department part-time. His involvement here led him and Heather to pursue full-time ministry at THE OAKS. We are so thankful they are here and look forward to seeing how God will use them.

Ron and Jenn Besser (photo below) are friends of ours from waaaay back! Jared was Ron’s resident assistant at George Fox University when Ron was a freshman, and they stayed close friends during college. Ron and Jenn both served at THE OAKS with us as summer staff during the summers of 2002 and 2003. They then came back to serve for four more summers in various positions. After both completing seminary classes they are here for a year to volunteer; Jenn plans to complete an internship for her masters in counseling degree. Its so much fun to have close friends share in this exciting ministry with us!

OUR FAMILY

Our boys are keeping us on our toes! Micah just turned two last weekend! We had a tractor-themed party for him and he had a blast. Joey is almost nine months old and is such a sweet, cheerful little guy. We are so thankful for this family God has given us!

The Grand Theater

2010-07-13T14:24:00.001-07:00

Do you ever feel like you are wearing a mask? Do you ever find yourself pretending to be someone you're not? Pretending to have it all together, but in reality, your "all togethers" are falling apart? You would never want people to see the real you, the person behind the mask. You would be embarrassed if you were ever found out.

So we put on our masks, go about our business, and when friends ask how we are, we smile and declare, "Great! How are you?"

God sees through the mask right down to the real us. He sees all the flaws and mistakes and failures and yet loves us completely and unconditionally. Isn't it comforting to know how much He loves us? Psalm 139 tells us that God searches us and knows us. He knows every thought, every worry, every joy, every hurt. There is nowhere we can run from His Spirit, nowhere to escape His love, no mask to hide our person from Him. With God, we can stop pretending, take off our mask and allow Him to love us. Once we know this truth, it will set us free.

Our theme this summer at THE OAKS is “The Grand Theater.” We are praying that God uses this theme to reveal to our campers any masks they are wearing and to set them free with God’s truth from His Word. We are in the middle of our third week of camp, and so far it seems our campers have been challenged and encouraged! Many campers tried new adventures--from rappelling to holding on for dear life while tubing on Lake Pyramid--and conquered fears, learning to trust God, and had a blast while doing it! In Bible class and at Fire Circle they learned about God’s role as "Director" in the “stage” of life, the importance of the Word being their "Script", the joy of sharing the Good News with the "Crowd", and "Actors" putting on the new-self.

For Jared and I personally, our lives always become busier during summer camp! Jared is supervising the media department for the summer, teaching nature classes and working hard to improve some of the trails around camp. Below is a photo of him during one of his nature classes, and a horned lizard (an endangered species) that they found while hiking along the trail. (Interesting fact about this lizard: To protect itself from predators, the horned lizard can squirt an aimed stream of blood from the corners of its eyes for a distance of up to five feet. The kids always LOVE this fact.)

A couple of weeks ago I taught a “coffee class” to a group of Leaders in Training (LIT’s). The LIT program is a World Impact program in which teens from the inner city commit to three years of discipleship, leadership training, and job training--equipping them to become leaders in their schools and in their communities. They spend each summer for three years up here at THE OAKS, where they receive their most intense training and work hands-on with the campers. This was our third year to do the coffee class with the teens. We focused on how to be professional in any customer service job, covered all the basics of coffee and espresso, and then we went through our menu at Camp Grounds Coffee and I showed them how to make each drink. We had a blast, and I’m hoping that these skills are ones that the girls will take with them in whatever jobs they get in the future.

Another highlight of our summer has been our LIT adopted family. All the LITs are divided up among several different families on camp, those being their “adopted families” for the three years that they are in the program. Last year was our first year as an adopted family. Now our two girls (pictured below), Victoria (from Fresno) and Tatiana (from San Diego), are in their second year of the LIT program. It has been so fun getting to know them better and seeing how they have grown in their faith and leadership abilities since last year.

Our boys are doing really well and loving life at camp. Micah (21 months old) is at the age where he is soaking up everything around him! He loves watching all the big trucks and tractors drive around camp, and he loves all the attention he gets from the summer staff! Joey is now almost seven months old and is getting to be more charming and fun each day!

Thank you for your continued prayer and support of the ministry here. We are blessed by it!

Our Summer Staff's week in the city!

2010-06-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

Our summer staff experienced a week in the city during their training with World Impact. This shows a short video the media intern made of their time:

May Update

2010-05-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here we are, breathless at the end of our spring season at camp, and quickly jumping into the summer program. But first we are taking a break as a family in Indiana and enjoying time with our extended family and home church supporters. When we return at the end of this month many of our summer staff will have already arrived and we will have much to share with you then about the team God has brought together for us this year.

Spring Ministry
This last month Jared directed Outdoor Education programs for six groups, including two from World Impact's LA school ministry. Between astronomy, nature walks, studying the animals and plants around us, relating God’s Word to the student’s lives and inviting them to reflect while surrounded by creation we were able to hear and see that God is indeed using our family and this location in a unique way. Here are some photos and responses from students that we hope will help further describe this exciting ministry time.
"God is so so so powerful"
"I liked it when we saw Saturn"
"God is an amazing designer!"

"God gave life to everything"
"that he never leaves us alone"
"that he made us all unique and different"
"that you can’t escape from him"

"I learned that he is an amazing creator"
"I learned that everything needs to work together to succeed."
"I learned to trust and communicate"

Update on our Joey
We revisited UCLA Medical Center at the beginning of May for a MRI scan on Joey’s heart. Our cardiologist had mentioned his concern that possible blockage was present again in his aorta, and there may need to be another procedure scheduled. Thankfully the report has been clear!! He is a happy guy, and he has an older brother that is constantly looking over him and giving him lots of hugs and kisses.

Of course Micah is a ton of fun as he still continues to grow and explore the world around us!

Partner with us in Prayer
We are still looking for the following staff to hire for our summer program that begins in a few weeks!

Rock and Water Instructor
Leaders In Training Male Counselor

Please spread the word and contact us if you know someone who has a heart for serving the Lord and would be qualified to do one of these jobs. Visit our Summer Jobs page if you would like more information about the ministry, positions and dates.

We need to raise $850 per month of financial support. This allows our ministry to operate efficiently and offer programs for local urban ministries that would otherwise not be able to take a retreat from the city.

Please pray for us as we enter our busy next month of training summer staff and preparing camp for all the kids that will arrive for the programs in July. We hope we can share effectively with you the burden we have for the kids and families we have the opportunity to minister to here. God is truly changing lives weekly here, and raising up transformed leaders in the cities of America!

May Prayer Letter Available!

2010-05-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here is our latest prayer letter!

Meidals' May Prayer Letter

World Impact's May Bulletin

This month's bulletin our mission of empowering the urban poor by providing summer camps. Our camp is World Impact's west coast camp, and our summer program season is soon approaching! Please read our this bulletin for understanding why this is such a crucial element in our holistic ministry, and the desperate situations we are able to relieve when children and families attend.

As a reminder, we still have a need for the following summer positions:

* Rock and Water Instructors
* Leaders In Training (LIT) Male Counselors

Visit our website below to see more information about our summer positions:
http://www.theoakscamp.org/summer/summer_jobs.php

Spring Has Sprung at THE OAKS!

2010-03-25T14:54:00.001-07:00

I noticed several poppies in full bloom the other day on my mountain run. As I looked out over the Mojave Desert, I saw blankets of yellow flowers covering the desert floor. It can only mean one thing—Spring is here! Here are a few updates on what we have been doing here at THE OAKS, and what will be happening this Spring!

CCCA Conference Hosted by THE OAKS

Our winter season here at THE OAKS ended well! Last week for the first time ever, THE OAKS hosted the annual Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) sectional conference. We have always enjoyed these conferences, which are held at a different California camp each year, and are attended by Christian camp staff from all over southern California. It was fun having it on our own turf this year! We were able to see familiar faces from past years as well as meet some new couples. Jared also enjoyed leading a session on website development and getting to know some other camp website people.

Outdoor Ed Begins Soon!

Jared has been keeping very busy with preparing for the Outdoor Ed season, which begins in a few weeks. This year we have five schools coming over a five-week period, so it will be the busiest OE season ever! Please be praying for him as he finalizes schedules and starts planning for the classes he will be leading. Also pray for all of the students that will be coming (5th-7th graders). We always hope that Outdoor Ed is a time where they are able to experience God and His creation in completely new ways.

Looking Ahead to Summer…

As soon as Outdoor Ed ends, summer will be starting! Our first summer staff arrive on May 31! Right now our program team is working hard at interviewing and hiring for the 40 summer positions we are offering. God has already provided young people for many of the positions. However, we still have a need for the following summer positions:

Male counselors

Rock and Water Instructors

Arts and Crafts Director

Performing Arts Director

Media Interns

Leaders In Training (LIT) Male Counselors

Please spread the word and contact us if you know someone who has a heart for serving the Lord and would be qualified to do one of these jobs. Also, please be praying for God to lead us to those He has already chosen to fill these positions.

Family Update

Our boys have been keeping us busier than ever! Joey is three months old now and is doing so well. We are so thankful for his life! He will continue to see his cardiologist every month or so, and right now he is still on medicine to regulate his blood pressure. But other than that, he is a normal, healthy baby! Praise the Lord!

Micah is 18 months old and is getting to be more and more fun every day! His vocabulary is growing—it is now up to seven words: mom, dad, ball, duck, cracker, bump, and the best one of all…“WOW!”

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support! We wouldn’t be here without it!

Finally…an update from us!

2010-02-02T11:14:00.001-08:00

Here I am, finally posting an update after three months! And what a busy three months it has been! I will attempt to summarize the major events of the last few months, both personal and ministry-related, without making this too long of a post!

Our second son, Joseph William (Joey), was born on December 23rd! Merry Christmas to us! Everything went great with the delivery and we were able to go home on Christmas Eve. My family flew in from Indiana to spend Christmas with us and they also helped with Micah while we were at the hospital having Joey. We had a really fun, unique Christmas (our first California Christmas) this year and enjoyed celebrating at home with our new family of four.

After the holidays, we thought things would start to calm down and that we would get to settle into the dynamics of our new family. Things certainly didn’t go as we had planned! Joey’s first week and a half of life was very normal and he was a seemingly perfectly healthy newborn. When he was about ten days old, we started to notice some rapid breathing which we weren’t sure was normal or not. We brought him to our family doctor the next day, because he had gone a night without feeding well (we knew that wasn’t normal). To our surprise, Joey’s breathing really alarmed the doctor, so much so that we were immediately rushed by ambulance to Northridge Hospital in the San Fernando valley.

At Northridge the doctors began treating Joey for what they thought was a respiratory virus. After almost two days of careful monitoring and his condition worsening, they began to suspect a heart condition. After a series of tests, he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called coarctation of the aorta, in which his aorta (a main artery of the heart) was very narrow and restricting the blood flow to the rest of his body (see link for more details). This was causing his heart and lungs to fail, and untreated would be fatal.

Immediately after the diagnosis, we were rushed by ambulance to the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and Joey had surgery a day later to repair his aorta. Thankfully, his condition is one that can usually be fixed by a single surgery (and the UCLA cardiothoracic unit specializes in this kind of surgery). The surgery went as planned and about a week later we came home! Joey has a healthy heart now, but will need to be monitored the rest of his life to make sure the condition does not recur. He is also on blood pressure medication now and may battle high blood pressure for a while (a result of the sudden change of blood flow after his aorta was repaired.) But he is doing very well considering all that his little seven-pound body has been through!

Needless to say, the last month has probably been the most challenging and scary month of our lives…but it has also been a month where we have seen God’s blessings and felt his care for us in a more real way then we ever have before. We are so thankful for His care for us and Joey. And we are so thankful for all of you who have been praying for us, calling us, visiting us, sending us cards, bringing us meals, etc., etc.! We have been overwhelmed by God’s use of his people to encourage us and provide for our needs during this time. We hope and pray that we can use the comfort He has brought us to comfort others in their time of need (2 Corinthians 1). So, from the Meidals to you, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Although our lives seemed to come to a stop the last few weeks, life has continued on for the rest of the world, and for the ministry here at THE OAKS! A couple of weekends ago, we had our annual Winter Teen Retreat, with 300 teens from inner-city areas all over southern California coming to be challenged and changed by God’s truth. And, once again, God proved faithful! At least thirty young people gave their lives to Christ over the weekend.

One ministry in particular was extremely excited about four teens that they have been working with for seven years finally deciding to give their lives over to the Lord. Their patience, dedication, hard work, and consistency has been rewarded! Many teens also contacted our program staff after the weekend, saying that they really needed their weekend here and how it helped them. Many tears were shed and many were convicted about the way they were living their lives detached from the Lord even though they claim to be Christians. So praise the Lord for his faithfulness, and please continue praying for the teens.

A highlight for us that weekend was getting to see our “adopted daughters” from the Leaders in Training program. Both of our “daughters,” Tatiana and Victoria, stopped by to say hello and to see their newest little brother Joey! And of course, they wanted to see Micah too! Its really fun to get to see them throughout the year and to grow in our relationship with them.

Click below for some photos and videos from the Winter Retreat:

Here are some ways you can be praying for us over the next month:

Adjustment for our family as our visitors start to leave and life gets back to “normal” (if there is such a thing as normal anymore!).
Provision of summer staff for our summer camp program, as well as wisdom and guidance for our program staff as they travel around recruiting over the next month.
That Jared would have the ability to focus and plan for the spring season of Outdoor Ed, which will be bigger than ever this year!

Thank you again for your ongoing prayers for God’s ministry here at THE OAKS. He is definitely alive and at work here on a regular basis!

Fall Update

2009-10-27T15:06:00.001-07:00

We often get asked by people, “So what do you guys do at THE OAKS when its not summer?” and we just have to laugh. Trying to imagine ourselves and the staff here sitting around twiddling our thumbs and waiting for each summer to come is just not possible (although sometimes it is something we wish could happen!). Thankfully, God keeps this ministry BUSY year-round, whether it be with guest groups, Outdoor Ed camps, meetings and planning with the staff, or countless other projects! Even though it does get tiring and stressful at times, we’re blessed to be a part of His work here.

The last two months have been no exception! Almost every week since summer camp THE OAKS has been hosting guest groups, and every weekend we have hosted at least 300 people. Included in these groups was the fall Leaders-in-Training retreat and the fall Core Leadership Retreat, two weekends focused on training urban teens and young adults to become leaders in their schools, communities, and churches. Many familiar faces attended these retreats, teens who have been “regulars” at our urban programs and/or are part of World Impact’s Leaders-in-Training program.

During the CORE leadership retreat, Jared helped lead the foot-washing segment of the communion service. Our program team felt this was an important aspect to include in communion, because (if taken seriously) it can paint such a beautiful picture of servant hood and the example that Christ set for us. Even for “churched” adults, foot-washing can be awkward and uncomfortable—imagine how it could be for young people from the inner-city with little to no church background! Jared was a little nervous going into it, unsure of how the students would handle it and hoping they would take it seriously. It ended up being a really powerful service, and many of them later said that the foot-washing was the most meaningful time of their whole weekend. Praise the Lord!

The past two weeks have been full with Jared running two different Outdoor Ed camps. Two weeks ago was a group of eighty seventh graders, the largest Outdoor Ed group of the year. It rained almost the entire time they were here—very unusual weather for Southern California in October! That made the week pretty stressful for Jared, considering all the activities scheduled had been outdoor-only activities! Thankfully, the staff pulled together and helped rearrange the schedule, and the kids ended up loving it! And we desperately needed the rain, so that was also a mixed blessing!

Other significant happenings over the past couple of months include the following:

We moved into a larger apartment! Thanks to all who helped that happen!
We celebrated Micah’s first birthday on September 12! My parents and sister came all the way from Indiana to join in on his big day.
Jared and Micah took a father-son trip to Minnesota for his grandfather’s funeral. They got to spend time with a lot of family and celebrate his grandfather’s life, which was an example to many of one lived surrendered to Jesus Christ.

Here are some ways you can be praying for us over the next month or two:

Pray for our staff as we have our annual Strategic Planning meetings coming up mid-November. Pray for direction and guidance as we seek God’s plan for THE OAKS over the next year.
Pray for Jared as he plans for his Outdoor Ed school recruiting time in November. Pray that God will open up opportunities for us to serve even more schools than we do now.
Pray for a healthy delivery of our newest addition to the family! Only about eight more weeks to go!

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-6)

October Prayer Letter Available!

2009-10-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here is our latest prayer letter!

Meidal October Prayer Letter

World Impact October Bulletin

This month's Bulletin features the Bible-based training curriculum World Impact's TUMI (The Urban Ministry Institute) has developed and there are many personal stories shared regarding the impact it is creating. This is one way that World Impact's heart and resources are reaching around the world, there are also stories featured here relating the change this resource has made to man people affected by the international TUMI satellites around the world.
I, Jared, am currently involved in a TUMI course here at THE OAKS with twelve others that are taking "Practicing Christian Leadership" this fall.
You can find out more information regarding TUMI here: http://www.tumi.org/
They also have a YouTube channel to view some sample video footage: http://www.youtube.com/user/TUMInational

September Prayer Letter Available!

2009-09-02T07:20:00.001-07:00

Here is our latest prayer letter!

Meidal September Prayer Letter

World Impact September Bulletin

This month's Bulletin features the bible clubs that happen regularly in cities around the country, and have been a fundamental part of World Impact's ministry since its beginning in the 60s.

Summer Praises and Fall Prayers

2009-08-25T21:19:00.001-07:00

We had a great summer! Here are some things to praise God for…

Four hundred campers were loved on this summer, and we partnered with twelve different urban ministries (three of them coming for the first time)!
We did not send a single camper home this summer due to behavioral issues (first time ever!).
We had eleven returning summer staff (out of a total of 40)!
God not only provided seven male counselors for our summer staff, but they were all mature men of God and showed leadership capabilities that far exceeded our expectations. In past summers we have struggled to fill all of our male counselor positions. This was a huge answer to prayer, especially since it turned out that we had more boy campers than girls each week!
God continues to use THE OAKS to give summer staff a new vision and to seek God’s call on their lives. Three of our summer staff are going on to serve World Impact this year through internships, one of them coming back to THE OAKS, and the others serving in the cities.
Disciples were made and growth was developed in all of the campers, many of them making difficult life-changing decisions that will bring them true joy in the end.

…and some ways you can be praying for Jared and I over the next month:

A good trip up to Bellingham, Washington this week for Jared’s mom’s wedding! God has brought so much joy and blessing into her life this past year, and we are excited to rejoice with her over this day.
As soon as we return from Washington, we’ll be moving into a larger apartment two doors down from where we are now. We’re so thankful for the opportunity to have more space, but also a little overwhelmed with all that needs to happen over the next couple of weeks. Please pray for strength and joy in the midst of it all.
Continued health of our second baby BOY! Yes, its another boy, and the due date is now officially December 18.
Wisdom for Jared and the rest of the program team as they adjust to staff changes and seek God’s plan for programming at THE OAKS.
Three new families are joining missionary staff here at THE OAKS—praise the Lord! One couple will be moving here at the end of the month, and the other two families are in the process of raising support and will not be joining us until their support is covered. Please pray that the process goes quickly and that God will bring them here as soon as possible!

Thanks for your prayers and support—we always appreciate it!

August Prayer Letter Available!

2009-08-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here is our latest prayer letter!

Meidal August Prayer Letter

World Impact June Bulletin

This month's Bulletin features the Christian schools that World Impact operates and ministers through to the local urban communities.

Join the REVOLUTION!

2009-07-09T11:23:00.001-07:00

“We love, because He first loved us.”

(1 John 4:19)

Summer is in full swing here at THE OAKS! Our second week of camp is almost finished! Our theme this summer is “The Kingdom: Join the Revolution,” focusing on what it means to be citizens of God’s Kingdom and to obey His greatest command: loving God and loving people. Society often treats those in the inner city as less-than-human and people to avoid at all costs, but at THE OAKS the kids are being treated as royalty—as they should be treated and as they are in God’s Kingdom! We are praying that each camper will leave knowing what it is to be a child of God and an heir of His Kingdom and choosing to become a citizen of that Kingdom.

Jared and I have been involved in a variety of things this summer. June was full of summer staff training, in which Jared played a significant role in leading several training sessions. He led a two-day retreat and campout for the summer leadership staff. Also, our entire summer staff spent a week of their training at World Impact in L.A., gaining hands-on experience in working and identifying with the urban poor. Jared, Micah, and I spent a couple days down there helping with the training and other events that were going on. That week is always jam-packed with sessions and activities that are both emotionally draining and physically exhausting! Our summer staff learned a lot about inner-city life and culture, but I think they learned even more about themselves and the role God wants them to play in reaching the lost people of the city.

For Jared and I, this summer is our first summer to participate in the “Adopted Family” program at THE OAKS. This is a program specifically for the Leaders-in-Training—teens from the city who commit to a three-year program of intense leadership training and discipleship, spending five weeks of their summers up at THE OAKS. Each summer we have about 20 teens taking part in the Leaders-in-Training program, and each teen is “adopted” into a staff family for the summer. On Wednesday evenings we spend time together as a “family,” doing fun things in town or around camp, and we also have a whole weekend that is designated as “Adopted family weekend,” where we can do more things off-camp and bond together as a family. Jared and I have two adopted daughters for the summer, Tatiana (from San Diego) and Victoria (from Fresno). We have really enjoyed getting to know them so far, although it is a little strange to be called “mom” and “dad” by girls only ten years younger than us! This coming weekend is Adopted Family weekend, so we are looking forward to the chance to bond with them even more!

As far as Micah goes, his role this summer is being cute (which he has no problem doing). He is really eating up all the attention he’s getting from the summer staff! Its fun to watch him interact with them and try to get laughs at each mealtime in the dining hall. He seems to love camp life so far!

We are also excited by the opportunity three new couples have of joining World Impact staff at camp with us in the next year—we’ll post more on that in coming months when they arrive. There’s so much more exciting stuff happening here at THE OAKS this summer, but this post is already long enough as it is! Thank you for praying for us and this ministry, and please continue praying that God will use our ministry here to change lives for Him.

PREGNANCY UPDATE: Everything seems to be going smoothly! I’m currently anywhere between 17 and 19 weeks along. I’ve been feeling the baby wiggle the last couple of weeks. We’'ll be finding out in a few weeks whether we’re expecting a girl or a boy!