It’s been four months since our family moved away from Red Rock Bible Camp, trading in our exciting “camp life” for a whole new adventure in “normal life”.
We have moved to Niverville, which is where we lived before moving to Red Rock five years ago. Ben is working with his dad, doing property development, and is currently working on a condo project for seniors in Stonewall, as well as some individual homes.
When people hear about Ben’s new job, they express surprise at how different this work is from his former position at camp as the on-site director.
I feel surprised myself, sometimes.
When I hear Ben talking business with people, I feel as though I don’t quite recognize him, and keep waiting for him to get back to talking about campers, Morning Watch, or Pine Lodge.
However, as much as this new role seems strange, we also feel peace about the change. Towards the end of our time at camp, we were feeling an increasing desire to re-enter the “real world”. Camp can feel like a bubble at times, and we felt the need to reconnect with the world around us, not just the world of camp, as wonderful as that world can be.
We’ve been in full-time ministry for ten years, and felt it was time to take a break, in order to remember what life is like without the label of ministry. We still have a deep passion for ministry and discipleship, but want it to be a way of life, rather than our “job”.
At this point, we are still unsure as to what this will look like, exactly.
After leaving camp, it became clear how much we needed a break. We also need time to make this huge transition. Every aspect of life has changed for us – our home, our community, our church, our work. This has not been easy, but we can already feel the ways in which it is benefiting us. We are out of our comfort zone, and are hoping it will bring about new growth and learning.
Some people assume we must be relieved to be gone from camp, which always surprises me. I suppose it’s easy to think we left because we didn’t want to be there anymore. This is far from the truth, however.
We miss camp deeply. There was a part of us that didn’t want to leave, ever. But we felt it was what we needed to do. In the beginning, our thoughts would often go to what we would be doing if we were at camp right now, but we are trying to embrace this new life, and enjoy the opportunities which are now before us.
We want to thank all of you for being a part of those wonderful years at camp, in whatever way you are also connected to Red Rock. We loved being there, and being a part of a ministry that touches the lives of so many, so deeply. We hope to remain very connected with Red Rock in the future, and look forward to seeing many familiar faces each time we visit.
We hope you’ve had a wonderful summer, and wish you all the best as you also continue to explore what God is calling you to in your own life of ministry.
(If you want to read more about our adventures in Niverville, feel free to check out my blog here.) (www.kendradueck.wordpress.com)
