 |
| View from the top of Whiteface Mountain, NY. |
Proverbs 10:25
When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation. |
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
Thank you for checking in on us throughout the summer; it sure has been a busy one! This summer for our family included a move, a new ministry, a new church, and a new community. Here are some quick answers to the most common questions we have received recently:
Are you feeling settled in your new home / church, etc.?
Yes and no. :) We feel comfortable and well-received in our new home and church, etc., but we know that it will take time to really feel settled: to put down roots and feel at home and unified with our surroundings and community. We view this first year as an extended time of transition as we learn what it looks like to make a home and serve well in our new environment. Though we are not strangers to this area, we have been away for a long time, and we are enjoying reconnecting with old friends as well as meeting new ones! Also, our hearts are still processing the separation from our friends and community in Illinois. We have tried to keep in touch with our old church to see how their transitions are going. So glad to hear that God is bringing the right people to serve there, and we continue to keep our Upper Room Bible Church family in prayer!
 |
| Children dressed up for Shabbat dinner. |
How are the kids doing with the move?
For the most part, they have been thriving and enjoying every minute! They have loved running wild in the woods, swimming and fishing, and spending time with their grandparents and cousins. There are times when we hear that they miss their old house / friends / church, and we can tell that all of the changes they’ve experienced this summer have been a little exhausting to them at times. We are looking forward to starting the school year and enjoying a little more routine and time together at home.
 |
| Backyard fun and animal friends... |
.jpg)
How is it going at Camp Shoshanah?
We are happy to share with you how this first summer working at Camp Shoshanah has gone!
This summer, Camp Shoshanah offered classes on eschatology, the books of Hebrews and Jeremiah, messianic prophecy, and many more. Watching students come in and learn and grow in their faith was incredibly encouraging. The schedule is rigorous! Camp Shoshanah operates for 8 full weeks, plus a Labor Day weekend program, plus staff weeks before and after. During these weeks of Camp, breakfast is from 7-8am, morning classes last from 8:30-12:30 pm (3 classes with breaks in between), lunch is served from 12:30-1:30 pm, dinner is from 5-6 pm, and the days end with 2 evening classes between 6:30-9 pm. Our family participated full time in Camp activities for over 10 weeks this summer. In some ways, it felt like running a marathon!
Yet, the work of providing a place for people from all over the world to gather to hear the Gospel and be equipped to understand and share God’s Word is so rewarding. We hear over and over again from campers that their experience at Camp Shoshanah is like “a piece of heaven on earth.” This year at camp we had many students from around the world. The children's program was the biggest it has ever been with over 65 children. The adult classes on most weeks had over 60 students as well - and registration for the first two weeks of summer 2027 are already full! This summer, we had an increase in Jewish campers, which is a wonderful thing. As antisemitism is on the rise, even in American churches, one of our purposes at Ariel ministries is to support Jewish believers, to teach the truth of God’s Word about the Jewish people, and to labor to ensure that the people group from whom we received our Scriptures and our Savior may share in the blessing of His salvation. One of the most touching elements of Camp this summer were all of the volunteers who traveled from Israel to bless and teach at Camp Shoshanah. People whose lives and country are threatened daily, but who are willing to come and serve us and serve with us as we all are living to bring glory to Jesus and the Father.
"Camp Shoshanah's program is designed to deepen and strengthen believers through comprehensive study of the Scriptures from a Messianic Jewish perspective. "
 |
| Camp Shoshanah weekly group photo! |
This year serving at camp had many challenges but with it also came many blessings. One of the greatest blessings was seeing how the Lord was helping His children grow in grace and knowledge. One example that stood out was a pastor who came as a student with his wife. He had been in ministry for over 10 years, had gone to Bible school, and had a bachelor's in biblical studies. He at first did not feel like he was going to learn anything but was looking forward to being able to vacation in the beautiful Adirondack mountains at a nice Christian camp. By the end of his time at Camp Shoshanah he told us that all of the experience and knowledge that he came with felt like nothing compared to the “fire hose of knowledge” he received during his two weeks here. He learned so much and was excited to go back home and teach the things he had learned and inspired to continue on his journey as a child of the King.
Another instance of the work God is doing through Camp happened in the kitchen. One of the campers this summer was from Israel and she does not yet know Jesus as her Savior (Yeshua as her Messiah). During the 5 weeks she was here she volunteered in the early morning in the kitchen, and Benjamin was able to have many conversations with her and share the gospel with her a few times. The last day she was here Benjamin asked her what she thought of the camp and the teaching. She said that as to the teaching, she could care less. It was interesting but did not mean much to her. But as to the camp and the experience she said it was transformative. She explained that not even in Israel had she seen such devotion to the study of God’s Word. She said that when she comes in the morning she has to walk past many people who are studying their Bibles. And when she goes to bed it's the same thing - people everywhere studying their Bibles! Praying for one another, encouraging each other, and she said every conversation is sweet and kind and the people have a love for one another that she has never seen before. She said that not even the ultra orthodox rabbis have such a love for God's Word or for each other like she had seen at camp. The Lord is clearly at work in her heart and if you could please keep her in your prayers as she has heard the gospel from many people at Camp this summer, she has seen it lived out, and now she is contemplating the question of, “what about me? Do I believe this or not?”
 |
| Benjamin delivering a Sunday morning sermon at Camp Shoshanah. |
Benjamin spent the summer managing the kitchen. From ordering and menu planning, to training, cleaning and cooking many of the meals - he stayed very busy. The goal of the kitchen this year was to provide good food that everyone would enjoy while also getting to experience international meals. Every Tuesday was an Israeli/Jewish cuisine day, where for breakfast, lunch and dinner the kitchen served an Israeli dish like falafels or a Jewish cuisine like bagels and Lox. Every Wednesday night celebrated one of Ariel's 14 branches around the world, with the kitchen making a meal from that area of the world. These meals represented places like India, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada and many others. The kitchen this year had a very positive report from all of the campers as many said that having good food allowed them to enjoy the fellowship at camp and they did not worry about having to drive off campus to get food. Supervisors were also pleased that there was a noticeable lack of drama / tension in the kitchen this summer. All staff and volunteers had a positive attitude and worked well together.
Megan spent the summer working in the children’s program. The children who attend Camp Shoshanah are grouped by age into 4 classes each week, each class of students having 5 class times per day like the adults, and each requiring two adults to lead it. Megan was able to volunteer as that second adult in one of the classes all summer. Our children also attended classes, with Nathaniel moving up into the Tzofim (Scouts) group and our three younger children participating in the Gan Yeladim (Garden of Children) along with children from Germany, Canada, Italy, and Israel. We are grateful to have been a part of all of the learning and relationship-building this summer and to serve alongside so many families committed to spiritual growth and serving in full time ministry. We will be praying for these friends and their ministries throughout the year.
 |
| Evangella and Mariyah participating in the Friday night children's program presentation. |
Now that Camp is over, Benjamin will begin taking online classes to prepare to represent the ministry to surrounding churches. He will also be helping to get camp facilities ready to go through the winter, as well as starting on new building projects. One such project is putting a 2nd story deck on the dining hall. Expansion of these buildings will allow for a greater capacity of students to come each summer. Benjamin will also be joining a group of Ariel ministry workers in Iowa in October to present Camp Shoshanah as an option for college students looking for summer internships and volunteer opportunities.
Megan and the children have started homeschooling and will be participating with the local Christian school in monthly field trips. Our family also traveled to Maine this summer to attend Benjamin’s brother’s wedding and to Florida to attend the doctoral graduation of Megan’s friend of 10+ years. We are grateful to have celebrated these milestones with the people we love.
We thank God for sustaining our family through all of the transitions this summer, difficulties in transportation and health, and a very busy schedule. He is our strength, and we look to Him to grow our family closer to Him and to one another this year and to make us stronger in our faith as He leads us through each new challenge.
Please Pray for our family that:
we would continually put our trust in the Lord for leadership and provision and strength,
that He would use our family to reach this area with His Good News of Salvation,
and that He would show us how to be a blessing at Ariel Ministries Camp Shoshanah as a family.
We’ll wrap up this newsletter with a devotional from Benjamin. Thank you for keeping our family in prayer!
Proverbs 10:25
When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.
What a whirlwind. This verse came to my mind as we were finishing camp this year. This year our family has been in one transition after another, as we have moved from one state to another, from one church family to another, from one ministry to another, from farm land to mountains... None of these changes have come easy and each change has felt overwhelming at times. To say goodbye to friends was hard. To say goodbye to a church that has supported and loved us was hard. To leave one ministry for another was hard. But hardship does not mean that God was not in it. All of these things have felt like a whirlwind and I know that if the Lord was not the one before us we would not be standing now. The whirlwind of life often comes when we are least expecting it. So what do we do in the whirlwind of life? We trust in the Lord, because He is our "everlasting foundation.” When the storms come through, when hardship finds its way to us, we know that we have a sure foundation. The wicked can not stand in the whirlwind of life - the wicked are blown away. God often uses the whirlwind to remove from us the things that will hold us back from Him. So when the whirlwind of life comes your way, do not forget whose foundation you stand on. Let the whirlwind be a refining process that brings you closer to the Lord. Let it be something that reminds you of the foundation that you are on. Things might blow away, but that is ok because the things that we need to hold onto are the things that will last forever.
Psalms 127:1 says this: “Unless the Lord builds the House, they labor in vain who build it, Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.”
Blessings,
Benjamin & Megan, Nathaniel, Evangella, Mariyah, Jason
849 Trout Pond Rd., Keeseville, NY 12944
Ariel Ministries Home - Ariel Ministries™
Camp Shoshanah Ariel - Shoshanah Campus
Or you can mail a check with Benjamin's name in the subject to the Ariel Home Office, located at:
11926 Radium Street, San Antonio, Texas 78216.