Keith Gregory Chainsaw Artist!	Morning Assembly	Skits Yells and Songs!

The week leading up to Pow Wow as usual is full of last minute things.  Going over lists.  Pushing multiple shopping carts full of food and treats.  Several trips to the Farm and home or Home store.  Tents, Coolers, Chairs, Tables, Props, Rope, tarps, life vests, check off lists, duty rosters, maps, boats are just a few things we all gather around and ponder the question.  "Is it worth all this work?"  A resounding YES!  echo's from our hearts! 

Thursday morning 9:30 were loaded 3 trailers and 19 in our group heading up to enjoy 4 days of CAMPING!  Who would have thought that 4 days and 3 nights could bring about relational changes.  Johnnie Barnes knew these times were the best of the best.  I am so thankful God moved on that man's heart to develop Royal Ranger Ministry.    After a 2.5 hour drive some have double that we arrived to find the open field waiting to become home for our outpost.  Soon the boundary lines were struck and the trailers unloaded and what a mess we had before us.  YET time and diligent thought put all these things into one of the BEST CAMPS I have ever experienced.  A month out every step of the way the boys were involved in making the props.  Painting, crafting and going over ideas and plans.  Merits were put on the back side of the outpost agenda.  RANGER LITE WAS IN FULL OPERATION.   THIS was a time to SHINE for Jesus.  It is so heart warming to see a outpost pull together to get these boys fired up for Pow Wow.  After 3 hours of hard work it was time to HIT the LAKE.   A cool and refreshing 45 minutes was all it took to re-fire these boys into Pow Wow setup.  Meals were good and most cooked around the campfire.  Watermelons enjoyed and smores and mountain pies for supper.  YUM! 

Friday came quickly.  Setup, Setup, Setup.  My job had me going to 15 locations and hanging Treasure hunt stamping stations.  WHAT a fun time that was.  We had 107 participate in that event and 3 young men won SURVIVAL KNIVES at Saturdays Award Ceremony.  Also was going around from camp to camp talking up Pow Wow Initiatives and  Treasure Hunt.  We all are so busy but it's worth it to get them boys involved in fun stuff they like to do.  We had 65 participate in the Pow Wow Initiatives these folk earned a golden cross pin.  It was rewarding to hear the men and boys enjoying working together on these many events we all work hard to get going during Pow Wow.  Pageant teams practicing, FCF call out teams practicing Skits, Yells and Songs.  All fun and laughter.  We get to laugh and work hard.   OH thank the LORD for a quick Lake swim to cool us off.  45 minutes of cool water YES!  Some years we don't need that lake water...other years like this year it was BLESSINGS!  I know many outposts did the same thing.  Our Buddy system kept us all safe and the life vests keep the boys bobbing up to the surface. 

Friday nights Service was good and the pageant was good and some 130 folk hit that altar call with dedication to Christ in their hearts.  After service we enjoyed smore's around the fire. 

Saturday was a struggle.  5:00 am. the alarm went off...in 15 minutes  we were cooking breakfast for 480 folk with a team of 30 in there preparing and cooking and working hard.   Saturdays events are fun.  Folks walking to and fro.  Boys doing all kinds of things.  Eating pork Rhine, drinking root beer, kayaking, building fires, shooting paint balls, BB guns, Archery, Flint and Steel, memory games, Checkers and another 20 that I never get to see because I am lake locked with kayaks and fire and love 'n every moment of it.  So blessed to have friends that come in and help each year to accomplish these things we do as Royal Ranger Leaders.  It's a blessing to see young men that have grown up in Rangers and coming back to help out. That's just a "thank you Jesus" time we get to see in this world. Often there are not a lot of thanks as we go and do Royal Ranger Ministry yet Eternal Souls will be shouting Glory for all Eternity for the works we do today, tomorrow up to the time our Lord and Savior calls us home!  Saturday nights service and pageant were fun and lots of excitement and trophies and recognitions. 

Evangel Temple  and Ironton took the first place spot in Large and Small churches for Over All Trophy.  Congrats. They both took them last year as well.  Top outposts that have all their lists checked and all their items covered.  It takes a lot of hard work and work behind the scenes as well as through the year to get those trophies.  Work days and pow wow contributions often for months at a time go into those trophies.  It's worth it.  We prayed for one another at the closing and headed back to 2 hot Cobblers.   Found out someone had poured water on our coals and cobblers  but hey each need to have a calling and that was their call.  Lord bless them for it.  Perhaps a mixed blessing.  Next year will just have to designate a few to hold down the cobblers.  Small outposts have to make things work sometimes.  Perhaps a shift rotation between transitions to ensure a good safe cobbler! 

Sunday morning 5:30 am. Extra hard to get up.   Breakfast hot on the griddle. Pancakes, sausage and eggs and what a blessing to get a hot meal served with no clean u p for the outposts.  Sunday School and Camp tear down.  10:30 we were heading towards the Lake for a rinse and swim.  Sandwiches and a trip back to home.  Warning next year drink a pot of coffee before you leave Pow Wow.  I fought drowsy the whole way back.  At home by 3:00 pm.  That new trailer is a blessing.  Well worth the expense to have some transition time and transition room for BIG RANGER EVENTS. 

Encourage one another.  The Blessings of the Lord are Ever Lasting Life with JESUS! 

Mark Jones

Treasure Island Theme

 

Report from Rob Batchman on Pow Wow.

Well it was another amazing powwow at the campgrounds near Lake of the Ozarks. Camped with Ozark Assembly of God this year and just had an amazing time. Yes it was very hot and we took some quick breaks to the lake which was amazing to cool off with. Services were wonderful, the pageant was really good. Enjoyed cast-iron skillet desserts last night, spent most of the day yesterday doing the one match fire and kayak paddle across the pond. Helped cook breakfast at 5:30 AM each day for almost 500 people.So got home late this afternoon and fell asleep for three hours. And yes so blessed that we didn’t have crazy rainstorms like we’ve had in the past. Mark Jones reminded me about several years ago when it rained 4 to 5 inches in just an hour or so and the tent I was sleeping in fell on me and I got soaked and everyone had a good laugh. I made a lot of new friends, got to see old ones, let me tell you Royal Rangers is an incredible ministry for men and boys. I’ve seen so many peoples lives changed in the fellowship and encouragement that comes along with this ministry is amazing. My best friends in the world have come from royal Rangers. I’ll get rested up but I am already excited about our next event.

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Pictures from Outpost 367  Pictures from Jonathan Tommason

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Pictures from Wes Young Arcadia Valley