Featured

The Inviting Warmth of a Fire

Throughout history, people have gathered around fires for warmth, safety, community and a host of practical reasons. Living in the snowy and cold northeast, fires are an essential part of life. When we first moved up here and felt God calling us to settle in for a while, we knew we were going to need a wood stove. I was well aware that they were a very expensive investment so I got to work thrifting around for deals.

A listing popped up for a few sections of insulated stainless steel stove pipe about the size we would need. I contacted the guy and found out, to our pleasant surprise, that he was also selling his cast iron wood stove. I couldn’t believe how little he was asking for everything and agreed to help him take everything down from his roof and load up the heavy stove as part of the deal.

After the house was mostly built, we got the stove inside the basement and I quickly realized that we were going to need even more stove pipe to clear our roof ridge that is over 30 feet above grade.

My parents had given us a few sections of stove pipe from when they had their chimney replaced. It was still in good condition but it was a different size and wouldn’t work with what we already had so I kept looking around.

Eventually, I found another local guy who had more than enough of the exact same difficult-to-find brand and size of stove pipe we needed! It cost a little more than we had anticipated spending, but thankfully I was able to sell the gifted stove pipe for almost exactly the same amount that we needed!

Rachel’s dad helped install the flue pipe through the concrete basement wall and a contractor down the road drove his boom lift over to help install the rest of the stove pipe up the side of our house. With all of these great finds and provisions, including the installation, we paid only about 1/4 of what everything should have cost!

We will eventually get free wood from downed trees on our land and around the area but for now we needed to buy some. Again, I started looking around and ended up getting wood from the guy who sold us all the stove pipe and he gave us a really great deal this time! It all came together just in time for last week’s crazy storm and widespread power outages. We were toasty warm inside and Rachel is starting to find ways to cook on it for the next time we lose power.

We deliberately placed the wood stove right inside the main entrance to our home. It is a wonderful thing to come inside from the wintery weather to a warm and welcoming area right away. We are looking forward to hosting more family, friends, camp staff and neighbors to share the radiating warmth and love of what God so extravagantly provides for us.

“Love each other deeply. Honor others more than yourselves. Never let the fire in your heart go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord. When you hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful. Share with God’s people who are in need. Welcome others into your homes.” (Romans 12:10-13 NIRV)

Over at camp . . .

Last week’s storm caused the camp road culvert to overflow but thankfully there was no significant damage. There were also a lot of branches down but amazingly the power didn’t go out so our cabins and buildings stayed unfrozen. Thank you for praying about this!

After a nice restful holiday break, we’re gearing up for 12 weekends of Deep Freeze winter youth retreats! Each weekend is nearly fully booked (300+) and we’re excited to see what God is going to do in the lives of all who come and participate. There is a lot to do each weekend while all the campers are around and then during the weekdays to reset everything for the next weekend. Pray for volunteers or consider coming up yourself!

The Life Discipleship and Leadership community nights will start up again next week with dinner and jumping back into the Gospel of Luke. Each week a different participant shares their testimony which has been a great way to get to know everyone more authentically. We still have room for 3 to 4 more students to join us if you know of anyone looking to grow in their faith and invest in the work of the Kingdom in practical ways.

Here’s our latest video update:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Aj7AsyUs3xQ%3Fsi%3DoCsmi-4zGQ0f44tm

Thankful for 2025!

It’s been a while since we’ve sent out a full update letter. In the spirit of the recent holiday, we want to THANK YOU for your continued care for us in so many meaningful ways. Truly, God blesses us through you all.

We’re well into our third official year of the Life Discipleship and Leadership program with 3 participants. These young adults take a year “off” to seek God’s direction in their lives and help us take care of camp in many practical ways.

In addition to one-to-one mentorships, we have weekly meals and Bible studies with them. We also go on fun adventures around our area and look forward to a snowy winter to get out on the ski slopes!

I’m kept very busy managing the seemingly endless list of projects on site but enjoy developing good relationships with local contractors and leading staff and volunteers in keeping camp running smoothly.

Ruth Wacome and Dick and Nancy Kutz (from the chapel where David grew up going) came to celebrate camp Berea’s 80th anniversary

Camp Berea just celebrated their 80th anniversary of God’s faithfulness in this mission. It was a wonderful weekend to share and hear stories of those who have carried the torch over the years. May God continue to bless His work in New England.

The homeschool co-op that God led us to start at camp four years ago with two other families has grown to over 50 students ages 1-18! New this year, camp runs a monthly Bible club during co-op. Since many New England churches have small or nonexistent Sunday Schools, this is one way to help children learn more about Jesus.

During the co-op, I (David) have been co-teaching a high school apologetics class, helping the students understand and articulate why the Gospel is true and what that means for their daily lives. We also run a fun LEGO robotics class where the kids learn to build and program a robot to complete various missions as a team!

It’s a blessing and encouragement to us, and our kids ask all the time “how many days until the next co-op?” 

We continue to use our God given passions with our local church at Loon mountain and the outreach to those in the mountain community.

This includes hikes with Berea summer staff to Sunday mountaintop services, Friday evening mountain biking and coaching for the youth summer bike camp and winter ski camp. This has been a great way to involve our energetic and adventurous boys in the work God has called us to up here. David is also on the preaching rotation and Rachel helps with Sunday school and their communications. 

We’d appreciate prayer as we consider replacing our 20 year old minivan. God provided it for us when we returned from France and it has served our family very well with minimal issues over many miles. We trust He will again provide an equally reliable and functional family vehicle at the right time. We invite you to come alongside us in this need through prayer first and foremost. If you are able to give financially, tax-deductible gifts can be made through Christian Worker’s Fellowship – see details here.

Thank you once again for your prayers and partnership in this Gospel work.

In Christ,

David, Rachel, Rusty (9) & Max (6) VanDuzer

We Praise God Because…

We Praise God for What He’s Done in 2021 Including:

  • First and foremost, we praise God for His love for us which we celebrate this time of year:“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10

We also Praise God for:

  • Leading us to Camp Berea and clearly confirming His will for us to be here in many ways.
  • Providing the land we purchased across the street from camp, even in a competitive market.
  • Giving us the opportunity to get to know our small, tight-knit community through building our home.
  • Bringing together all the people involved with building our home, who know and love camp and are excited for us.
  • Providing a house we can live in at camp while our trailer is winterized.
  • Assembling like-minded team members who are excited to launch a discipleship Bible study among the young adult staff with us.
  • Finding a community of families with kids around our kids ages who enjoy the outdoors as much as we do.
  • Providing financially thus far through the generosity of many of you whom God has moved to partner with us, which has enabled us to devote our time to ministry.
  • Giving Rachel the opportunity to make connections with other moms, homeschool Rusty and be part of the Berea community

Please Pray:

  • For good health for everyone to be able to launch our discipleship Bible study in early January and receptive hearts to applying the Gospel truth to our lives.
  • For the hearts of the kids who will be attending the winter retreats and hearing the Gospel (around 3,000 people will attend the teen retreats over the next 12 weeks).

In case you’ve missed our recent updates, we purchased land across the street from Camp Berea in September. We’ve been in the process of building a simple home!

January at Camp Berea

Thank you for your prayers while we were at Camp Berea! We were able to serve there for a little more than 3 weeks. David fixed the heating systems in several of the cabins, repaired the chair dollies (to move the chairs) and fixed several of the table games to get them ready for use during the retreats.

Please pray for Camp Berea as they welcome teens to hear the Gospel during the weekend retreats this winter. They have many safety protocols in place so that they can continue safely operating this vital ministry. While we were there, the retreat had about 60 guests (as opposed to the usual 400 on previous years). Even with a smaller group the youth leaders reported positive conversations with the teens in response to the messages.

We are hoping February will include another shorter trip to New Hampshire for David as well as serving at a food ministry through Reading City Church. Lord-willing, we plan to be out serving at ministries full-time this spring once we can safely drive again without risk of snow/ice. We hold all of our plans loosely in these uncertain times and go where and when the Lord wills. In the meantime we will serve locally and do a few more projects to get the trailer finished up.

Thank you for walking alongside us in the work God has called us to!

When a Plan Comes Together

Shortly after we were married and not quite sure where we wanted to “settle down”, I suggested to Rachel that we could live in an Airstream travel trailer. Thinking all Airstreams were old, run down and in need of major renovations, she gave a strong look of disapproval. Fast forward 12 years from that short conversation and we were making plans to return from 5 years serving in France. Considering a shift from international student ministry to practical service at Christian camps and ministries around North America, this time, it was Rachel who said; “It might be interesting to renovate an Airstream so we can travel around and have a home wherever we go.” From that moment, it was nearly 2 years before we had moved back, bought and renovated our tiny home and got everything else we needed to hit the road. This past summer, on the way to a camp in New Hampshire for our first extended service trip, there was this feeling of WOW – I can’t believe we’re actually doing this! A long-ago plan finally came together.

Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Not much time had passed since God created Adam and Eve and they already seriously messed everything up. The outlook seemed bleak as God laid out the consequences for their choice and nothing was going to be the same. But God had a plan. One day, far off in the future, someone was going to come along and set everything right. There would certainly be some pain along the way, even death, but ultimately this offspring would deal a fatal blow to the adversary and bring about the restoration of everything that had been ruined.

Luke 1:31-33: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

There are more than 300 Messianic prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ! Jesus’ geneology can be traced directly back to Adam and it is clear that He was the promised offspring. Mary had a lot on her mind, but in the excitement of the anticipation of the baby, I’m sure she wasn’t thinking of the prophecy “you shall bruise his heel” and how that would culminate in His brutal death on the cross. But, as promised, God’s plan would carry on even in the seemingly worst of situations.

Ephesians 1:3-6: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

A bleak outlook, but a promised (and resurrected) Savior. In the end, one Kingdom made “from every nation, tribe, people and language” ruled perfectly for all of eternity by the King of Kings. What plan could be better than that? This Christmas Season is a time to remember when a plan, that had its conception even “before the foundation of the world”, came together through the birth of Jesus Christ.

Family & Ministry Update

We have now (mostly) finished renovating our 15-year-old trailer so that we can go help Christian camps and ministries across North America. Many of these places have had to modify or cancel plans and projects this year, but we were encouraged that people were still able to get to know Jesus Christ more deeply, whether through virtual meetings or modified in-person camps. While much of our work has focused on maintenance, we hope to be more involved with discipling young people at these ministries soon.

We loved serving at Camp Berea in New Hampshire this summer. We took another service trip there this fall and have plans to return this winter. We also took a service trip to Greenwood Hills Bible Camp this fall. We are prayerfully considering a few options for the winter, including serving locally at Camp Sankanac since there are many travel restrictions in place. By spring, we’d like to serve some of the stateside ministries with year-long student discipleship programs that we have connections to from France. Serving in Europe among international students for several months each year is also still very much on our hearts once travel is allowed.

Our boys keep us busy and they love to play outside, which is perfect for living in a “tiny home.” Rusty is almost 5 and is smart and creative. Max turned 2 on Christmas Eve and is fun, sweet and always trying to keep up with Rusty!

Thank you for coming alongside us over the years through your prayers, encouragement and support. We are full-time volunteers and live by faith that God will provide for our needs. If you’d like to invest in God’s Kingdom through this ministry, visit our homepage for details on how to do this.

(Please note: We switched missions organizations within the last year to the agency for stateside missionaries – Christian Worker’s Fellowship)

Merry Christmas!

David, Rachel, Rusty & Max VanDuzer

Giving Thanks from Greenwood Hills!

Rejoice always,
pray continually,
give thanks in all circumstances; 
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

As we celebrated Thanksgiving this week, we were reminded that there is much to be grateful for! 

We’re thankful:

– That God has provided the time and resources to be able to complete the majority of our trailer renovations. 

– That our propane line to our furnace was temporarily fixed. (We are still waiting for a difficult to find part to come in to finish the project. Until then, we do have electric heat.)

– That we could serve at Camp Berea this summer and again this fall, for the friendships we made there and for the blessing this camp was to so many in the midst of such an unusual year. 

– That we can serve Greenwood Hills Bible Conference & Camp this week and that the weather is not below freezing so that we could bring our trailer. 

– For the lives that have been changed by the transforming power of the Gospel at these camps and the many camps we hope to serve soon.

– For technology that allowed us to see family from across the country on Thanksgiving. 

– For plans coming together to serve more camp ministries very soon. (Stay tuned for those details!)

– We’re thankful for all of you who have been lifting us up in prayer, encouraging us and supporting us financially! 

What Have We Been Doing?

1. Building

David spent a good portion of this year renovating our trailer so that we can serve at these ministries. The purpose is to provide our own lodging with a familiar space for our family wherever we go and to not be a burden on these ministries.

2. Serving

We served at Camp Berea in New Hampshire all summer, took another service trip there this fall and are now serving at Greenwood Hills Bible Conference and Camp for a little more than a week. In between these service trips we have been finishing the trailer renovation.

3. Scheduling

We are talking with several camps to fill our schedule. David will meet with a local camp next week to see how he can help. We need wisdom for where and when to serve, especially as travel restrictions and quarantine measures may be in place if we travel out of state.

Watch Our Video Update!

Join Our Team!

We volunteer our time and do not charge these camps for our services. To do this ministry most effectively, we are praying for more people to join our team as both prayer support and as regular financial donors. Any amount will make a tremendous difference! Our goal and prayer is to have a steady monthly income by this spring so we can serve Christian ministries full-time instead of having to do part-time ministry and part-time work to make ends meet.

If the Lord leads you to give toward our ministry, instructions on how to give tax-deductible donations through Christian Worker’s Fellowship. Learn more on our support page. Thank you!

Summer & Fall at Camp Berea

Camp Berea was very appreciative of our help this summer and fall. We were able to be a blessing to them in the midst of a uniquely difficult year in their 75-year history and in turn we were encouraged by this amazing ministry.

It was exciting to see how God used the place for His glory through family camps, family retreats and special group rentals like Teen Challenge and church retreats. Even though Camp Berea wasn’t able to open their doors for regular kids camps this summer, people were still able to learn from God’s Word together and families were refreshed and strengthened through this time.

One family was so grateful for the time of fellowship. They had moved to New England from across the country just prior to the COVID-19 crisis. They’ve had to isolate because the father was finishing up chemo therapy. The mom has been working very hard balancing work, their four kids and online school. Since they haven’t had a chance to plug in to a local church yet, they were so thankful for Camp Berea’s family retreat and all of the safety measures camp took. Praise the Lord for refreshment for this family!

We would have loved to stay longer, and they would have gladly kept us on longer but we had to come back to Pennsylvania to take care of a few things. In order to be most effective in this ministry, we need to continue laying a good long-term foundation. The trailer still needs some repairs that can’t be done while we’re living in it and we have a number of upcoming appointments. People in itinerant ministry will often tell you that they are just as busy at “home” as they are when they are on the road!

Our fall plans include finishing the trailer renovation, investing relationally in our local churches, recruiting more intentional prayer partners, taking several short-term service trips and filling our longer-term service schedule.

We greatly desire your prayers as we follow the Lord’s leading on our lives. Indeed, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few! Thank you for coming alongside us in prayer and support of the ministry the Lord has called us to.

If the Lord leads you to give toward our ministry, tax-deductible gifts can be made as a special gift or recurring contribution. See details on our homepage.

Holding Pattern

By David

My flight to Chicago years ago was delayed but we finally got in the air. Eventually, we arrived above the airport and started doing circles. There were thunderstorms passing through the area below and we couldn’t land safely. We were in a holding pattern playing ring-around-the-rosie with about 10 other planes full of equally frustrated and impatient passengers. We have places to go, things to do, let’s get on with it already!

We have been back in the States for just over 6 months now. The plan was to return, rest, reconnect, and redirect our lives to align with the vision God has given us for our future. Well, we returned, tried to rest (but we have two energetic boys), reconnected (until this social distancing thing kicked in), and began redirecting our lives by visiting camps and renovating our travel trailer. It’s the end of May and we thought we would be on the road by now. However, the camps and ministries we have been in contact with are uncertain of their summer plans, and we had setbacks in buying a truck due to the pandemic. Praise God we did purchase a truck this month though! We hope to be able to serve at Camp Berea this summer, but we are waiting on their decisions. Like many of you, we are in a holding pattern and we don’t know when we’ll be able to land to get on with our lives.

Few of us like to wait. We know from our children (who NEED that snack, or toy, or cartoon RIGHT NOW), and our own reliance on 24/7 Walmart and Same-Day Prime, that it is more and more difficult to wait because we don’t have to exercise patience very often in this age of instant gratification. (If you have a few minutes, here’s an article that puts it well:  https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/god-is-working-in-your-waiting.) “God wants us to learn how to follow him and put down our demanding selves — to calm that screaming child in us. One way he helps us do this is to say, “Wait.” That miserable, uncomfortable, sometimes painful state of silence is one of God’s most powerful tools to set us free. If we are willing, that is.” Just think through the biblical characters who had to wait. (You’ve all seen that inspirational poster: Abraham waited 25 years, Joseph waited 15 years, Moses waited 40 years, Jesus waited 30 years. If God is making you wait, you’re in very good company.) God promised something to them and then seemed to take FOREVER to come through. But He always came through and His people were always better off for it.

So, while the thunderstorm rages below, we must wait in our holding pattern. Since you’ve got some time: Give thanks for what God has blessed you with. Pray for those seriously affected by this pandemic. Ask God what He might be trying to show you and then wait for Him to answer. Make plans for the future, but allow God to direct your steps.

The Lord Establishes Our Steps

“The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
– Proverbs 16:9

When God moved us on from our ministry in France, He gave us a vision to serve Christian ministries in North America with practical needs while living in a travel trailer. This has been the plan, but here are a few steps we’ve taken and plan to take so far.

We were SO encouraged by a visit to Camp Berea in New Hampshire a few weeks ago. They recently acquired a second camp, Berea Maine, and are anxious for our help. We’re getting so excited to be at a place again where young lives are regularly impacted by the truth of the Gospel. We’ve known many people involved with this camp throughout their 75-year history!

Our hope is to finish the trailer and move in within the next few weeks and then buy a truck and head to Camp Berea in early May. We’ll stay through at least August, or until the Lord moves us elsewhere.

Thank you for walking with us in this journey!

David, Rachel, Rusty and Max VanDuzer

A Year of Uprooting & Replanting

As you may know, our ministry among international university students In Grenoble, France ended with the school year in June and we spent July through September serving at Pierres Vivantes/Entrepierres (a Christian retreat center in the south of France) before moving back to Pennsylvania at the end of September. It has been good to be back with family and friends and we have enjoyed the opportunities to share about God’s work in France at a missions conference and with a few church partners in the area. But we really miss the friends we made and the students we walked alongside for the past 5 years. Both of our children were born in France and have many memories of life in and around Grenoble. We grew some roots there and it’s hard digging them up and trying to replant them here.

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Though, we are hopeful and very thankful. The ministry at the FEU is carrying on well and lives are being changed for God’s glory. Pierres Vivantes found a much-needed full-time maintenance and hospitality couple to support the important spiritual work that happens there. Our boys are settling in here, making friends and getting used to a different way of life in America. God has given us a new ministry vision (continue reading below) and has been preparing us and providing for us in some amazing ways. Friends and family have been very generous with us as we resettle.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support as we navigate this transition.

David, Rachel, Rusty & Max

New Ministry Vision

Live simply and nomadically to serve in practical ways wherever God calls us.

While we were working with the FEU in France, Christian camps and ministries frequently requested our help with programs or maintenance.

David regularly helped a local camp, Champfleuri, with building projects and we spent two summers doing projects at Pierres Vivantes. We occasionally volunteered at other camps, but they often lacked accommodations for a family.

We love serving in this way, but also realize how important it is for our family to have our own familiar space. God has been laying this ministry on our hearts for the past year, honing our vision and providing the resources to make it happen. More than 10 ministries have already requested our help!

God provided a nearly perfect travel trailer (pictured) that will be our home. We can transport our “home” to ministries in North America all throughout the year to help with various projects. Having a “tiny home” will make it easy to still pack up and go back overseas for short periods of time when needed. At the moment, David is doing architectural drawings for Champfleuri from abroad and plans to return to France this spring to help install the project he’s designing.

Even though the ball is already rolling, a few details still have to come together:

1. A few modifications need to be made to the trailer to accommodate our family as time and budget allows.2. The trailer will have to be towed by a large and reliable truck. We plan to purchase one in the spring as we trust God to provide the funds.

3. Because our ministry no longer has us living abroad, CMML (Christian Missions in Many Lands) has closed our account. We have received a new commendation from Malvern Bible Chapel and have partnered with CWF (Christian Workers Fellowship) to facilitate communication and tax-deductible ministry contributions.

We trust that God will provide all that is necessary for His work to continue. Would you stand with us in faithful prayer for these details to come together?

Support

We couldn’t be doing this without everyone’s generosity! If you feel led to give toward the needs mentioned above, tax-deductible gifts can be made in the following ways. 

1. Send a check by mail to:
Christian Worker’s Fellowship
P.O. Box 12347
Kansas City, KS 66112
Please attach a separate note stating that it is for David and Rachel VanDuzer.

To set this up as a recurring payment, set it up through your bank’s bill-pay and then email staff@christianworkersfellowship.org