March 25: Beacon's 2023 Annual General Meeting

Beacon's Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on March 25th at 6:30PM, at Bramalea Alliance Church (905 Central Park Drive, Brampton).

Join us as we praise God for the past year and plan and pray for the future. The evening promises to be one that will warm all of our hearts as we fellowship and reflect on God's faithfulness over the past 60 years of camp!

Please let us know if you plan to attend by emailing ernietw@gmail.com

Into the Woods with Curio: Feeding the Birds

“And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

It all started with the turkeys. Six ‘jakes’, as the teenagers are called, started visiting the backyard regularly this winter, picking up the spilled seeds under the birdfeeders.

I always feed the birds in the wintertime. Two or three small feeders are kept filled with sunflower seeds for the chickadees and nuthatches, and equipped with squirrel guards. The suet baskets are loaded up for the downy and hairy woodpeckers. Sometimes I put some mixed seed out for the ground feeding birds, such as juncos and tree sparrows.

Mixed bird seed works for a few sparrows, but soon becomes expensive when six large turkeys are vacuuming it up. I asked at the local feed store for ideas, and they suggested turkey scratch, of course. Fifty pounds for only $18.95, and no tax! I brought a bag home and spread some on the ground. It was gobbled up in no time --they liked it. So did the deer.

A doe and her two grown fawns started to show up at night to scrounge any leftovers. Okay, I thought, I’ll leave some out for them at night. That worked until they started to visit earlier in the evening. I think they told some relatives or friends, because before long there were five deer visiting, even during the daytime. It was getting a little competitive for the turkeys, and for the growing flock of snow buntings. Not the usual bird to visit backyard feeders, they started coming in January. Watching all these beautiful white birds descend from the tree tops down to the ground to feast on the scratch is a sight to behold. As long as the deer and the turkeys aren’t around.

Now there are eight deer waiting for their breakfast every morning. They are so eager to start eating that they hardly move when I go out and put down the scratch. The turkeys are also waiting, and come strutting across the yard as soon as they see the deer eating. The snow buntings are waiting, too, but have to be quick to get down and eat before a deer or a turkey notices them eating and chases them away. It’s a bit of a circus, and has really got away from me. I’m thinking I may have to start a GoFundMe campaign because I’m going through more than a bag of scratch a week!

With my limited resources I should have kept it to the bird feeders for the chickadees. However, God can handle anything, and spring is imminent, along with a more abundant supply of food for the deer and the turkeys and the snow buntings, and many more.

God also supplies us with all that we need, and more. Can you think of ways that He has provided for you?

Monk's Musings: Are You Lost or Found?

“Rejoice with me, I have found my lost sheep… Rejoice with me, I have found my lost coin… his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:1-32).

At the end of each of our camps there are usually some items left behind: skates, shoes, clothing, glasses, books, etc. Then, a few hours or days later, we get phone calls asking whether we have found them! Eventually lost items and their worried owners are reunited, but this sometimes takes a while…

At our recent Family Winter Getaway Camp, we studied some of the Parables the Lord Jesus told. He used simple but profound stories to cast light on eternal spiritual truths. Three of these parables are collected together in one chapter and are quoted above. In each of them, something precious was lost, and after a while, was found back again. Each story tells us something about God’s love for each one of us: The lost sheep reminds us that each of us is lost and desperately needs Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to rescue us. The lost coin story emphasizes that Jesus values us highly, and took the initiative to come and search for us until he found us. The lost son parable clarifies that each of us needs to decide for ourselves to repent and turn to the Heavenly Father for forgiveness; and if and when we do so, we are welcomed unconditionally into His loving arms!

Thank the Lord! He is our Good Shepherd and our Heavenly Father, who loves us and did everything possible to rescue and save us. May each one of us experience the joy of being found by the Lord Jesus! And may we be involved in helping other lost sheep / coins / children to return to God also. This is the main reason Beacon Bible Camp exists: to bring folk to Jesus, and to provide training in leadership and evangelism, so that more lost sheep may know the joy of the Good Shepherd. Perhaps God is calling you this year, to be a part of His Rescue Operation. Take courage and step up in faith!

With all our best wishes from us both and from all of us at Beacon,

Andrew “Monk” & Marianne “Tia” Nunn