Oregon City Stake 2017

Elder and Sister Christianson July 2016 - August 2017

Being able to serve at Camp Alpine was a huge miracle for us. We wanted to serve somewhere where we could use the talents that we had acquired while building a ranch for our family. We both loved the outdoors and the thought of being cooped up in an office all day was scary. We had made a goal five years earlier to serve the Lord, but with family issues, it seemed impossible. So we fasted and prayed that the way would open for us to serve. Then we watched as miracles happened and we realized that this would work. When we saw Camp Alpine listed on the church service list and were told by President Freeman that we had called on it within hours of it being posted, we knew that this was the mission we had been praying for. Our job after Girl’s Camp ended was basically to look around and see what needs doing. The old fireplace in Helaman Hall needed restoring, and we had built three fireplaces similar to it, so we rolled up our sleeves and proceeded to make it as good as new. It was slated to be removed and replaced with a propane fireplace at a huge cost, and we knew it wouldn’t cost much to restore it, so we decided to make it a Christmas Surprise for our Directors. If they still wanted to pull it down and replace it, there was only sweat equity wasted. The Directors were delighted with the way it turned out, so we can keep our jobsJ  We found an old dusty create full of Eagle Scout plaques buried in the back corner of a shed that we were cleaning out and decided to hang them up in Helaman Hall.  These plaques each list a scout, his Eagle project, and the year he did it in. They were too precious to be buried in a shed. We sanded them down and put a polyurethane shine on them and hung them up. The last one was dated back in the 90’s so we started doing research to see if we could bring them up to date. Several parents of Eagles noticed them and volunteered to help. Hopefully this tradition continues. We noticed that when the girls filled the amphitheater, some tripped over the awkward center steps, and some tripped on an old stump in the isle. We decided to take on the amphitheater. We poured concrete landings between the steps, blocked the backs of the benches to hold up the sloping hill, chain-sawed the old stump and roots and made a new bench, and smoothed all the isles so no one trips.  We added fans in Sariah Shelter and Helaman Hall, and some day we hope to add LED lights. We kept busy for the year and asked to stay an extra month to finish out Girl’s Camps. The girls who come here are so very sweet and special! They are such fun to get to know and hang out with. We love the hikes, the skits, the meals, the laughter, and the fun activities. This is the best mission on the world!

Elder and Sister Stapley August 2015 - March 2017

   Mike and Jewell Stapley served at Camp Alpine from August 2015 through March of 2017.   We were living in Glendale, AZ, and were ready to retire.  Mike had spent 35 years working at Honeywell and Jewell had spent 35 years boarding and training dogs.  We had a house on 5 acres in Southern Oregon (Williams – near Grants Pass) where we were planning on retiring, but wanted to serve a mission prior to setting up house in Williams.  After checking out the need for senior missionaries on the church website, we contacted President Freeman regarding the possibility of serving at Camp Alpine.  The next thing we knew, we were  preparing to  serve a church service mission for 18 months.  We packed up our things, moved it all to Williams for storing and sold our home in Arizona. We were ready to go!   While awaiting the beginning of our mission, the camp missionaries contacted us to see if Mike could come up and help build a new ramp for the zip line over Rambo pond.  Elder Tolman and Mike dug the holes, placed the beams, adjusted the design, and completed the effort over a few days.  It was a huge undertaking. We lived in the house/office at Camp Alpine.  We were not alone.  We brought up Jewell’s service animal – a German Shepherd Dog named Magic.  She went everywhere with us – to church, to work, to the movies, out to eat…  as I said, everywhere. Getting to know Karen and Terry, then Janae and Val were only one of the blessings of serving at Camp Alpine. Much of our time was spent in revamping things that needed updating.  Safety rails were added.  A new set of stairs up to the dumpster was provided to replace the ‘dancing’ stairs that were there.  A lot of road work was done to keep the road passable, including the road above the camp going to the north end and on up to the neighbor’s gate.  Lots of electrical work was performed to improve Camp Alpine. Lighting inside and outside the Conex, lighting and fans were installed inside Sariah Shelter, additional outlets were installed inside and outside the kitchen in Helaman Hall. In the office, forms and computer programs were created to simplify the weekly, monthly, and usage reports. Programs were also created to better manage the financial reports. For Jewell, the monthly Director’s meeting were the highlight of each month, and is what she misses the most.  For Mike, he misses coming up with and doing all the tasks we had at Camp Alpine.  Fortunately for him, there is more than enough to keep us busy here in Williams.  We enjoyed our time at Camp Alpine and will not soon forget our experiences.