We had been considering
serving a full time mission for quite some time when we finally made the
decision to go forward. We had served
several local Church Service Missions prior to this time, including weekly
shifts at the Bishops Storehouse and Family History Center. The very first time we referred to Senior
Missionary opportunities on the church website, the opening at Camp Alpine
immediately caught our attention. Both
of us had spent time in the Pacific Northwest at various times, and love this
part of the country. The thought of
serving at a church-owned recreational camp appealed to us, so we submitted our
application. After a series of
discussions with local Priesthood leaders and a site visit, we were approved
for service at Camp Alpine. The start
date and duration of time we were asked to serve correlated well with our
personal and family circumstances.
We have learned so much, and
had so many wonderful experiences during our mission. We thoroughly enjoyed serving with Val and
Janae Christianson for the first five months, and are excited to serve and work
with Randy and Linda Olsen for the remainder of our mission. The work is challenging and oftentimes
physically demanding, but very rewarding.
Each day is different and filled with a variety of routine tasks as well
as short and long term projects. There
is always more to do than we can accomplish, but we do our best and things always
seem to work out. We feel so blessed to
live and work in such a beautiful part of the country, and particularly the
serene and beautiful environment at Camp Alpine. We start each day with a walk on the hiking
trails and surrounding area. We love
working outdoors and interacting with the campers, youth and leaders, neighbors
and the local community . There were
many miracles and inspiring events that occurred during the property
acquisition and development of Camp Alpine.
Over the years, many camp improvements have resulted from Eagle Scout
projects, and we are grateful that this tradition continues. We are so impressed with the commitment of
local church leaders – past and present - who have improved the functionality,
yet preserved the natural beauty and rustic nature of the camp. We miss our children, grandchildren and
extended family members very much (thank goodness for video chat capabilities),
but know this is where we are to be at this point in our lives. We are so blessed, and are very enthusiastic
about the remainder of our service at Camp Alpine.
Dennis & Alison Christensen
Dennis & Alison Christensen
