Albion Field Station Mission Trip 2021
Written by Miriam Popovski
"Jesus is our example. There are many who dwell upon the period of His public ministry, while they pass unnoticed the teaching of His early years. But it is in His home life that He is the pattern for all children and youth". DA 74 Build and Restore International seeks to join heaven to help mentor youth in the way of the Lord. On October 3rd—7th we partnered with Ambassador Learning Academy and took the challenge to restore Albion Field Station. Quietly nestled near the Pacific Ocean and surrounded by forested hills, the Albion Field Station has welcomed students and visitors since 1947. Many Children and families come to use these facilities and for some it might be the first time they learn of Jesus.
The goal was to improve the facilities to make it a safe, welcoming camp for all visitors while teaching Christ’s example of faithfulness and obedience in great as well as lowly tasks. This included making a firebreak between the heavy wooded area behind the cabins and providing a barrier in case of a fire. There were several unsafe, dry or sick trees removed, which afforded a great learning experience for the students as they learned to safely cut down trees. They also took turns learning how to split wood with a hydraulic wood splitter while others stacked the wood efficiently to be used for firewood the following year. We were reminded that Christ “was doing God’s service just as much when laboring at the carpenter’s bench as when working miracles for the multitude.” DA 74 To everyones delight Lindell and his wife, Mary, helped with their bobcat and their tractor to help maneuver some of the logs and some of the pieces of wood that needed to be sent over to the chipper. Nothing was wasted and creativity led us to use the excess wood that was chipped to cover the ground and make the landscaping much nicer. We also had Jim Grossman, his wife, and grandkids from Dogwood Foundation, help with the chainsaw work.
As Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity…” We took some time at the ocean where we had devotions, built a campfire, and watched the sunset. Some brave souls even took a dip in the water. Sheldon and his wife were great hosts and they provided great meals for our team and we had an amazing time together. We even had a chance to do some kayaking and canoeing on the Albion River for the students who worked tirelessly.
With goals completed, we packed up and left Albion Field Station a place ready to serve the needs of that community, and many more that come from different parts of California and beyond. May they find rest, rejuvenation, restoration and truly encounter Jesus, the Creator of all beauty.
Thank you to everyone that supported and contributed to this project. We thank our volunteers that came and selflessly labored for others. “All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.” Isaiah 54;13