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Bryan's Blog - Big Rocks and Big Faith

6/22/2020

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As a teenager, I worked on a small landscaping crew and was often asked to dig a hole. Being in New England, it wouldn’t take long before the shovel hit a rock and the big rocks we encountered were affectionately labeled a “BFR” (Big Freakin’ Rock).

I was reminded of the term BFR at the end of May as myself and three young guys braved the swarms of black flies and marked and trailblazed a new access trail to The Cabin from the north side of East Haven Mountain that is routed alongside two huge BFRs.  We were generously given access to this side of the mountain by the neighboring landowner who helped us route the trail, and he suggested these two huge boulders would make for an interesting route up the mountain to The Cabin.

Over the years, The Cabin has become a special place, or may I use the words of a friend of mine, a “sacred place,” for people to encourage and grow their faith among God’s creation and friends.  Walking the trail together up the mountain to a cabin perched at the top with a view of the White Mountains has provided a shared experience that many of us look forward to year after year.

The Cabin has become a BFR - Big Faith Resource - that helps build our faith by providing a common experience as we walk the trail to the top and share our lives with each other.  I recently heard a pastor, Jim Burgen, describe how we build faith through a “shared experience in the same direction,” and Eugene Peterson writes about discipleship in his book “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.”  I am grateful for this new trail, and hope that the two BFRs along this trail will cause us to stop along the way and ask ourselves, “where does our true faith lie?”  Does it lie in things like riches, titles and accomplishments that are here today and gone tomorrow, or does it lie in a trusting faith in Jesus Christ where our faith grows as we walk together in the same direction with him?

Thanks to all of you who continue to help us at EHMI keep The Cabin mission strong for generations to come!

 
Encourage – Help – Mentor – Invite

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"Stars like you've rarely seen..." Recent trip highlights from Kent Koeman

6/16/2020

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By Kent Koeman, EHMI Board

After a greasy stop at Five Guys where we filled our bellies with awesome burgers and fries, our crew drove the rest of the way to The Cabin parking spot in complete darkness.
 
Chris and Connor Paine, the Casey boys (Ben and Zach), their dad John, Bryan Wiegers and myself were making a trip to do some tough trail maintenance. A few trails up to The Cabin hadn’t been worked on for several years, requiring some tree removal, brush cutting and sorely needed trail markers.
 
It was about 80 degrees out when we started out as we hiked up in pitch darkness due to the new moon. We made the ascent wearing headlamps and thanks to Bryan's route finding and Gaia GPS app, we arrived at 9:30 pm that night. Making our way out onto the deck, we witnessed the greatest show of stars like you've rarely seen in a long time. It was a new moon and completely dark, making the night sky – unspoiled by light pollution – perfect for viewing what looked like millions and millions of stars.
 
After putting away our stuff, we all returned to the deck to sit outside until past midnight, in T-shirts and shorts, just witnessing what that starry display had to tell us about the miraculous God who made each one of them with a word from his mouth. The young men with us started speaking about how this wide expanse deepened their faith, and they were filled with enthusiasm about future trips and some tasks that needed to be done.
 
We spent all day Saturday cutting up trees that fell across the trail, cutting back brush around the summer trail up from Victory Road, and clearly marking the trail with reflectors and pink and orange ribbons so future Cabin visitors can enjoy a safer hike up no matter what the time of day. With a headlamp, you’ll easily find your way even at night. Once crossing the logging road about a mile after Shorty’s Landing, look for trees marked with reflectors to guide your way.
 
On Sunday, we cleaned out years of old food left in the cupboards, some stored in there for more than 10 years. Now that space is free for all of you!  Next time you come up, there will be plenty of space to store your food during your visit. Going forward, we’re asking all guests to carry in and carry out so that any extras left behind won’t build up in the cupboards!
 
I’m already looking forward to the next trip with a bunch of strong working guys who want to cut some wood and perhaps even to install a new woodstove and make some repairs.



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Fixing up The Cabin while getting our Cabin fix

6/16/2020

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By Doug Stark, EHMI Treasurer

I’ve been fortunate to have made two trips to The Cabin since EHMI acquired the property, to focus on maintenance and repair projects. The first trip I went with my daughter, Kristabel, who had not been to The Cabin since our first trip as a family nearly 20 years ago! Like so many of us, Kristabel fell in love with The Cabin all over again and says she hopes to return more often in the future. For me, getting to spend special father-daughter time was the highlight of the trip.

The weather was right around 50 degrees on our hike, but we were so glad we had hitched snowshoes to our backpacks as there was deep snow on the ridge that made the last 30 minutes of hiking much easier with the snowshoes on. It goes to show that being prepared for anything is a must when hiking up to The Cabin in springtime – or just about any other time for that matter.

Kristabel and I planned on doing some Cabin clean-up and a few minor repairs to chip away at the long list of to-do items. Some of our efforts were spent reorganizing the inside to more easily accommodate four people gathering around the wood stove (see picture below).
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We also worked on consolidating some of the books, supplies and assorted knickknacks inside The Cabin into wooden storage boxes between the beds in the loft. The Cabin’s signature “EAST HAVEN 1989” sign was all but falling apart, so we were able to replace the lettering and give it a fresh coat of paint (see picture).
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Finally, I took on the initial updates to revitalize the outhouse with paint and a new toilet seat (see pictures).

While we planned to stay for two nights, a major oncoming snowstorm was on its way the next night and our car was not equipped to handle the storm. Thankfully we made the right decision as we later learned that nearly a foot of snow blanketed the area that night!

I made a solo trip to The Cabin two weeks later, spending two nights to complete the outhouse updates as well as doing a lot of additional cleaning to the inside of The Cabin.

Using metal reflectors, I also marked the short trail to the outhouse so there should be no reason to get lost on any late-night trips in the future! The weather was ideal for this solo trip, but snowshoes were again a must to pass along the ridge.

As much as I’m pleased to be preparing The Cabin for future guests and to further this ministry, I am really looking forward to being able to comfortably guide others to the Cabin once the pandemic situation makes that prudent. God has His hand on this ministry and during this stretch of down time, it’s a great opportunity for us to get The Cabin in tip-top shape for the future. 



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