Sonshine Wilderness Retreat

Answering The Call

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Lance Hartland

Happy new year everyone!! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with the peace, love and joy of Christ and are starting 2016 with a bang! CJ and I were blessed to be able to spend some time with loved ones over the holiday break, but we also took some time to reflect on the past year and all that our Father’s been teaching us. As we think back over 2015, we see where God moved in the small, quiet moments, as well as in bigger, more surprising ways. We’re hoping to share some of these things with you over the next few months (especially those that pertain to the new direction for Sonshine), but for this first blog post of 2016, we feel the need to focus on one particular topic that God has been laying on our hearts of late…what does it look like to live sacrificially, to serve unconditionally, to answer the calling on your life? Not only is this something that we feel is crucial for us to understand for ourselves, but for everyone, definitely worth contemplating as we look towards what this new year holds for each of us.

To set the stage, I have to go back a bit. If you’ve been reading our previous blogs, then you know that CJ and I have been struggling with lack of community in this small mountain town for nearly four years. In addition, God has been doing some major “shaking up” in our lives recently, which is definitely keeping us on our knees. Although it’s not been easy, we know two things for sure: God refines us through difficult circumstances and He’s preparing us for whatever comes next. As a result of much intentional prayer, we’ve come to believe that God is setting the stage for our next big adventure! At this point, we’re not sure where that adventure will lead (although we have some ideas), but we do believe that He’s calling us away from Colorado. As we prayerfully wait for direction, one of the questions that God has laid on our hearts is, “are you willing to give up everything to serve me?” Wow, that stopped us in our tracks! Everything? What does He mean by EVERYTHING? That got us thinking, what conditions are we putting on serving God? What are we holding onto for the sake of security? What fears might be creating barriers to us hearing and following God’s call? Or to be perfectly honest, what do we just not want to let go of, i.e., a comfortable lifestyle, a nice home, beautiful surroundings, etc. Through this process of prayer and discussion, not only has God been revealing to us more of His nature, but He’s also been gently exposing more of our hearts, leading us to a deeper understanding of our desires and passions, our fears, and our motives. All of this, we believe, is preparing us to serve God more fully. And although there doesn’t appear to be a straight path laid before us at this time, and we’re honestly not sure what that “everything” includes, we continue to pray with open ears and open hearts to whatever He has for us.

In the midst of all of this, we traveled to Texas and Louisiana over the Thanksgiving holiday to visit with family and friends. During our visit, both CJ and I were very open about our struggles and what God’s been teaching us. In our conversations with loved ones, we received encouragement and heard plenty of excitement around our vision for Sonshine, but there were also a few surprising responses. Having been laid bare in the previous months as we argued with God regarding our thoughts on the subject of our lives (including our wants and our perceived needs), we recognized some of the rhetoric coming from our friends. For the first time in a long time we felt not so alone, understanding that we may not be the only ones struggling with hearing God’s calling on our lives or defining what that kind of whole-hearted service would even look like! This got us thinking outside of ourselves (and looking beyond questions regarding our specific path), to the bigger picture…what does this look like in more general terms for each and every one of us as Christ-followers? Well, there’s only one place to get those kinds of answers, so that’s where we went..

In Luke 9: 57-62, Jesus talks about this very subject…

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Each of these men initially appeared eager to follow Jesus. Yet after reading and re-reading this scripture, it became obvious that each man wanted to define for himself what following Jesus would look like. The first man offered to follow Jesus anywhere, but he didn’t truly understand the cost, the need for sacrifice…maybe he thought it would be more glamorous hanging out with a miracle maker! The second man seemed willing to pay the price, but just not yet. This was not an “if”, but a “when”….once my family is gone and I have nothing else to hold me here, then I’ll follow. And the third man, all he wanted to do was to say good-bye…at first blush, not sure what the issue was there. I mean, what’s wrong with saying good-bye, right? But after delving deeper, it seems to me that there was a heart issue with this last gentleman…his response wasn’t whole-hearted, he wasn’t in it 100%, he put something else before Jesus! Does this scare anyone else? I mean if we’re talking about a general outline of what it looks like to follow Jesus, here’s what I see: you’re pretty much guaranteed to be out of your comfort zone, it will require sacrifice, the timing will not always be convenient, your whole hearts need to be in it, and once you’ve been commissioned, you can’t look back! Wow!!

Let’s take a quick look at another scripture (Luke 18:21-29), which we believe provides additional clarity…

¹⁸A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ²⁰You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’^[^a^]” ²¹“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. ²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²³When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. ²⁴Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁷Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” ²⁸Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” ²⁹“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God.”

Just one point I’d like to make here…after spending time meditating on this scripture, CJ and I came to realize that our focus in contemplating the question of what it looks like to follow Jesus had been on the “everything”, i.e., what was God going to ask us to give up? What would we have to sacrifice? I hate to say this, but I believe that we’ve been brainwashed, or at the very least, significantly influenced by the culture that we live in. And I don’t believe that we’re the only ones…we’ve have this discussion with fellow believers many times. Does God really want me to give up everything? Are all Christ followers supposed to be destitute? Let’s take another look at what the scripture says…”When he (the rich man) heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy”. Do you see it? It wasn’t his stuff that was important to Jesus, it was his attachment to his stuff that was an issue. Like gentleman #3 in the previous parable, this man put something (his wealth) before Jesus. He was unwilling to let it go…this is a heart problem, not an “stuff” problem! The key word is WILLING! In our culture, we’re so consumed with stuff, with security, with ourselves that we often miss the point completely. The point is, it’s ALL about Jesus!

So after having said all that, I want to go back to that original question that God laid on our hearts months ago, “Are you willing to give up everything to serve Me?”, and I’m a little embarrassed by our initial response…it sounds an awful lot like the guys in the first parable: God, I’m willing to follow you if ________________, but not if ________________. I’m sure everyone has their own “what” to fill in these blanks, but I’m not sure the “what” is as important as recognizing that there IS a what. That was the first step for us, recognizing that we were putting conditions on serving Jesus, defining for ourselves what it would look like. The next step, asking ourselves the hard questions! Am I willing to be uncomfortable or make sacrifices to follow Jesus? (This may look like leaving a safe comfortable environment, and moving to an undesirable neighborhood to minister to the poor and needy); Am I willing to pick up and go whenever and wherever He calls? (This may mean leaving a good paying job, even though you haven’t put enough in savings to support yourself, because God needs you on the battlefront NOW, not in 10 years when you retire and have a healthy 401K to depend on); Is there anything that I’m putting before serving Jesus? (Kids, parents, significant other, personal goals, work, comfort, etc). These are not easy questions, and uncovering the answers can leave us feeling raw and exposed. But they can also reveal barriers to us answering God’s calling on our lives! Then it comes down to our willingness. Are we willing to make Jesus our priority, following whole-heartedly, sacrificially and fully dependent on God? This may lead us out of your comfort zone, away from family, into the trenches, working a ho-hum job, etc. I guess what we need to seriously ask ourselves is what’s most important: a few years of being comfortable, living a nice safe and secure life or standing before the throne of grace and hearing our Father say, “well done good and faithful servant… you answered the call, displayed my glory, sacrificed for the good of all, and made the world a better place!”

One final thought in closing, not that we want to get into any deep theological discussion at this point, but CJ and I believe that the time is running short…and God is calling his army! Having said that, we’re praying that 2016 will be an amazing year of awakening for each and every one of us as we discover what it looks like to live sacrificially, to serve unconditionally, and to answer the calling on our lives!

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

Categories: Calling, Community, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Heart of the Matter

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Lance Hartland

Recently, CJ and I have been contemplating the state of the American church and present-day Christianity. I say present day, for those of you that have not read our most recent blog post, because we believe that what is widely represented in the world today is a far cry from what Jesus called His disciples to. In our last post we discussed the desperate need for authentic Christ-centered community outside the four walls of the church (as depicted in Acts 2:42-47). This current post will build on the last as we expand on our views by explaining how God has used our life experiences to shape our current understanding.

I (Lance) would like to share with you some of my story. During my childhood, my family regularly attended a Catholic church in our neighborhood. I grew up in this church, I was confirmed in this church, and my family volunteered at this church. When I was 19, my father committed suicide… the news spread fast in our small town. Just days after the incident, my mom, sister and I pulled ourselves out of our misery and attended Sunday mass. Because we arrived late and all the back pews were full, we began that long walk to the front of the church. Of course, this was not the first time we were late to service and had to take the walk (which I always found slightly embarrassing), but this time was different. As we walked towards the front, I noticed everyone staring at us with cold eyes. And to make it worse, the priest actually stopped speaking as he too watched us make our way forward. It was beyond awkward…it felt an awful lot like we were standing before a judge and jury for sentencing! At that moment, what we most needed was a loving community to surround us, to mourn with us, and share the love of Christ. Instead, what we received was condemnation…the church believed that suicide was the one unpardonable sin and we were stained by association. In the darkest days of our lives, we were alienated by our church family and rejected by the church (the only place we knew to take refuge and hopefully find some answers). I blamed God and I blamed the Church. An anger began to build deeply within me, and as a result, I turned away from both.

Years later, at another very low point in my life, I realized that I needed to make a change, although I wasn’t sure at the time what that change was. All I knew was that my life choices had brought me down this path, my heart was broken, my life felt empty, I felt lost and alone and I didn’t know where to go from there. At this time, I had some Christian friends in my life that were genuine and truly showed me care and concern, what I would later recognize as the love of Jesus. I never got into any details about my heart struggles, but the way I lived my life it was pretty obvious I was not a Christian! However, what I most noticed about these friends was that they never judged or preached to me about the way I was living my life. I sensed in my heart that they actually cared about who I was as a person. They invited me into their homes for meals and to outside group activities, which given my state of loneliness, I desperately needed. A few of them even invited me to church, which I politely declined. But after months of watching these friends, I began to think that given their actions, their church had to be vastly different from the church of my youth. Based on my past experience, the people that I associated with church were judgmental and cared little for the pain and suffering of others, yet these friends were the exact opposite. Eventually, I decided to see for myself what their church was all about, so I got up early one Sunday morning for the first time in almost 15 years. As I remember, the truth was spoken boldly in that first church service and I was intrigued…not offended! That was the beginning of my journey back to the God that I was taught about as a child, but never really knew.

Over time, as I came to know Jesus in a very personal way, I realized that God never turned His back on me, He was patiently waiting for me the whole time. Waiting for my heart to be softened and my eyes to be opened. I believe His heart was broken over the way my family was treated and I know that He yearns for the church, His church, to represent His love, not sit in judgement! In case you missed it, the experience that turned me back to God was the power of a loving, RELATIONAL community!

Let me diverge for a second and say that I don’t believe that what I experienced as a young man is the norm in the American church today. However, what CJ and I have seen in many churches is that good intentions without relationship also turn people away from church and from God. Not too long ago, we experienced this first hand…

CJ has always had a heart for the lost and the lonely. If any of you know my wife, you know that she’ll change her plans on the spot in order to pick up a hitch-hiker and take them where ever they need to go (even if it’s miles out of her way) or invite home anyone in need of a hot meal, all in an effort to share the love of Jesus. And not too long ago, CJ had the opportunity to introduce a young lady to the reality of Jesus. She spent weeks building a relationship, sharing her story, and pointing her to the grace and mercy of our amazing God. After some time, this young lady agreed to attend church with us. We were both super excited for her to experience what it was like to be a part of a church family and we were thrilled to see how much she seemed to be enjoying the praise and worship. However, after the service was over, our young friend was stopped by some well-meaning ladies as we were heading out of the church. Although we would hope that it was not intentional, all backs were turned on CJ and I as our friend was encircled by a group of ladies asking her questions, directing her to the best way to get connected, and giving her all the details about an upcoming ladies bible study. If you’ve ever seen a deer in your headlights you can imagine her expression! If these ladies had known anything about our friend’s background, they would have known that their actions, although they believed them to be helpful, was the last thing this young lady needed. After this experience, not only did she choose to no longer attend church with us, but she also began to avoid CJ, eventually pulling away from us completely. Despite our best efforts to convince her otherwise, this experience solidified her views on what “church people” are like…pushy, only interested in one thing, convincing her that their way is right.

As “church people”, we have the ability to turn people away or draw people to God. As you may have noticed, people outside of the church will equate our actions as individuals with the church as a whole and vice versa. Given that, it’s so very important for us to represent the love of Jesus above all else….We need to get outside the 4 walls of the church and meet people where they are. We need authentic Christ-centered community, and at the core of that community is relationship! People are people: each person with a story, each person with past experiences (both good and bad), and each person struggling with something. People are not to be put in boxes, based on appearance or circumstance, and they are not to be treated as projects! Only through relationship can we overcome what the culture tells us and begin to see people as God sees them. “The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel‬ ‭16:7‬ ‭(NLT). God is a personal and relational God, shouldn’t we (as His disciples), be the same?‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Categories: Church, Communty | 1 Comment

Outside the Box

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Lance Hartland

So it’s been about 10 months since our last post. And although it appears there has been little progress on the retreat front, there has been tremendous growth and understanding on the personal front. As always, God is good and ever present in our lives, lovingly molding and guiding us in a deeper understanding of His heart…which brings us to Sonshine. Our original understanding of Sonshine’s focus was that it was to be a retreat center for out-of-town groups. With that focus, we would need a home base (which is still in the works). However, God has recently laid on our hearts that the retreat aspect of Sonshine needs to be much smaller and more intimate than we originally anticipated. On the other hand, we believe that God is wanting Sonshine to be much more than a retreat center…it’s to be a place of gathering, of fellowship, of community!

We look around and see so many lost and lonely people (both inside and outside of Church) and we wonder, who’s caring for them? For their physical needs, their emotional needs, but most of all, their spiritual needs. As Luke writes in Acts‬ ‭2:42-47‬ ‭(NIV)‬‬‬‬‬‬, in the days of the early church, believers were being added right and left because they saw the disciples and other early believers living in radical ways. They saw the love of Jesus being actively lived out and it looked and felt different than anything they had previously experienced. ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ The lost found a home in community.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

‭‭ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬So what about the Church today? Does it look different? Are we, as Christ’s disciples, living in this same radical way? The lost are growing in number and finding no place to belong. So what’s the answer? We believe that America is in desperate need of authentic Christ-centered community, like the early church!

When CJ and I lived in Austin, we were part of a vibrant, God-centered community. It was by no means perfect, but we strove to live according to the scripture above and lives were changed. We did life together, sharing meals, heartaches, burdens, achievements and adventures. We sincerely cared for each other, sacrificing for and serving each other as well as serving the larger community around us, together. And above all we spoke truth to each other (out of love, not in judgment), holding each other accountable to the standards laid before us by our Savior. But I think what really set us apart was the fact that we welcomed with open arms anyone and everyone interested in joining us. This invitation was not a check the box activity based on what we thought we had to do. We, like Jesus, had a heart for people regardless of how they looked, where they came from, what they had lived through, whether they went to church or not and even if it made us uncomfortable. After a while, we looked more like the island of misfit toys than what was expected of a “Christian” community. It resembled a family: young and old; single, divorced and married; some with kids and some without; both mature believers and others just trying to figure God out. And yes, we were a tad dysfunctional, often times angry with or hurt by others within our tight knit community. But one thing never changed, our love for one another and for those that we touched outside our 4 walls. With our open door policy and inclusive nature, the community continued to grow.

What we’ve come to discover since that time is that our community was a rare occurrence in modern day Christian communities. It appears that the way many Churches treat community today is based on a world view of putting people in boxes: singles, married with kids, retired folks, mature believers, cool or uncool (yes, I said cool or uncool! As un-Christ like as that sounds, we’ve been to churches that directed people that were uncool in the world’s eyes away from certain groups, while only “accepting” people of a certain pre-defined standard). How is this Biblical? This does not look anything like the early church described in Acts. We believe that Jesus’ plan for community was to resemble a family in order that we might learn and grow from the diverse life experiences and gifts within that community. If we’re all placed in a group in which everyone is at the same point in their life or has similar backgrounds, can we truly experience the beauty of a community that challenges us, grows us, molds us into Christ-likeness?

Since we moved, we’ve been searching for a Christian community that exhibits the Biblical qualities discussed above. Unfortunately, we’ve been to multiple churches and have always felt like outsiders. In response to the Spirit’s urging, we began inviting couples into our home, in addition to hosting larger gatherings, in hopes of building relationships. However, in the course of the three years that we’ve been here, we’ve only been invited into a handful of homes and very little has transpired from those encounters. When we voiced our frustrations, we were told that we needed to meet people where they were, which in this community, is church. So although we believe that doing life together most often happens outside of the 4 walls of the church building, we began going to Sunday morning Bible study at the church (something that was completely out of our comfort zone as we had always met in people’s homes) and served at the church in multiple capacities. Often folks would say hi and engage in small talk or even offer to pray for us, but we had no sense that people truly cared or were really interested in knowing us at all. There was always superficial conversation, but we were still missing those deep, authentic relationships that we were craving. So we brought our concerns to the leadership. Their response was not what we expected: “things are different here”, “ you can’t expect what worked in a big city to work in a small town”, and “you shouldn’t try to replicate what you had in Austin”. Maybe that’s true…. Maybe the culture is different here. We understand that some people come to the mountains to get away from it all, to isolate. But let me tell you something, Jesus was COUNTER CULTURAL! And as His followers, we should be too!! Biblically speaking, there should be no difference between a Christ-centered community in a big city versus a small mountain town. And as far as replicating what we had in Austin, we recognize that every community is different and it will never look exactly like it did. But we have ONE truth, the Bible. And the core tenets of a Christ-centered community are clearly outlined. Not only do we see them in the early church, but we also see them lived out by Jesus and His disciples. They studied together, ate and prayed together, sacrificed for each other, spent time with and invited in the tax collectors, prostitutes and the like (people outside the “church”). But most of all, they walked many miles together, sharing their lives. How can we not do the same?!

So where does that leave us? Well, it’s been over six months since we last attended our local church, and in that time, only one person has proactively reached out to us and asked how we’re doing. Does that give anyone else pause?

Regarding the local churches that we’ve attended, biblically sound doctrine is being preached from the pulpit. Where we see the disconnect is in the translation! We understand that there are individuals within the church doing good in the community, but what we’re not seeing is a church that is unified in heart and mind, welcoming and loving on those outside the 4 walls of the church. We believe that this condition is much bigger than a small mountain town; it’s true for many churches throughout the U.S. They’ve become internally focused and have lost Jesus’s love for our neighbors outside of the church. Many of them are filled with little cliques which have their backs turned to those new to or outside of the church. At first appearance newcomers may be greeted with friendliness, but there’s not a true welcoming into the community. We often use the analogy of a football huddle to describe these groups, a.k.a holy huddles. Compare that to a church that is looking outward with open arms…which is more inviting? The latter is what Jesus demonstrated!

CJ and I have been believers for a long time and have always been proactive in relationship and community building. For us to not feel welcomed and included, what must others feel? We recognize that being in this type of community requires sacrifice and commitment and can often be messy. But we’ve seen significant life change in the messiness and it’s our belief that this is what God has called us to as His disciples. And that’s why we believe Sonshine is so important, to reflect the glory of our God by the way we live our lives, as a unified body.

Despite the push back of local churches, we continue to invite all people into our home for fellowship, bible study, and the breaking of bread. We continue to be proactive in building relationships and doing life together outside of the 4 walls of the church. What about you? What do you see in your local church? Are you connected in such a community? Do you see a need for change? If so, we encourage you to think and act outside the box. Let’s live counter culturally! Let’s reflect the light of the Son!

Categories: Church, Community | 1 Comment

Wait and See Season

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Lance Hartland

Hello, everyone….we at Sonshine have been in a wait and see season these past few months. A lot has happened since we last posted. Our focus has been to find a home base for the groups to stay, because we currently don’t have the funds to purchase land.

This effort has been real challenge because of all the road blocks that God has place in front of us in each prayerful path we took. We first tried to use public camp grounds as home base, so we could have groups visit during the summer of 2014. After a summer of 2013 meeting with the National Forest Service to discuss our proposal, they told us we would be using public land for a money making service and that would require a permit. Well the Forest Service is not giving out permits to new organizations/businesses. No permit…No home base. So route #1 in obtaining a ministry home base was closed.

We then prayed God what is our next step, and early this spring the thought of using our private land came upon us. CJ and I own about three acres with a corner section that is wooded with a stream, which we thought would be a great location to place the tent pad sites. We spoke to our ministry Board and they thought it was a great interim solution to accommodate groups for the summer of 2015. So I met with the County staff to discuss what would be required of us to make this work. The County required us to submit a land use change application, which included a public hearing.

The application required to the preparation of a site plan, construction of a bath house, and an analysis the showed that our septic and well could be expanded to accommodate the additional usage. We thought that the endeavor was going to be very expensive, but we were wrong =-). We were able to prepare most of the documents ourselves which saved us a lot of money. The septic analysis and survey work had to be hired out, and their fees ended up being much less than expected. We were able to complete the land use change application by the end of June to get scheduled on the end of July County public hearing. We were all very excited about the possibility of hosting groups next summer, and felt that the way things were falling into place that this was a slam dunk. Prior to the public hearing, we met with our closest neighbor to discuss our proposal. They expressed their concerns about visual impacts and safety, so we made every feasible attempt to accommodate their concerns in preparing the application.

CJ works for Monarch Mountain and she had a scheduled visit to central Texas to promote Monarch in early July. Her plan was to visit businesses, universities, and churches to discuss group skiing opportunities. We thought it would be a great opportunity for us to promote Sonshine as well. During the trip, we visited about 26 churches talking about Monarch for winter group visits and Sonshine for summer group visits. We got back to Colorado on an spiritual and emotional high from all the excitement and positive feedback we received about Sonshine. We were ready for the next hurdle to be cleared which was the public hearing. Once that passed, we would then proceed to the design stage. The county staff provided a staff report that indicated that our application fit within the policies of the zoning district our property was location within. They also provided some conditions that they wanted to include in our application, and we felt those conditions were fair and reasonable.

We were prayerful before the public hearing, asking God for courage and peace in our hearts regardless of the outcome. We asked him to close the door if this is not what He wants, and that we are ok with it. Well, when we arrived at the public hearing we found out that all but one of our neighbors were opposed our proposal. Four of our neighbors spoke at the hearing and the remaining mailed letters of opposition into the County. At the public hearing, I made a short presentation and then the public had a chance to speak. Well that was were everything went south. Our neighbors adamantly expressed their opposition and that fueled the planning commission members in taking a position to try to find a way to deny the our application. A few of the commissioners felt that our application fit within the policies and were taking a position of approval. So it seemed we had support from a few of the commissioner, but the ones that opposed it from the get go, persuaded them to eventually oppose it. The final vote was a unanimous vote to deny our application. Through out the circus of a public hearing, we were all at peace with the out come, because we knew that God was in control. We know that he had us go through this process for a reason. Maybe it was us to learn the overall land use process for a future occasion or God’s vision of Sonshine may be different than the one we have right now. We aren’t sure but through out this process we have been praying for His guidance.

As we stated before, we are waiting for God to show us the next step. So now we are at the point, that we need prayer from our family, friends and supporters. We currently see numerous options for Sonshine:
• Sonshine is able to raise the funds to purchase land.
• Sonshine is donated land.
• Sonshine leases land.
• Sonshine partners with an existing Christian organization in implementing our vision.
• God to show a new path.

As you can see all of the options include outside support. So, if any of you have any ideas, questions, want to help support, and/or know potential contacts for us to connect with, please contact us. We would love the support and input. You can contact me at lancehartland@sonshinewildernessretreat.org.

Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment

We are Now TAX EXEMPT!!!!

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Lance Hartland

We just received our letter from the IRS stating that we are now tax exempt under section 501(c)(3). So now all donations are tax-deductible for all of 2013 and beyond. The process has been a long difficult one but trusting in God’s timing and plan got us through it. This is a major step forward for the ministry. We are ready to host groups starting next spring.

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SWR Ministry Update

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Lance Hartland

Tax Exempt Status

Well we finally heard back from the IRS regarding the status of our tax exempt application. It wasn’t looking like we would hear from them for about six more months or more, but about three weeks ago we got a letter with a number of questions and requests. We received the letter about two days before I left for Boulder, CO to take a 10 day wilderness first aid class. The letter indicated that we only had two weeks to get the our response back to them. So as soon as I got back from my class, CJ and I sat down and prepared a response. We faxed it to them with three days to spare. So we are hoping that our responses are satisfactory and that we get our 501(c)(3) exempt status in the next month or two. Please pray for a speedy positive answer.

Equipping

As I stated above, I ventured north to Boulder to take a wilderness first responder course, put on by the Wilderness Medicine Institute. It was at least eight hours each day and it went on for 10 days. It was very intense with a few hours of studying and reading each day after the class. So much information was thrown at us in such a short amount of time, and I really struggled in digesting it all. I was definitely not used to this teaching style. I used the analogy of a funnel to describe what I was experiencing. My brain was the funnel and the vast amount of info thrown at us was the fluid that was being poured into it. With only so much being able to exit out the bottom, the info was overflowing over the top. About midway through the class, I was feeling very overwhelmed and the thought of quitting crossed my mind. So CJ sent out a prayer request for me, and with that prayer and her encouraging me, I choose to stick it out. As the class progressed, I sensed that my brain stated to absorb the info. Throughout the time I was in Boulder, I had numerous conversations with God that if He wanted me to pass this class I needed His help. I could not do it under my own power. HE came through, the morning of the test a sense of calm came over me and I had a clear focus in taking the writing and practical parts of the test. As a result I passed the class!!! Thanks to all who covered me in prayer, I could definitely feel it!!!

The class really opened my eyes to how ill-equipped I was and the overall seriousness of potential emergency situations that happen in the wilderness. Well I am now certified in wilderness first response first aid, which will better prepare us to lead safe hikes in the mountains far away from advanced life support. In the near future, other ministry leaders will be taking this class or the shorter first aid class.

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The Half Way There Blues…

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Lance Hartland

The Half Way There Blues….

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SWR T-Shirts

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Lance Hartland

We just had T-Shirts made to help support the ministry. We have a question for you all. Would you be interested in buying one or more for $15 each? We are trying to get a head count to see if there is interest and if so we will print more. We haven’t figured out the purchasing online process yet, but we are working on it.