White Oak Progress at Jenness Park
By Jennifer Lloyd
Jenness Park Christian Camp is excited about the many ways God has worked during the last few months. For the year 2008
there have been 364 first time commitments to Christ, and major progress has been made on the construction of White Oak
Lodge since the ground breaking on May 19th.
During the summer, "A majority of the labor intensive, dirty work has been completed," stated Bill Baker,
volunteer building contractor for the White Oak project. The professional crew was comprised of architect, Cooper Kessel,
several of his employees, and David Graham Excavation’s team. Working along side the professionals were volunteers
who came from local cities like Wilseyville, Pioneer, Columbia, West Point, and Atwater. Other volunteers arrived from
Grants Pass, Oregon, and Phoenix, Arizona. In all, the volunteers donated more than 1,450 hours of labor and helped to
accomplish the first phase of this major endeavor. Some volunteers assisted for a few days, and others donated a good
portion of their summer.
The crew excavated more than 8 elephant-sized boulders, poured 85.5 yards of concrete and installed 4 tons of rebar
along with an additional 4 tons of beams and structural steel. The radiant floor heating system is also in place. On any
given day this summer volunteers were seen piecing together Quad-Lock blocks for the wall structure, digging footings
for the building, or tying rebar to reinforce the seemingly endless yards of poured concrete.
Architect Cooper Kessel has partnered with Jenness Park through all major stages of the project. He commented, "Working
with the Jenness Park staff and volunteers on a project this size is a unique and rewarding task. There is such a blend
of people with diverse backgrounds and skills. They all come together to work for a common purpose. I enjoy that. My personal
purpose is to build something for the camp that will last a long time and will make a responsible imprint on God’s
creation."
Joe Bartell, a retired elementary school teacher from Squaw Valley, was an RV missionary from May through August. He
commented, "A little bit at a time, one nail at a time, you look back and see ways you have helped do the Lord’s
work. Some days it didn’t look like we made any progress, but by the end of the week we had accomplished a great
deal. This summer I’ve worked on French drains, rat drains, and sewer drains. Though I’m physically a little
drained, I’ve been able to serve the Lord in a whole new way."
Mark Tanksley from Turlock who attends the First Baptist Church, Hillmar, joined the crew at the end of August. In his
job at a feed production plant in the central valley Mark operates heavy equipment. He was able to drive the Bobcat at
Jenness Park for three days at a critically important time. Tanksley remarked, "I needed a chance to get away for
a while. I didn’t want to go somewhere and just sit. I decided to come here, use my talents for the Lord, and work
on something that is bigger than just me. In the evenings I’ve had time to pray and catch up on my reading."
The goal for White Oak this fall is to construct the third floor of the building and install the roof. The California
Campers On Mission will help with this phase during the third week of September. The completion of the weather tight shell
in autumn will allow interior work to progress during the winter months. Baker looks expectantly toward the people who
will join the crew in the winter, spring and next summer with their more "creative" abilities. "Since
the exterior structure of the building is nearly completed, we will be needing framers, electricians, plumbers, dry wall
installers, door hangers, and finish carpenters. Most of this work will be completed inside where the temperature will
be very comfortable," suggested Baker.
Individuals or groups who want to join the volunteer team can contact Bill Parson at 209-965-3735 x130. Rod Goodmon,
director of Jenness Park Christian Camp, extends this message, "I’d like to invite people to get involved
with this camp. We need volunteers to help with the framing and finish work. We need financial donors to help with the
White Oak completion and with furnishing the building. We love for people to join us and experience the ways that God
is working here at Jenness Park."
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