Calliope Glasscock
Calliope Glasscock serves as the Media Manager at the Ranch. She came on staff in the Fall of 2019 after serving several summers in the Media Department. Growing up on the ministry scene, her dad having pastored churches in Texas, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, Calliope’s love for ministry was cultivated from a young age. Calliope is most passionate about children’s ministry, but also enjoys her work in the Marketing Department and jumps at the opportunity to be involved in the Ranch’s student ministry.
Calliope’s Newsletter
Spring 2020
Hello, friends!
I want to begin this letter by apologizing to those of you who are on my mailing list and did not receive my last letter; I had some technical difficulties producing it and was only able to send out a few. Hopefully all of you will be receiving my spring one, in spite of all of the COVID-19 complications.
The winter months were a busy, but fruitful, time for me. While some aspects of my job at the Ranch have presented me with new territory, I can’t deny that the blessings have far outweighed the challenges and I am so thankful for the various opportunities it has afforded me. I sit here late at night, counting all of the blessings I wouldn’t have known under different circumstances.
After the New Year, I had several opportunities to travel. In February, I attended the Biblical Counseling Training Conference at Faith Church in Lafayette, Indiana along with several other MMR staff members and students. The experience was a wonderful time of encouragement, fellowship, and spiritual growth. I especially saw growth in my knowledge of my own heart before God and the contrasting work that He is doing in me through His grace. This understanding has been a good reminder as I am constantly in times of training for my current position. The amount of information I take in on a weekly basis can feel overwhelming and it’s comforting to remember His grace in moments of confusion. If you have never been to the BCTC, I highly recommend it to anyone looking to grow and be challenged spiritually. I certainly plan to attend next year!
Another impactful experience was the Christian Camp and Conference Association meet up for camps in Pennsylvania. It was encouraging to sit in on helpful, instructive seminars and to be surrounded by so many other camp professionals. Our fellowship was sweet, and through many conversations with old and new friends, I had a front row seat to all of the wonderful things that God is doing through the other camps in our area.
Over the past few months, I’ve also had the privilege of putting together this spring’s MMR Boxcross news bulletin. Growing up, I received the Boxcross in the mail and always enjoyed looking through the pictures and picking out my week of camp when it arrived. I never dreamed that one day the Boxcross would be my responsibility! I am excited to say that even though we won’t be mailing it out due to COVID-19, we can still send it out digitally.
A new thing I’ve experienced since coming on staff is the fact that the season I’m in never matches the work I’m doing; Christmas events are planned as early September, summer camp is largely planned during the winter months, etc. Every day, I see more evidence that summer camp is just around the corner. We are praying that it will be able to continue as scheduled and are still looking to hire summer staff. If you know any youth that are looking for summer work and want to grow and be challenged spiritually, send them our way!
Thank you to all who have been praying for us at the Ranch in these uncertain times. I’ll admit, this letter was difficult to write; much of what I had originally planned to write about is no longer accurate. Things at the Ranch are temporarily shutting down; all of our students have taken a premature, extended spring break and our spring retreats and events are canceled through April.
Many of you have asked after my parents in Uganda; they are faring well, but are still in need of prayer. Due to the color of their skin, they are presumed to be carriers of the virus and have made the decision to remain in the safety of their compound. They are safe and healthy for now, but the nationals are living in chaos and suffering under difficult restrictions being enforced by heavy-handed police. I think the hardest thing for my family right now is having to helplessly watch those around them suffer. If you are looking for someone to add to your prayer list, the sweet people of Uganda are greatly in need of prayer.
In spite of all the uncertainty surrounding these circumstances, God has been faithful to hold me in a sweet peace. Over the past few weeks, the words of Jean Sibelius’ beautiful hymn, Be Still My Soul, have rung in my mind and brought great comfort to my heart:
Be still my soul, the Lord is in thy side
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain
Leave to thy God to order and provide
In every change He faithful will remain
Be still my soul, thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
— Jean Sibelius, Be Still My Soul
Not many people on this earth have remained unaffected by the current crisis we are facing, but I can say confidently that our sovereign, heavenly Father, whose eye is even on the smallest sparrow and whose mighty hand so intricately clothes the fleeting lily is not surprised or shaken by any of this. In that knowledge there is so much rest to be found.
Please keep MMR and other organizations like us in your prayers as we seek to navigate this next phase; lots of difficult decisions and various challenges lie ahead for all. Thank you all for your prayers!
Happy spring, friends!! 🙂
Calliope Glasscock
Want to be involved? Here are a few good ways 🙂
- First and foremost, I would appreciate prayer:
- That the Lord would continue to further the ministry of the Ranch.
- For unity among the staff as we seek to draw together in this time.
- For the health of the staff here.
- That the Lord would provide ways for us to reach out to our community in this time.
- For my parents and the people of Uganda.
- Financially. Since MMR is a non-profit organization, I am required to have monthly supporters in order to be on staff, so if you feel led to give in that regard, here are a few ways you can do that: The first way to give is by sending in a check made out to Miracle Mountain Ranch to the address below with an additional slip of paper indicating that the support is for me. The second and third ways are by going to mmrm.org/give and giving a credit card donation or setting up automatic monthly online transfers (this is a great option, as it saves you the trouble of remembering to do it every month!). All gifts are tax deductible and I will receive all funds sent for me.