Bittersweet Farm

Last Tuesday I gave the eulogy at the memorial service of Charles Perlos. The church was packed, every seat into the overflow. Charles is the man who renovated Bittersweet Farm, took it off the market, and saved it for us, and held my $1,000.00 down payment check until closing so we could have the place. The story is one that I will never tire of telling. I am literally writing about book about it so you will have to wait to hear the full and amazing story. Keep an eye open for details to come.

I also drove to Indiana for the funeral of a pastor with whom I used to work, Pastor Larry Whiteford. On Friday and Saturday I preached at Camp Selah to Teens and toured Crossroads Farm in Hillsdale County. Yesterday I was back in the Bethel pulpit. I like to keep busy.

Camp Selah

Camp Selah is directed by Mark and Shelly Emmons. Tyler and Denae Tracey are on full-time staff there, too. I spoke for the Teen Winter Camp. It was a sweet group of teens and they listened carefully to every word. We had a little time for some conversations with some of the teens. The food was great. They had solid leaders/counselors and a great little band. The teens participated wholeheartedly in worship. I loved my time with them. Speaking and hanging out with people and talking about the things of the Lord is my “sweet spot.”

I dove home Saturday night. My car (DannyBoy/Grenfell) and my heart were warm. It’s an hour of pretty countryside between Selah and Bittersweet Farm. I arrived home in time for some time with the family and a full night’s sleep.

Crossroads Farm Youth Ministry

Saturday I drove over to Crossroads Farm. I met Doug Routledge and we chatted for a couple hours while he showed me around “The Shed,” their student ministry building. The quality of the facility and Doug’s stories of the teens impacted there moved me to tears. Bethel Church has been a supporter of Crossroads Farm from the beginning.

Crossroads runs a Sunday night program for teens from area rural churches. The teens are also invited into small groups for further discipleship and follow up. Doug and Dawn are involved in training other youth workers from the area and in other places in the country. They have a branch now in Kalkaska, Michigan and one ready to open in Ohio, and another in the U.P.

It’s thrilling to see ministries here in our state that are being used of God to connect with young people in a time that is growing increasingly hostile or at least indifferent to the work of God.

The day I walked through there was not a thing out of place, not a scrap of paper on the floor. There were no corny “youth posters” on the wall. There were no out of date youth curriculums cluttering the shelves. There were no dirty windows. There were no dusty floors. Everything was done with excellence and with teens in mind.

It moved me to tears to walk into the “Barnyard” and see where the teens assemble to sing and hear Doug preach every Sunday night.

Last week was an unusual week in our neck of the woods. It was bizarre-cold here on Bittersweet Farm but inside we were safe, warm, cozy and secure. I would like to have accomplished more, but sometimes the Lord just slows the world down and that’s alright.

Projects Up-Coming

I will be working on some videos and podcast episodes. I am also on a number of books all at the same time:

• Red Jeep Journeys
• The Bittersweet Farm Story
• The Village Parson, Stories from 40 Years of Pastoral Ministry
• Between the Fires (52 Ways to Keep the Camp Fire Burning All Your Life).
• God Still Speaks Stories (A Collection of Stories of Unusual Providence).

Speaking this Weekend

I would appreciate your prayers for the Bethel Teens who head to Camp Barakel this weekend. A large group is heading up for a snow-camp. I will be speaking to teens at Camp Selah on Friday night and Saturday. I will be in the Bethel pulpit on the Lord’s Day, Lord willing.

The Home-going of Chuck Perlos

Last week Charles Perlos, who renovated Bittersweet Farm and graciously saved it for us until our home in the Downriver sold, went to be with the Lord. I visited the night before he died and the morning of the day of his death.

The night before he died I found out he had been sent to hospice-care. It was dark and bitter, bitter cold outside. I bundled up and made my way to the facility. I parked as close as I could and hurried against the brutal cold to his room. He was surrounded with loving family members.

When I came into the room he had been unresponsive all day. I took his hand and said; “Charles, it’s Ken Pierpont.”

He immediately opened his eyes and a smile crossed his face. His family slipped out so I could talk with him alone. I talked to him for a bit, read him some Scripture, prayed, and thanked him again for his friendship and his kindness to our family. I promised that I would never forget him and that I would always be grateful for what he did.

In the morning first thing I sat with he and his daughter Lindy for about an hour, read Scripture, prayed and thanked him again for his kindness to us.

Lindy said, “The day you first visited, after you left, Dad said; ‘That was not an accident. That was meant to be.'”

It was. God sent us mercifully down the road that autumn afternoon. God moved Charles to renovate the house and to save it for us and to wait until we were able to buy it. He held our $1,000.00 down payment check until closing. He saved the house for us based on a handshake. He kept his word to us.

When I left his side on the day he slipped into the presence of Jesus, I reached out and touched his shoulder and said; “Goodbye my friend. I will see you soon.”

On an earlier visit Charles gave us a large album of pictures of the renovation of our home. It’s an amazing photojournal of the extensive restoration. Lois, Hope, and I live in a home that was prepared for us by Charles Perlos. As I walked away I realized in my heart that when I next see Charles we will both be enjoying the home the Jesus prepared for us. And I will have stories to tell him about the place we call Bittersweet Farm.

Tuesday afternoon I will preach his funeral. I am only a month and a few days older than he. He was my friend and I will always thank God for him.

Ken Pierpont | Bittersweet Farm | Summit Township, Michigan | February 4, 2019

I will have much more to tell about Charles Perlos and the incredible providence, provision, and blessing of God in The Story of Bittersweet Farm. I let you know when you can get your copy.