Monday, September 21, 2009

First PNO of the Season

This last Friday we had our first Parents' Night Out of the Season. It was held at our Eureka Camp Site. We had around 19 kids and 8 staff that came to the event. During the night we played a variety of games such as Gold Rush, Human Pinball, Dodgeball, and more. We also enjoyed dirt cups, which really hit the spot. The kids seemed to have really enjoyed themselves and a few even asked their parents to stay a little longer. It was also a great night for staff to reconnect with the campers whom they haven't seen in a while. There were some great conversations that the staff had with the campers. Another great part of the night was the Bible story. I had the opportunity to teach and I chose to tell the story of David and Goliath. After finishing the story one of the boys raised his hand and said David and Goliath was one of his favorite stories. Would you pause and pray for the children that attended the Parents' Night Out. Pray that they would be bold in their life to do what God wants them to do, just like David. Overall it was a great night and a great opportunity to reconnect with the kids.

Looking Ahead...
Would you pray for us as a Full-Time Staff. We have a retreat this week to review the summer and plan for the coming year. Pray that God will guide our thoughts and give us wisdom as we plan for the next year.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Summer 2009

Hello again,
It has been a long time since I have updated this blog. So I apologize to all of you that follow this so closely. To bring you up to speed, we had a great summer this year. The staff that God brought to us were phenomenal and the changes that God brought about in both campers and staff were awesome. One story that is truly amazing is a story about a camper from Eureka. He was with camp for most of the summer so it was great to see God work. At the beginning of the summer this young man was really struggling with some tough issues that were going on in his life. His world seemed to have collapsed on top of him, which transferred to the way he acted at camp. Well as the summer went on the boy was able to hear more and more about Jesus as camp traveled through the life of Christ in our assembly times. He was also exposed to the Good News of Jesus Christ every Friday through the staff. It wasn't until late in the summer that he sat down with a staff member who shared the gospel with him and answered a few questions. The boy then prayed with the staff member and asked Christ to enter into his life. From that point on the staff did their best to encourage him and help him to grow. A few days after asking Christ into his heart the boy came to a site director and asked if he could have a Bible. The boy was given his Bible and from that point on he was seen with it many times through the day. He came to me about a week later and showed me that he had read through Genesis and was some chapters into Exodus. His excitement and passion to read the Word of God was amazing. Would you pray for him as he is back at school in an environment that could easily pull him away from God. This is one of the many stories of what God did in the lives of children this summer. I hope to share with you a few more stories over the next few weeks, so keep your eyes open.

So whats going on now? What are you doing now? These are a few questions that I receive when camp ends, and its not what you think. I don't just sit in the office and stair at the wall. These past two weeks we have been cleaning up our 6 camp sites and "inventoryizing" (yes I made that word up). We have also been reading through our evaluations from staff to hopefully collect good ideas to improve camp.

So what can you pray for?
1.) Pray that God will give us diligence in this ministry.

2.) Pray that God will open up some one-on-one follow up opportunities with campers and staff.

3.) Pray that God will give us wisdom as we debrief the summer and look for ways to make camp more honoring to God.

What about you? I would love to know how I can pray for you and better serve you. Just send me an email or give me a call to let me know.