Camp Update 4

Yesterday we finished our week of Junior Camp. We had a really fun week and enjoyed the young campers. One of the staff wives reminded us of the importance of decisions made when children are young. It is exciting to see the Lord change the heart of a child and witness the childlike faith that the Bible talks about. We praise the Lord for several children who were saved or made assurance of salvation. Matt reminded the counselors to be very sensitive about not pushing decisions, and it was a blessing to see the Lord work in the young hearts throughout the week.

Junior camp always brings interesting events to the campsite--lots of visits to the nurse for scrapes and bruises, although most of the time a band-aid will do the trick. And there is home sickness--it runs rampant through most of the girls' cabins. And then a lot of fun--laughter and silly antics all the time. It was nice to have a group of kids that didn't need to be entertained all the time simply because they could entertain themselves on their own. Of course, the counselors loved the nap time and will miss that immensely during our last week of teen camp which begins on Monday.

Matt, Sarah and I drove to Phoenix yesterday to drop off someone at the airport. Benton did pretty well in the car. He has discovered his voice and wants everyone else to know that he has discovered it as well. He would decide to chat (more like a friendly scream) every thirty minutes or so at length with Sarah in the back seat of the truck. It was really funny, but at hour 6 I think he decided that he had had enough. Thankfully we were just 10 minutes from our stop. He welcomed a trip out of the car seat and was just fine once he was able to wiggle around.  We will stop every 3-4 hours on our trip to Canada, so hopefully he will not fall apart too often. 

We have enjoyed a little rest over this weekend and are excited about the last week of camp in AZ before heading to Canada!

Camp Update 3

The rains are here but thankfully it is Junior Camp week and the younger kids are easier to entertain in the rain! The Lord has given us a wonderful week. We are enjoying feeding off the enthusiasm of the young kids that are here this week--they just LOVE camp and practically worship the ground their counselors walk on. Pretty weighty but the counselors are doing a great job!

We are living in a little travel trailer this summer and are enjoying having a little home of our own at the edge of the AZ camp property, right behind the horses. Last night we were awakened around 3 am by a counselor knocking on our door. A camper had fallen out of bed, and thankfully he was ok, but we had to help look into things. Benton woke up but went back to sleep until he was awakened again, so we had a little family time before he finally went back to sleep until a more desirable morning hour! He is doing great and has adjusted well to camp life. The junior campers this week just love him and all want to hold him. He is definitely not lacking in attention.

We had a wonderful Father's Day weekend. We spent Saturday afternoon at Big Lake, which is just a half hour drive from the camp in Alpine. On the way there we saw a small herd of elk and a baby with them. We see a lot of wildlife this time of year. On Sunday we went to church in Nutrioso, and our staff did the music service. It was an encouragement to worship with this small body of believers who are just 10 minutes from our camp property. This coming Sunday we will be in Show Low doing the same thing. It is a privilege to meet the pastors in the West and see the works that God has raised up. It is our desire to introduce our Summer Staff to the needs in the West and it is exciting to see them minister in such a special way!

The Lord is teaching us a lot and we are thankful for the opportunities that He has given us to invest in lives. Please pray that we will be faithful in our personal walk with the Lord and that we would be sensitive to opportunities that the Lord brings our way to encourage those that we are working with.

God is faithful and will accomplish the work that He has begun in us. We have one more week of camp in AZ before we pack up and head to Canada. Thanks for your interest in what is going on! 

Camp Update 2

Below is our first supporter update that will go out sometime this weekend--a sneak preview for you:

Dear Friends and Family,

We are excited to send out our first personal summer update. First of all, thank you so much for your generosity. We we were overwhelmed as we saw God provide all of the financial support that we needed and we appreciate your prayers for us each week.

This summer is different from past summers in several ways. Of course having Benton along is a joy, and we love every minute. We always loved the kids at camps where we worked during high school and college and looked forward to having our own “camp kids” at some point should the Lord have chosen that, and we are so thankful that He did. Working with two new families has been a blessing. We are so thankful for the team the Lord has brought together and appreciate so much all that Brian Olsen and Andy Dalporto add to what is going on here. When we arrived the week before our staff came in on June 1st it was obvious there was a lot to do before we would be ready for camp, and while it was overwhelming, God was gracious and allowed it to come together. Staff training week was very busy and although we were physically spent, we came away spiritually recharged and refreshed.

This first week of camp went really well. We had churches from Colorado and the Phoenix area. It was a blessing for us to spend time with the sponsors from the different churches. We had a large group of kids from a Hispanic church in Phoenix and a large group from a church in Denver, and it was neat to see the teens mix and mingle. Morris Gleiser was our speaker and really connected. Many teens made decisions, and from follow up that Matt was involved in, it really was exciting to see the teens making solid decisions, not just surface issues being dealt with. Please continue to pray as the youth workers follow-up.

Because we have to travel some distance to church on Sunday, we have an evening service at camp for the staff. We are enjoying the staff--most of them are Sophomores and Juniors in college, so it is a younger group than what we have had the past two summers, but they exhibit a lot of maturity.  Thank you for your prayers for safety. Matt has been busy coordinating all the efforts to make things happen. Rachael has spent a lot of time in the Dining Hall helping train the hostess and work with the two waitresses. It has been a challenge feeding people in 2 shifts, but things have been going well.

We finish tomorrow our second week with Mike Manor and are looking forward to Junior camp next week. Thanks for keeping in touch!!

Camp Update 1

First of all, a picture of the little guy since that is why most people look at this anyway :-)

We are in the middle of our first week of camp and are having a wonderful time. Last week we had staff training, with most of our summer staff arriving on Monday, June 1st. We are always excited to have everyone in one place. We are so thankful for how the Lord is already working in our own lives as well as in the lives of staff and campers.

Benton has been great so far--he still takes regular naps between meals, so that helps us balance the load. Although, he is growing a lot. It is hard to imagine that next year we will be chasing him around. He is a big smiler and loves to talk--responds to any type of personal attention and has lately developed a social cry. We wondered how people knew what different cries are, and we have enjoyed figuring them out!!

We have churches from Colorado and Phoenix at camp this week. This group of campers is great, and they are really enjoying themselves. Morris Gleiser is our speaker for the week, and the Lord is doing a work in hearts. It is a joy to watch the counselors invest in each camper individually.

Rachael has found a home in the dining hall and is enjoying working with three girls. They are serving all the meals and helping out with a variety of other things including a special time with the children of sponsors and staff during the evening services. It is just fun to watch the younger kids and see the excitement that they have--they all cannot wait until they can be campers themselves. Matt has continued to do a little bit of everything.

There was a lot to do over staff training to get the campsite in shape and ready for campers, but it all came together. It is fun to have the camp full and things underway. Thank you so much for praying for us! We know that it is God Who is working and that any good is of Him. We appreciate your continued prayers for safety and wisdom as we continue to do the next thing God has for us today!