Get Down! - Day Four

Actually, I am going to first recap the end of Day 3; I blogged earlier this morning but that post was lost in the Internet fog we've been experiencing.

When I last posted, about half the camp was away at Jenks Lake canoeing. After their hike back, many of them talked how fun it was to canoe there. For some, this was their first time in a canoe and it was a memorable experience.

Following the campers' free-time (which just seem to fly by), we had a lovely dinner before heading over to chapel. In chapel we worshiped, played a Minute To Win It game called Paper Dragon. Kristen, our guitarist and friend from Hawaii, continued to share about her friend Shannon's ministry in Kenya. Her friend has partnered with a ministry that helps young people in small villages to get education and better their community. In fact, this week's mission offering we are collecting will help get students to go to school. So far this week, we have raised over $300 which will help send about 1 1/2  students to school. Our speaker Matt continued with the story of Jonah. In Chapter 3, Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh about God's imminent judgment. The people of the city heard God's warning and began to fast, wear sackcloth, mourn and repent. They "got down" and humbled themselves before the Lord. Because of this, God heard their prayers and relented from His punishment of them. Matt reminded us that God gives us so those same second chances (and multiple more than that) when we repent and turn to Him.

Once chapel was over, we had the campers go back to their cabins to change into their jammies, get their pillows and blankets for the rest of our "Incredible" evening as we watched our movie and ate snacks. Once it was over, they had their cabin devotions and went right to bed.

This morning, we put on our new camp T-shirts, ate pancakes and sausage, before taking the camp picture. (As soon as I get it uploaded, you can see it). Then it was off to chapel where Matt continued to talk about Jonah. In Chapter four, Jonah is mad that God didn't destroy his enemies, the Ninevehites, and instead saved them. God taught Jonah that His compassion extends to all people -to anyone who calls on His Name.

During church time, I again heard testimonies of leaders who called on His Name  and experienced life-changing transformation from Christ. It was encouraging and it makes everything we do, worth it. Camp free-time is fun and the food is great, but nothing compares to the joy of one who was lost coming to know Jesus. You can pray for the campers tonight as Matt challenges them to give their hearts to Jesus.

Get Down Day 3

After waking up way too early after a night of staying up too late, many of us are feeling very tired right now. Yet, even with the lack of sleep, today has been one full of the strength of the Lord and the joy we  have in Him. We gobbled down our bacon and eggs at breakfast before heading off to chapel. Today's Scripture passage says, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Ephesians 4:2) Matt spoke on this, using the first six  of Ephesians 4 to explain what being humble and gentle really means - keeping unity in the Body of Christ. How we treat one another reflects this. After chapel, we talked about this verse more in our church times. I was there for one group's time and I happened to catch the tale end of another. In that one, I heard some marvelous testimonies of how God had worked in the lives of some leaders. How encouraging it was to hear!

Following unit time and lunch, we went off to the various free-time activities, one of which was a trip to nearby Jenks Lake where many went canoeing. They aren't back yet so I don't know how they liked it. I am currently sitting near the craft area where several children are busily painting things. I can hear the Gaga Ball players bouncing a ball  and the joyous sounds of kids at play.

More to come after tonight and we have a special surprise activity then.

Get Down! Day 2 Recap

Just when I thought it was safe to go back to the Internet, well it wasn't -technology done failed us again. So here it is Wednesday and I am just now blogging about Day 2. It was a wonderful day -the kids had great fun at the pool, doing crafts, and water games in the morning after chapel and church time. We had an amazing afternoon of free-time wall climbing, archery, playing Gaga Ball plus all the other cool stuff. The food is great and so is our chapel time. Karla and the band do an excellent job leading worship and our speaker Matt really brings the Word to us.

Our theme verse for Tuesday was Micah 6:8 which says, ^" No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." We talked a lot about these three requirements this day; we sought to do what is right, to be campers that show mercy to each other and to walk humbly with God. We looked at Jonah 2 and how when he was in the belly of the fish that swallowed him, he remembered God, he cried out to God (prayed), he praised and worshiped God, sacrificed, followed through on his promises to God, and finally sought salvation from God alone. Jonah's experience in the belly of the big fish really helped him to stop running from God and turn toward Him instead. This is the grace and mercy of God, He gives us so many chances, so many opportunities to stop running and to follow Him everyday.

I know that Satan is trying his darnedest to keep us, especially those campers who don't yet know Jesus from discovering His mercy and grace. Please pray for all of us, we don't want anything that would distract us from God's message to us. 

I will post more later...

Get Down! After the First Day

After a tumultuous first day, I am finally able to begin blogging our week. What went wrong? Some of our Lightseeker churches had transportation problems getting here. Technology failed - AT&T lost local cell and data service so we had no phone or internet until evening chapel began. People got lost and couldn't call for directions. We have a lot of first time campers and counselors so there was that adjustment. We had ant invasion in one cabin and a late night search for a replacement cabin. Satan was working overtime in his attempt to distract us and get our eyes of Jesus. Haha! Jesus has other plans and He has already started working in the hearts of students.

Our theme this week, Get Down! is not about encouraging the campers to break out in dance moves, but is based on our theme verse, James 4:10 (NIV) "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." Being humble is not about being a wimp or feeling depressed, but about submitting ourselves to God and doing what He desires for us. One of the ways we "get down" is to pray - God loves to hear from us and delights in speaking His words of love to us.

Our speaker Matt shared how Jonah ran from God and in doing so, ran into a thunderstorm. It was so bad, that everyone on the ship knew that Jonah was the cause of their trouble. He realized it too and made the sailors throw him overboard .

I will keep you posted as to the week's happenings now that the internet is back. Look for pics to be posted by tonight.

Camp 2018 is Coming!

Hey kids! Just 4 more days until Lightseekers Camp. Are you going?

Our theme this year is "Get Down" and our speaker is Matthew Strand.

There's still room for you to go, so call your Children's Pastor ASAP and get on board!

See you Monday at Mile High Pines!