Wednesday, July 02, 2014
Midweek Update :)
Each year is different, and this one is no exception. Having a group this large (102 people) means my role has changed, but the mission is the same: Help young people see Jesus!
We (you parents and I) are being blessed by the 14 counselors from Horizons that have given up their week to serve God by serving these students. They have taken vacation time from work, said goodbye to spouses, arranged child care, and put themselves out as an open vessel to be used, and God has answered! Many of them are posting updates and pictures on their facebook pages, and I'll include links to each of their pages at the bottom of this blog. Spend some time looking through their pics and you'll get a great feel for many of the things happening at camp! It's so great to see God provide the workers when he's reaping a harvest!
Our speaker, Chris Brown, is knocking the ball out of the park. God is using Him in such a fantastic way. Kids are bringing their Bibles to Chapel, and excited to get into Acts as Chris brings the stories to life. He's a big guy, probably 6-3, 280. And he's intense. And our kids love him! Not just our varsity football players, but even the shyest and most introverted students are soaking up every word from The Holy Spirit that is spoken through Chris. We will have the messages available after camp, and if you would ever like to hear a series through Acts, I'd encourage you to get the downloads!!
Monday night was "first time decision" night. For you that are "camp veterans", you might be saying; "Troy, isn't that usually Tuesday night?! Will kids be ready to receive Christ on the first full day?!". If that was your thought, don't worry, you weren't alone. I heard that question a number of times, from adults, and even kids after the fact, that's what they were thinking. I love the way God sometimes reminds us that He doesn't need traditional, He can do what He wants, when He wants! Our job is to be ready to join Him in what HE'S doing!
There were a lot of students that put their trust in Christ Monday Night!! A number of them from our group. Out of respecting their opportunity to tell you personally what God is doing in their lives, I'll withhold their names for now. I do however want to share one particular story anonymously:
Immediately after our Monday night chapel, I went up and talked to 3 guys from our group. One of them had stayed behind to talk to a counselor about a decision he had made, and had just finished that conversation. I asked him, "Why did you stay?". His response: "I put my life in the Lord's hands, I became a Christian!" Pretty cool right?! It gets better...
Right after he said that, one of his buddies pulls out his wallet. He says, "I guess it's safe to show you this now" and pulls out a crinkled up post-it note with this guy's name on it. As it turns out, a couple years ago I challenged the people in our church during a sermon to write down the name of someone they wanted to see come to Christ, and start praying. This young man wrote down the name of this friend, and now, here, years later, he's able to pull out that post-it note and tell his buddy, "I've been praying for you, and this moment, every day for years!" How cool is that!?!?!?!?
I was also asked to help in a conversation with one of our girls and her counselor on Monday night. I asked her the same question, "Why did you stay?". And I love the simple reality of her answer: "I realized how much sin I have, I'm a sinner, and I need Jesus." Let that sink in :)
Speaking of sinking in...
One of my favorite moments of worship happened yesterday. I went down to the beach with some of the group and went body-surfing. As I was dropping in on yet another nice long ride in the wave that God provided, let me tell you, I was worshiping! What an amazing and fun God we have!
Today's activities include about 40 of our group heading out to do Urban Missions (feeding the homeless in downtown San Diego). So excited and proud of their willingness to sacrifice 1/4 of their free time for the week in order to serve God by serving others.
Here's some links to our staff's facebook pages, you'll be able to see TONS of pictures!
Christine "Ginger" Baumgartner
Mary Boyd
Mariah Brigham
Scott Brigham
Jon Flatt
David Guerreri
Kara Langlois
Zach Sharp
Shannon Swartz
Tim Thiele
Tiffany Thompson
Each year is different, and this one is no exception. Having a group this large (102 people) means my role has changed, but the mission is the same: Help young people see Jesus!
We (you parents and I) are being blessed by the 14 counselors from Horizons that have given up their week to serve God by serving these students. They have taken vacation time from work, said goodbye to spouses, arranged child care, and put themselves out as an open vessel to be used, and God has answered! Many of them are posting updates and pictures on their facebook pages, and I'll include links to each of their pages at the bottom of this blog. Spend some time looking through their pics and you'll get a great feel for many of the things happening at camp! It's so great to see God provide the workers when he's reaping a harvest!
Our speaker, Chris Brown, is knocking the ball out of the park. God is using Him in such a fantastic way. Kids are bringing their Bibles to Chapel, and excited to get into Acts as Chris brings the stories to life. He's a big guy, probably 6-3, 280. And he's intense. And our kids love him! Not just our varsity football players, but even the shyest and most introverted students are soaking up every word from The Holy Spirit that is spoken through Chris. We will have the messages available after camp, and if you would ever like to hear a series through Acts, I'd encourage you to get the downloads!!
Monday night was "first time decision" night. For you that are "camp veterans", you might be saying; "Troy, isn't that usually Tuesday night?! Will kids be ready to receive Christ on the first full day?!". If that was your thought, don't worry, you weren't alone. I heard that question a number of times, from adults, and even kids after the fact, that's what they were thinking. I love the way God sometimes reminds us that He doesn't need traditional, He can do what He wants, when He wants! Our job is to be ready to join Him in what HE'S doing!
There were a lot of students that put their trust in Christ Monday Night!! A number of them from our group. Out of respecting their opportunity to tell you personally what God is doing in their lives, I'll withhold their names for now. I do however want to share one particular story anonymously:
Immediately after our Monday night chapel, I went up and talked to 3 guys from our group. One of them had stayed behind to talk to a counselor about a decision he had made, and had just finished that conversation. I asked him, "Why did you stay?". His response: "I put my life in the Lord's hands, I became a Christian!" Pretty cool right?! It gets better...
Right after he said that, one of his buddies pulls out his wallet. He says, "I guess it's safe to show you this now" and pulls out a crinkled up post-it note with this guy's name on it. As it turns out, a couple years ago I challenged the people in our church during a sermon to write down the name of someone they wanted to see come to Christ, and start praying. This young man wrote down the name of this friend, and now, here, years later, he's able to pull out that post-it note and tell his buddy, "I've been praying for you, and this moment, every day for years!" How cool is that!?!?!?!?
I was also asked to help in a conversation with one of our girls and her counselor on Monday night. I asked her the same question, "Why did you stay?". And I love the simple reality of her answer: "I realized how much sin I have, I'm a sinner, and I need Jesus." Let that sink in :)
Speaking of sinking in...
One of my favorite moments of worship happened yesterday. I went down to the beach with some of the group and went body-surfing. As I was dropping in on yet another nice long ride in the wave that God provided, let me tell you, I was worshiping! What an amazing and fun God we have!
Today's activities include about 40 of our group heading out to do Urban Missions (feeding the homeless in downtown San Diego). So excited and proud of their willingness to sacrifice 1/4 of their free time for the week in order to serve God by serving others.
Here's some links to our staff's facebook pages, you'll be able to see TONS of pictures!
Christine "Ginger" Baumgartner
Mary Boyd
Mariah Brigham
Scott Brigham
Jon Flatt
David Guerreri
Kara Langlois
Zach Sharp
Shannon Swartz
Tim Thiele
Tiffany Thompson
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