okay...last full day of camp, and it's not over, but it's had it's adventures...I'm on my way to dinner, but here's a quick re-cap...

got up at 7:00am for Dawn Patrol...pre-breakfast worship time (optional)...very nice to start the day off with the Lord...

After yet another awesome worship time at the morning chapel, we met as a church for about 40 minutes talking about what God has done this week, always one of my favorite times at camp...we for sure have one girl getting baptized tomorrow, and perhaps two or three more, but even if it's just one, it'll be a party!!!

Rec was, how should I put it, interesting...it was the day of the great race...one of our teams finished 2nd, and my team, which has been an adventure because of some guys from another church (more on that in a minute) finished last, I mean, DEAD LAST...like every other team was wondering where they were...a good 7-10 minutes behind the 19th place team...oh well, they came in chanting..."The Last shall be first" and it made everyone clap for them...

There are some guys on our team (from another church) that have been a challenge, and today it cost a little bit...

Some of them had water balloons, and were throwing them at other teams...led by their youth pastor...frustrating example...

One of the balloons struck Kris Hansen in the eye, and we didn't think too much of it at the time...

Immediately after Rec, about half of us went to the Padre game at Petco park, including Kris...well, not too long after we got there, his eye was really swelling up and running a bit...we got him to first aid, and the nurse there said we had to get him to urgent care, as she feared he may have a retinal contusion (he may have scratched his eye)...so I sent him and Rusty (yes, his mom knows) in a taxi to the urgent care, who wouldn't take his insurance. But praise God, his aunt works just minutes away from the Urgent care, so she picked him and Rusty up and took them to the Naval Hospital (Balboa) where they are now...sounds like things are going well, they are going to give him some washing, some anti-bacterial stuff, and some meds, and we're hoping he'll return to camp soon...please pray for Kris that his eye will be fine, which we anticipate. I am SO thankful to have someone like Rusty that I can trust to be my right-hand man for this kind of situation. He's really being a servant and being there for Kris while I keep the rest of things going...

I'll update later tonight, after the end of camp...which usually ends with dinner, the final chapel, and "victory circle" at the Greek Amphitheatre...

until then...pray for Kris, Rusty, and one girl who is really close to accepting Christ, she just can't quite pull the trigger. She has a lot of questions, but she's truly searching...I'm hoping she'll be getting baptized tomorrow as well, but it's the Lord's timing, not mine :)

Be Blessed!!!

God Rulz!

TN

Alas, the end of Day 4...

Rec was great...Super Duper Spirit Day...kids dressing all kinds of crazy...

then it was off to lunch and multiple free time options...

some of the boys placed 3rd in a Basketball Tourney...

about 6 people went to do some Sea Kayaking...

many more went to the beach, which was my choice...I was able to show that the old man has still got it when it comes to body surfing, getting a couple of super long rides...

I then was able to go out to dinner with about 18 other youth pastors at a restaurant called Pizza Nova...we were treated by the Hume staff...it was quite delicious, ha ha!

then back to the camp in time for evening chapel...which was again simply amazing. I can't describe in words the amazing worship that is going on with not only our kids but the entire camp as a whole. It is an extra special blessing though to see our students literally on their knees, in some cases on their faces before our God. It's just as awesome to see our group as a whole raising their hands as high as they possibly can, almost trying to touch Heaven itself...I love worshiping with these students, my little brothers and sisters in Christ, it truly is the highlight of everyday for me...

we had a couple of girls stay behind with questions tonight, but as of this post, I haven't been able to touch base with them or their counselors about what, if any, possible decisions they may have made, so I will keep them anonymous for now :) sorry....

Rusty is out cold (it's 11:15pm) and has been for almost an hour...the poor guy is exhausted :) But he has continued to be an amazing asset to the youth at Horizons, always willing to do stuff just a little extra crazy to make the camp as meaningful as possible...

I'm sorry that I don't have any new pics tonight...the girls all forgot to bring me their cards for download...and boys are just dumb and don't bring cameras, or at least don't use them as much...I am downloading some video, but it won't be done for quite some time, and I'm tired too, so I think I'm going to bed too...maybe tomorrow I'll be able to do some quick edits and just put up at least a couple minutes of stuff...

We are planning on about 30 of us going to Petco Park to see the Padres' game...that could be fun!!!

We also have our Church time tomorrow morning, where I'll offer students who have not yet done so, the opportunity to be baptized on Friday morning before we leave...please pray that students would be able to take the bold step if their hearts sense God's leading...

well, before I go to bed, I'm gonna have a piece of pizza that just got here from Dominoes...some of our dorm-mates ordered out and included us...how cool is that!

One more full day of camp! Hopefully the best day yet!

Blessings!

TN