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How funny that four weeks ago I was counting the days (and hours!) until I could leave camp and come home to Bucharest. NOW, however, I'm counting the days (and yes, hours!) until I can LEAVE Bucharest and return to camp! We're down to something like 21 hours and I CAN'T WAIT!! Let's get this show on the road!! :-) (I think it is probably a good sign that I feel this way!)
Our next camp begins on Monday! As excited as I am, I don't have an delusions about it being easy, which is why I'm writing this post. We need your prayers! Next week's camp has the potential to be the best AND the hardest camp we've had all summer. Let me explain.
*This will be the biggest camp we've had all summer! 95 campers plus 30 staff equals a totally full camp which is AWESOME!!! In fact some people will have to stay in tents! We are just THAT full! This really is AWESOME, but it also makes things more crazy! PRAY for the logistics of all of this.
*90% of the campers coming are unbelievers. Did you get that?!?! 90%!!!!! Think of the potential there! This is totally different from the way all our other camps have been, and so it means re-thinking how we do things. It also means Satan will want to keep these kids from hearing and understanding God's Word. Please PRAY for protection from spiritual warfare. PRAY that these kids and teens will come to know TRUTH this week and that it'll change their lives (and the lives of their families!) forever! PRAY also that God uses this to build up and strengthen the youth group at this church. They need encouragement. How awesome would it be to see ALL of the teens from camp become part of this body of believers?!? That's how I'm praying...and trusting God to do more than I could ask or imagine! We serve a God who is capable of all of this and more!
*This is a church we've never worked with before. Again, this is really exciting and they're already talking about having more camps with us next year! But it also means we're working with counselors and staff who aren't used to the way that we do things. And it IS different from the way most camps work in Romania. Example: the whole idea of being WITH your campers all day and even sleeping in the same room with them is totally foreign to what they've always done. This means there is potential for problems and conflicts. Please PRAY that our counselors would GET IT, see results, and be encouraged by the way that God uses them in the lives of their campers. PRAY that WE would see how to encourage them. PRAY that God would use this week in the lives of the counselors and that they would love their campers.
*We're running two camps simultaneously! We'll have one camp for kids and one camp for teens. We're super excited about this, but it DOES mean spreading our staff a little thin and again, the logistics are always interesting and complicated! :-) PRAY that God would bless BOTH camps and that we'll have the people that we need to be able to run both camps WELL!!
*On a personal level, those of you who know me will smile when I say that I am SUPER EXCITED to be a part of the kid's camp!! YESSSS!! I've enjoyed ALL the camps, but I'm so glad to be able to hang out with kids again! As I've prepared mentally, spiritually and emotionally for this camp, the Lord keeps bring me back to Philippians 2. I ask that you would pray this passage specifically for me. PRAY that I won't be selfish. PRAY that I'll look out for the interest of others. PRAY that I would have the attitude of Christ. PRAY that I'll be willing to be made "nothing" and be humble. It is easy to ACT this way, but pray that I would truly have this attitude and spirit as I do whatever is needed.
So that's how you can (PLEASE!!) pray for us over the next week. I hope you can sense my excitement in these words! :-)
We DO have another week of camp after that. Actually, this time next week we'll be on the road, headed to our next location! I've been so focused on getting ready for this camp with the kids that I honestly don't know a whole lot of details about our FINAL camp...but please PRAY for us, for our counselors and for the campers that God will be bringing us. PRAY that (as my Mom always says!) we will finish WELL! PRAY that God's Word would be understood as Ken Rudolph and Cheryl Fawcett speak. PRAY that we''ll love the campers and be amazed as we see what God does in their lives.
If you read my last prayer letter, you know that God has taught me much about the power of prayer this summer. Not only does God hear our prayers, He CARES and He answers! That's why I'm writing this post. I honestly believe that when YOU pray for us here in Romania, thousands of miles away, God hears and He answers YOUR prayers. Isn't that amazing!?! So please PRAY! We need it! And think of how awesome it will be to hear in a few weeks how God specifically and directly answered your prayers!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Three Weeks Down...
I've been home for three weeks now, and will leave again NEXT WEEK (YESSSS!!!) for more camp! But before I move ahead and forget , I want to make sure to take time to THANK God for the first few weeks of camp and reflect on the ways He answered prayer. So join me in praising Him!
Week One: Filadelfia Teens
This week almost didn't happen because a few days (yes, days) before camp started, we noticed a problem in the contract we had signed for the camp we were renting. Those were very tense days, full of negotiations and prayer, but God answered beyond what we could have imagined, and we had camp as planned! Thank you, Lord!
This was an emotionally and spiritually intense week. God did some great things in the lives of the campers, but it was an exhausting battle! Several campers were saved! The biggest challenge they left with, though, was to know, read, and study their Bibles. We've heard that since this group has returned home, they've ASKED their leaders to start Bible studies back up, even though it is the middle of the summer! Praise God for His continuing work!
Week Two: Holy Trinity Teens/Pre-Teens
For those of you who read my prayer letter, you know that this week was kind of an experiment for us. We tried (for the first time) running two different camps at the same time. Going INTO this week, (up until Sunday afternoon!) we really debated about whether or not this was best, but it seemed like something God was leading us to try. He really did BLESS this week and it was so neat to see the pre-teens open up and come alive in their own program.
Satan seemed to be especially opposed to the pre-teen camp. The morning the kids all arrived, the assistant program director for the pre-teens woke up, brushed her teeth, and realized that her tooth had (randomly!) come out! She had to be rushed to the closest dentist (and hour and a half away!) and camp had to begin without her. Just a couple days later, the program director for the teens became very sick with a high fever and was unable to lead the program for the next couple of days. Think this is just random? I sure don't.
I tell you these things because it was such a wake up call for me! I know in my head that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood", but it was just SO EVIDENT all week that there was a spiritual battle going on. When you see all this going on around you, what can you do except go to your Father in prayer and ask for His protection?? He was good, He answered our prayers, and He DID do awesome things in the lives of the campers this week, despite Satan's efforts to stop His work.
Week Three: Young Adults
After being the camp nurse the week before and taking care of sick people (yeah, that's a whole other story!), I became sick as we headed into this week. Thankfully, young adults don't need as much supervision and so I was able to rest more than the previous weeks. I was also able (along with one of my Romanian teammates) to spend good, concentrated time in prayer. How awesome to be able to see up close and personal that God hears AND answers our prayers! It really was amazing to see...it gave me goosebumps!
A couple more quick answers to prayer:
I made FRIENDS this summer! With the counselors, with the campers, with the staff. This is no small thing! I can walk into church now and actually KNOW people! Thanks, Lord!
My language abilities have improved. I understand more of what's going on around me, which is a nice feeling!
So those are the three weeks. There's so much more I could say, but this IS a public blog and some stories are better left untold! :-) This time next week we'll be headed north for our last two weeks of camp! I'm pretty excited! :-) Please, keep praying for us! Your prayers are important and God DOES hear and answer!!
Week One: Filadelfia Teens
This week almost didn't happen because a few days (yes, days) before camp started, we noticed a problem in the contract we had signed for the camp we were renting. Those were very tense days, full of negotiations and prayer, but God answered beyond what we could have imagined, and we had camp as planned! Thank you, Lord!
This was an emotionally and spiritually intense week. God did some great things in the lives of the campers, but it was an exhausting battle! Several campers were saved! The biggest challenge they left with, though, was to know, read, and study their Bibles. We've heard that since this group has returned home, they've ASKED their leaders to start Bible studies back up, even though it is the middle of the summer! Praise God for His continuing work!
Week Two: Holy Trinity Teens/Pre-Teens
For those of you who read my prayer letter, you know that this week was kind of an experiment for us. We tried (for the first time) running two different camps at the same time. Going INTO this week, (up until Sunday afternoon!) we really debated about whether or not this was best, but it seemed like something God was leading us to try. He really did BLESS this week and it was so neat to see the pre-teens open up and come alive in their own program.
Satan seemed to be especially opposed to the pre-teen camp. The morning the kids all arrived, the assistant program director for the pre-teens woke up, brushed her teeth, and realized that her tooth had (randomly!) come out! She had to be rushed to the closest dentist (and hour and a half away!) and camp had to begin without her. Just a couple days later, the program director for the teens became very sick with a high fever and was unable to lead the program for the next couple of days. Think this is just random? I sure don't.
I tell you these things because it was such a wake up call for me! I know in my head that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood", but it was just SO EVIDENT all week that there was a spiritual battle going on. When you see all this going on around you, what can you do except go to your Father in prayer and ask for His protection?? He was good, He answered our prayers, and He DID do awesome things in the lives of the campers this week, despite Satan's efforts to stop His work.
Week Three: Young Adults
After being the camp nurse the week before and taking care of sick people (yeah, that's a whole other story!), I became sick as we headed into this week. Thankfully, young adults don't need as much supervision and so I was able to rest more than the previous weeks. I was also able (along with one of my Romanian teammates) to spend good, concentrated time in prayer. How awesome to be able to see up close and personal that God hears AND answers our prayers! It really was amazing to see...it gave me goosebumps!
A couple more quick answers to prayer:
I made FRIENDS this summer! With the counselors, with the campers, with the staff. This is no small thing! I can walk into church now and actually KNOW people! Thanks, Lord!
My language abilities have improved. I understand more of what's going on around me, which is a nice feeling!
So those are the three weeks. There's so much more I could say, but this IS a public blog and some stories are better left untold! :-) This time next week we'll be headed north for our last two weeks of camp! I'm pretty excited! :-) Please, keep praying for us! Your prayers are important and God DOES hear and answer!!
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