boys week 3 missions camp 2!

I don't believe I will ever forget this last week of camp. It was the week with the most warfare, but also the most victory. After 8 weeks of camp we were all super exhausted. But apart from that, there was an evil suppressing spirit all over the camp. We could all feel it, and it was depressing. There was something that Satan didn't want to happen that week and he was fighting it hard. On Wednesday I finally talked to another one of the guys about about it and he felt the same way I did about it. Now there was also a child in my cabin that had a peculiar spirit about him, and I just can't explain it, he would be so good, and then act like he didn't even hear you, he made up so many stories, and I just had such a burden for him. Then Thursday morning I just had such a burden for that camper (Scott was his name) that I went alone to just pray for him specifically. So great was my desire to see him accept Christ that I just started crying. Which was totally weird for me. Cause I don't claim to be a macho emotionless guy, but I rarely cry. Then I wen to the staff meeting and there we prayed that God would return and fill the camp, to get rid of the evil spirit there. During that prayer time I cried again. The activity that day was amazing though! but that will have to wait for my next post....time for sleep

boys week 2 Missions camp!!! :)

The second week was missions week. During these weeks we brought in younger boys that had never been before, and probably never heard the gospel before. Though we were all exhausted from the previous week God gave us an extra measure of energy. This week is the one that touched me the most. Even though most of the boys in my cabin had already accepted Christ there was one a few that hadn't. And one of them for sure changed that during that week. On Wednesday he accepted Christ as His Savior! Then when we got back to the cabin the one thing he said over and over was the phrase "a Christian like me!" he was so excited to have found Christ. During that week God blessed me with an amazing group of boys, they were obedient, they cared for each other, and really came together as a family. One boy in particular really let Christ shine through him. His name was Jared, he had such a heart of service, and a desire to help others. When the end of the week came, it was the hardest goodbye I've ever made. Several of the boys said they didn't want to go home, and then they started crying. Even the oldest and most mature of them. It was all I could to to keep from crying myself, I felt as if my kids were going to college, I just hated watching them drive off. But God is good, and he taught me just how much these boys need a man in their lives just to love them. It was incredible to be that man for a week. God is amazing

Boys week 1 Dicipleship week!

After the four weeks of girls camp it was our turn to be the counselors and minister to the kids. The first week was discipleship camp for kids that had been there before, had been saved, and wanted to know more about God. We were bursting with excitement at what God was going to do! And then the campers arrived, such overwhelming joy! Then we got to the cabin....let me tell you something right now. When you get 10 thirteen to fifteen year old boys from the projects in a cabin the size of a master bedroom...It takes a supernatural miracle of God. And the best part is that God always proved faithful. During that week one of my campers accepted Christ as His Savior (which by the way NEVER gets old!!!!)And God provided the opportunity for me to help teach these young men about their God and specifically about the Holy Spirit. There were many trials that week, but also many victories. We battled homesickness, massive amounts of energy, and the powers of darkness to tell these boys about God and it was all worth it! After being with them for a week and pumping the idea of being a family into them all week it was so hard to let them go at the end of the week. They really were my family. That week I came to the end of myself and realized full well that God is the only one who can do anything in the live of the boys. And only if I gave up myself and let God work through me could I effectively minister to the boys.

weekends at the park

During those four weeks we would go to the park every weekend to simply worship God in public and talk about the week and what He did. We sang worship songs as loud as we could in public then opened our Bibles and just read to each other what God laid on our hearts. It was a blessed time of fellowship and learning. It's so cool to be a part of youth that passionately want God, and that's what it was. So unbelievable.

Support staff week!!!!!

Directly following staff training came the girls weeks of camp. During this time the four guys that stayed for the whole summer were given the job of keeping the camp in pristine condition, running the activities, and praying for the girls. For four weeks we cleaned pools, washed dishes, hacked at weeds for several hours a day, fixed what ever broke, filled water balloons, built bonfires, and ran the activities. God blessed me by giving me the opportunity to take care of the horses and oversee that activity. Horses are amazing creatures of our God. It was a blessing to learn more about them! oh, haha and horses have personalities for sure! Great story if your interested :) anyways the greater blessing came while I led the girls around on horses, I got to hear about what they learned about God and how much they loved the camp. I remember one time when I was talking to one of the horses saying "there's something different about the people here at this camp, you're all so nice and loving" it so encouraged me and reminded my why I was working there. I could tell you all kinds of stories abut how God provided, and kept us safe, and united as brothers in Christ. But we would be here forever. One thing I must say is that God is always faithful if you seek Him, that's what I learned during those four weeks through so many ways He proved it, over and over again

Staff training

The first week I was here was for "staff training." During that week we learned the ins and outs of being a counselor and how to run the different activities. But more importantly how to prepare our hearts to minister to hurting children. To realize that we are absolutely nothing and that God must work through us for there to be any victory. Then there was the worship! oh! To have 30 college students in one room that have given their summer to serve God, and have only one thought on their mind which is glorifying God! It's just amazing, you could feel the passion for God flowing around the room :) After the training classes were done and we finished the manual work to prepare camp for the kids all the guys would go back to the "guys staff cabin" and talk about God! How good He is, how helpless we are, what God was teaching us, how to learn from past mistakes....it was absolutely a blessing. During that week we developed a bond of brotherhood in serving God and that's a bond not easily broken.

The beggining

So I know that I haven't really done anything since I created this, and y'all probably think I forgot about it. I didn't. This summer has been so busy and so incredible that I haven't found the time or the feeling of adequacy to write. Some of you may know that I've been at Lighthouse Christian Camp since may 25th, and our schedule has been insane! 6:45am-8:pm for most of the summer. But now it's slacked off a little and I plan to write a little bit more. I've learned so much this summer I'm not sue where to start, or if I'll even be able to capture the spirit of the summer even a little in words, but I'm going to try. First of all, my being here is pretty much a miracle. I wasn't supposed to be here at all, much less all summer. And even though no one else thought it could happen God told me I would be here all summer and even this week, and the crazy thing is...I actually trusted Him. Trusting God is scary, but so rewarding. And He always keeps His word, always