Camp Week 3 is over!

Well I am well over halfway through! Only one more camp week left and a lot of wrapping up for the summer. This will involve a lot of going back to visit families we will not able to work for this time and telling them the bad news. Telling someone we can't work for them is probably going to be really hard to do so pray that I will use just the right words.

Week 3 went really well! We had a lot of great campers and families we worked for. The weatherman was forcasting rain all week but we actually got rain only at night. It was a nice gift from God. This week I went around and asked for a lot of donations since CCC relies on donations to keep running. That was a lot of times a hard job but it helps to remember that the worst thing someone can say is no. And especially during the summer and the bad economy, No was the more expected answer. It's alright though because the Lord will provide!

One day as I was driving around asking for donations, I stopped at this one local store in Lansing on the side of the road. I went into the store and nobody was there, so as I walked back out, the owner came out of his house across the street and met me in the front. I explained to him what CCC was and this time he had actually heard of it. So after he found out it was a christian organization, this old man went on to explain how he had a drinking problem for a long time ect and then 6-7 years ago he became a Christian and has been following the Lord ever since. He then handed me $7 from his pocket and said that business was slow but he could give that. I asked him if I could pray with him and after doing so he motioned for me to come into the store. He then showed me his baseball caps that he had in the store and gave two to me as a gift. One was an I love Jesus hat and the other was a hot pink john deere had. both very cool! I now have 2 favorite hats I like to wear. :) God likes to suprise us. At first I wasn't going to stop at this store, but even if I only got $7 from the owner, I got to hear his testimony and see how God had worked in his life; not to mention getting some sweet new hats!

God also did some great things among the campers this week, like he does every week. When we divide the campers into boy/girl/adult, all us girl staff members split up the girl campers and have what we call GT (girl time); and the same for the boys (guy time). But we had some great conversations in GT this week ranging from, "what do you think about drugs," to "what makes you a Christian," and "how do we know the bible is accurate?" All great questions that led to much discussion. God works in every situation and while you may not think a GT meeting went well one night, in reality God was pulling on the kids hearts and drawing them to Him.

As I finish up this summer with one last leg, pray that I will continue doing my best every day for the Lord and to rely on him for support and strength. Pray that the families we work for will see God through the campers and that the campers will remember that the point of camp is not just to do good for families and make new friends, it is to glorify the Lord in all we do and say.

Tuesday Camp Week 3!!!!

So it is a Tuesday afternoon and I am in charge of the Tool Shed, which means I stay in camp and organize, clean, and prepare for campers to come back from their worksites. We have limited internet connection so while I can write on my blog I cannot check any of my email addresses. :)

This camp week has been good so far. We have about 80 some campers and having a really good time. Sunday was fun where we broke the ice and sang some fun songs and played some games. We broke them up into smaller groups with 2 staff members each in charge of them for the week, and then we broke them up into their "christian missions groups" with 6-8 people in each. Last night we had a good worship and the kids really enjoyed it. God is really working on the kids hearts and I'm looking forward to how He is going to further mold them.

Camp Week 2!

Well I am halfway through the summer! This camp week presented some more challenges as we had 72 campers. We worked for some great families this week. I was field for 2 days this week so I was in charge of helping paint this nice old man's house and doing some yardwork and cleaning for a couple old ladies. I wish we could have done more for Gwyn , the man whose house we painted, but we are only qualified enough to do certain things like wheelchair ramps, some floor repair, yardwork, painting ect. We cannot fix holes in the roof or lift up an entire sinking room which he desperatly needed. But we can show God's love as much possible just by spending time visiting with them. One of the ladies we worked for was named Virgie. She is a sweet 94 year old lady who did not hear very well. She loved the company and the work done on her yard. She especially loved prayer and it was an experience yelling a prayer in this lady's ear. :) During one of the days I was visiting families that we might work for, I went to this one lady's house in Jefferson. She was telling me about all the ways that the Lord had provided for her while she was sick and needing treatment. It was really refreshing to hear about how the Lord always provided even down to her meals she needed. Then I asked her if I could pray with her and after I had finished praying she prayed for me and the campers for the upcoming week. That was really humbling.

This week reminded me of how important it is to stress that we are not here on this earth just to be blessed and to be concerned only about ourselves, but we are here to love and serve others as well. God Bless America !! After the campers left on Saturday the staff enjoyed the tradtion of watching fireworks. Please pray for the campers that they would truly have servant hearts as they work for these wonderful families. Pray for wisdom for us on staff for us to know how best to encourage the campers as well as the families we serve.