Summer Camp

I drove up to camp not wanting to be there. I was dreading the week...for various reasons. I had tried for two weeks to get excited for camp and change my attitude...and it didn't work.

God had a plan for the week. A divine appointment with the students AND with the leaders that were up there (including me!). I realized that I was going to get in God's way because of my crappy attitude. I spent a good portion of the first worship time, on my knees before God. I confessed my bad attitude and that I couldn't change it. I desperately wanted to be a part of what God was going to do during the week, but I had NOTHING to give. I was running on empty. I gave God my nothing and I rested in the promise that when I'm weak...HE is STRONG! And WOW! Was I BLOWN away by what God did through me during the week.

I'm not sure exactly how to really put down in words even a small part of what God did during the week at camp...but I'm going to give it my best shot.

The camp we take our kids up to every year is beautiful! I'd only really been up there in the winter, because we also do winter camp up at this location. It was cool to see it in the summer.

Camp, of course, included lots of fun stuff. There was hiking, boating, swimming (in a VERY COLD lake), biking, tree climbing, ropes course, etc. for the kids to choose from during afternoon free time. The activities staff planned a lot of different team games that we played throughout the week. I was on the green team...that's our mascot...the HULK...One of the other green GLs (Group Leader) was our mascot all week.

What the green team lacked in talent and the ability to win, we made up for with pure enthusiasm and spirit!

We were paired with the yellow team (their mascot is the sun looking thing...named Wilson) for a few of the games. The purple and pink teams ended up kicking our butts! Purple won, which was ok, since I knew a lot of the people on that team :-)

We played kick ball...

Had a pie eating contest...

(The guy on the end (right) was from the green team...he gobbled that pie up so fast! We actually did win that event)

Decorated "tanks" which we threw paintballs at...

Had a big pillow fight...

(there were a number of bloody noses...not my idea of fun, but some of the kids enjoyed it)

Other games included ultimate frisbee with a cows tongue (remember me mentioning there has to be something just slightly wrong with you in order to be in youth ministry??), a bowling ball toss, and a big relay race.

One afternoon during free time a cute little chipmunk got stuck in our cabin.

But, the main part of camp...the stuff that was life changing, had nothing to do with the games or the late night activities. God moved so powerfully, despite - or because - of our weaknesses. The two guys that were running camp this year ended up stepping down as the youth pastors of their churches and also left a lot of things for camp undone. The speaker was asked a month before camp and the worship team was asked just two weeks before! They might have been asked at the last minute, but MAN, did God have everything worked out!

The speaker built the week off of Luke 6:46-49 --

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

The first night, the speaker made a bold move...that set the tone for the entire week. He didn't give the traditional "God's gonna do awesome things this week" message. He had a come to Jesus meeting! He flat out told the students...and the leaders...that there were things in our lives that were keeping us from being built on a rock. That before we could really hear from God the rest of the week we needed to do the action step of coming. The speaker had warned the leaders before hand that he wasn't going to do a traditional alter call. This was going to be a night for everyone to come to Jesus...not to the speaker, not to a leader, not to a friend...just Jesus. And that's exactly what happened. The students encountered God as they came before Him in repentance. It was incredible. I have never seen students SO hungry for God and so broken before Him. And God promises that when we seek Him, we will find Him. The rest of the week, the whole atmosphere of camp was different, because students were truly experiencing freedom in Christ.

The rest of the week God continued to move powerfully as the kids learned more about what it means to live for God and were challenged to change the world. This generation, this world is hurting and something needs to change.

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and HEAL THEIR LAND."

Our land desperately needs healing, and I saw a group of kids stand up and say that they will no longer accept the way things are...I saw God equip those students to be His army.

The worship team did an incredible job. I have never seen a worship team that ONLY worshipped. They went after God so hard, you just couldn't help but come along. They also taught on worship really well. I spent a lot of the time just standing back watching in awe as I saw the kids sing praises to the Lord - without words on the screen or many times a previously written song.

The other thing that was so cool to sing, was the guys stepping up and pouring themselves out to God. The worship team really challenged the guys that it was time to step up and be men of God...not to be worried about looking cool, but to really become the leaders that God has made them. And wow! It was incredible!