To Sum it Up

To sum up the past eight weeks into one post is going to be a considerable challenge!  God has done many wonderful things in our lives and through the ministry of Camp Forest Springs.  I would like to try and tell you about some of the highlights.

The summer began with a bang as we celebrated Camp’s 50th Anniversary during our Memorial Day Family Weekend.  We enjoyed reflecting on how God has brought us through many difficult times, given fruit to our efforts, and taught us more about Himself.

Soon after the celebration, Camp filled up with summer staff, for their time of training, as well as a whole lot of short, squatty wrestlers for Camp of Champs!  (no offense intended regarding their physical stature )

Then, in the middle of June, our 26 counselors greeted nearly 200 children for the first of five Summer Youth Camps.  I was privileged to be able to follow these campers closely throughout the weeks as I put together their follow up DVD’s.  Many kids made significant decisions regarding their relationship with Jesus Christ.  When all was said and done, the Gospel was preached to nearly 1000 campers, and over 90 of them placed their faith in Christ!

Four years ago this camper learned that we shared the same name.  Each year when Jesse returns as a youth camper, we make it a priority to get our picture taken together. 

At the end of each camp, I set aside some time to do video interviews with several campers about their experience at Camp Forest Springs.  It was great to hear how many kids said that CFS was the place that they heard about Jesus and trusted in Him for their salvation.  One camper shared how he placed his trust in Jesus while at camp and that when he went back home, he told his family about Jesus and they all trusted in Jesus together! What an awesome thing to be a part of!

Youth Camps is by far my busiest time of the entire year.  At certain times during the seven weeks, I almost forget that there is life outside of camp!  Many thanks to April for holding down the fort at home, and to Lauren for being patient with her daddy being gone so much.  Now that we are into Family Camps, my schedule will level out a bit.  I will be transitioning into more office work while at the same time being available to help out with the Family Camp program schedule.  Pictures and video still need to be taken for general camp promotion, so I won’t totally be an office hermit! 

My little sister Katelyn was able to be a counselor

Danielle (Another of my wonderful sisters!) was the Senior Counselor along with Andrew Kling

I hope to post some of the videos from the summer as well as some of the testimonies that we gathered over the past several weeks.  So please check back if you’d like to see them.

Here are some more links of interest from Summer Youth Camps 2008!