So our 7th year of ministry is closing and summer camp is finished. As I have experienced year after year, the weeks before camp were full of attack and opposition but God did prevail and camp was a wonderful success! It started out by vehicle issues that are still not fully resolved, a swollen liver, and finally severe abdominal pain that had me visiting the doctor the day camp was to begin. My goal was to be given the "ok" to continue on with camp and I was given that (appendicitis was suspected but I trusted God to get me through if that was the case). I was physically under attack and in tremendous pain BUT God sustained me and camp was not affected.
This year our kids have been taken to church every other Sunday and those that wanted to participate in the school of ministry were also discipled and taught that material (thanks to Kingdom Equipping Ministries and Terry Shiver's church for helping sponsor this). They learned hands-on ministry of praying for people on the streets and in the marketplace and witnessed some miracles firsthand! This year our camp was held at Reed Bingham State Park and they got to experience camping OUTSIDE in tents for the first time. We had a tent malfunction right at the onset of camp and fortunately someone came to our rescue and loaned us tents before the park gate closed (thank you so much Andy Dow!!). That was God sending rescue literally at the 11th hour....without that we would have either had to cancel our camp out or sleep on the ground with no cover! But as always, God provided for all of our needs. This was a wonderful example for the kids to see how, when you walk in His ways, you will encounter struggle and difficulty but He always makes a way!
I was led to teach them out of Psalms and Matthew and we learned why Jesus instructed us to pray in the manner of the Lord's Prayer. We also incorporated some inner healing prayer during our hike. We finished Saturday off by watching fireworks and celebrating America. When asked what they have learned this weekend they replied "how to survive in the wilderness," "the Lord's Prayer," and "how important it is to forgive others." Thank you to all who prayed for us and supported this time of ministry. What a wonderful weekend it has been!!
