Well first of all I am sorry that I didn't post a blog last week, it was a crazy weekend. So, this is a combo blog
Last Last week:
We pretty much worked the whole week because we didn't have a group until Thursday and even then they were only there for Thursday. We moved our beach again around to a new spot because as of this last weekend, the area it was at is now above the water line. Not so good for jumping off of stuff. The group that came was from a church in El Passo, Tx and they were a lot of fun. they couldn't afford to come for the whole week, or part of a week for that matter but they still came and God got to work through those kids even if they didn't get the whole camp experience. After they left we started preparing for the weekend (4th of July). We have this small vender tailor that is used mostly for the mission groups that roll through from time to time. We took it and cleaned it up and made it into a burger joint that we called the "Tiki Hut." Why did we do this? Because we (staff) used the crazy flow of people that come into the park for the holiday to raise some money for the camp by selling hot dogs and hamburgers and brisket. That was a hard and hot job because not to many people were interested in it and the only way to get cool was to just sit and sweat. But God did bless us by providing a few people that came back over and over again so that was awesome.
Last week:
The group was YOUNG! Well young for this camp anyway. We normally have jr high and sr high school aged kids and this group was entirely under the age of 12... I didn't sign up for that. That age group is hard for me but I guess God had some stretching for me to do this summer in that area and thats perfectly fine. Well it is now that I am reflecting back on it. The group was from a local church right here in Elephant Butte and the kids had a ton of energy and for the most part were completely well behaved. Oh, and on top of having a young group of children, we also, for the first time, ran our own program and teaching. One of the staff at the Lone Tree Ranch, Sean Trout, came over and taught on the Sea of Galilee and he did a really good job with it. One of the things that most challenged me this week was the river float. Its one of the activities that we take campers on during the week that involves driving to the river, keeping everyone together once they are in the river, and keeping them safely in the middle of the river. That last part........imposible for these kids to do.... That hour and a half was the single most challenging part about this entire summer so far. I felt like I pulled all of them about 12346443 times from trees and rocks because they ether wouldn't listen to me and swim to the middle or just plum couldn't do it because they were to little. By the end of the float my arms and back were on fire from paddling that little sit on top kayak up, down and across that river. However, even though this week was hard, I got to know a lot of the kids very well. It was hard to tell where most of them stood in their walk with Jesus or even if they had one. But I do feel like we at lest showed them what Jesus looks like in our lives and how He can look in theirs, and to be honest, that rocks. And thats all we are here to do, its up to God to call people to the family, not ours. So, we can continue to pray for these kids along with the rest of the kids that have been and are yet to come to camp, all the camps.
This Week
Since this week is half over already I figured I should throw it up as well. This week we dont have a camp at all. So, we are just working on stuff that keeps getting pushed back to "oh we can do that tomorrow." Well I guess we are just working on that stuff the first half of the week and then its off to wed some of my most dearest friends, Shane and Chelsea. I have the extreme honor and pleasure of being Shane's Best Man and I am extremely excited for them! I dont want to say to much in here about them because I dont want them cheating in on some of the stuff I am gonna say in my toast to them and God's amazing plan for their life.
Next Week
Next Week is going to be a little bit crazy.... After the wedding and reception I will be at work back here in Elephant Butte at 7am for the marina till 1pm and the from 1pm till that next Saturday its going to be camp time! We will have two groups coming in for camp. The first one, Sun-Weds, is going to be a mission group who are working with one of the Indian reservations near Saccorro NM. So, pray for them because they are doing Gods work. The last half of the week we will be just doing normal camp with kids (jr & sr high) so pray for them that God works in their life starting now and ending...well never.
Thank you so so much for your continues support and prayer! I really can tell a difference between the days that yall are praying and ones that yall are not. I like the ones that yall are the most.
Pray Stuff:
1. kids.....kids....kidsssssss
pray for them about everything I mentioned above and anything else you can think of. They cant and sadly wont get enough of it.
2. Shane and Chelsea
pray that God remains the center of their relationship for years and years and years to come and that He will work through them in amazing ways
3. Staff
It is easy for us to get burnt out. We still have 6 weeks of camp left to go and we need to be just as fresh for that last group of kids as we were for the first group. so pray for rest and for anything else God lays on your heart for us
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