I want to share a story with you. This week we are doing a day camp for Samaritan Inn in McKinney. Today was our first day, and it got off to a rough start. Not only did we almost have several wrecks on our way, but when we arrived, unbeknownst to us, the two ladies who are coordinating the entire day camp were off work today. No one else knew anything about us. Aaron and I were standing in the lobby wondering if we would even be having a day camp this week.
Finally, we found two kids who wanted to come to our day camp, a three year old and a four year old. So we set off to our location. Now I don’t know how often you entertain 3&4 year olds, but they definitely don’t have long attention spans. Those two kids had the best time, though. I think they were elated to have the attention of 10 people whose sole purpose was to play with them.
The highlight of the day for me was watching the mother of the little boy take a long overdue nap while we entertained him. She told me she never gets a chance to take a break. (I believe it after chasing her little boy around the gym! He has a ton of energy.) I always thought about Camp Machaceh impacting the campers not the adults. But I will never forget the look of peace and utter relief on her face as we talked.
God works in amazing ways. I am so pumped about what He’s going to do the rest of the summer!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Power of a Name
I (Aaron) wrote this last week, but I'm just now getting around to posting it...
I always love reading in the Old Testament the different times when the patriarchs are born. Their families were so specific in naming their children. Sometimes the child would be named out of spite or anger. Often a parent would name their child after what they hoped for the child. Many times in the Bible God steps in with a name for a child. Names are so important that God changes names. Abram became Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter, and Saul to Paul as a few suggestions.
When Stephanie and I began searching God’s will for this ministry He laid on our hearts the idea of refuge. Many times the English language doesn’t have the ability to capture a whole thought in a single word. However, in Hebrew we found that there were several which could mean refuge. One of the ones David chose so often was Machaceh. Which has the meaning of hope, trust, and a place of shelter. All the aspects of a complete refuge. We struggled through finding a name for a while and as we discovered this word we realized God had breathed the first breath into a new organization.
Fast forward to this summer and God has not stood idle. He has stood by the promise that Camp Machaceh means. I talked to a parent who sent three youth to camp after their week. She told me that for three days before camp a man had been driving by their apartment complex and a nearby playground firing random shots at the kids who were out playing including hers. She looked at me with the most thankful eyes I have ever seen. The man was arrested while the kids were at camp. That week of camp may have saved her kids’ lives.
Today, the promise of Machaceh was driven even deeper into my heart. A young girl was not feeling very well after a hot day of camp. When her youth leader asked her if she wanted to go home, she said no because “this is the only place she has felt like a kid in a really long time.” Afterwards, she began talking with her youth leader, and I stepped out of the room for privacy. Later he came and told me that he has never heard her open up about God like she did today. At camp this week she found a safe haven where she could let her guard down. A place to find hope and trust. Machaceh is such a powerful promise for this ministry. We can’t wait to see how God continues to shape this ministry.
I always love reading in the Old Testament the different times when the patriarchs are born. Their families were so specific in naming their children. Sometimes the child would be named out of spite or anger. Often a parent would name their child after what they hoped for the child. Many times in the Bible God steps in with a name for a child. Names are so important that God changes names. Abram became Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter, and Saul to Paul as a few suggestions.
When Stephanie and I began searching God’s will for this ministry He laid on our hearts the idea of refuge. Many times the English language doesn’t have the ability to capture a whole thought in a single word. However, in Hebrew we found that there were several which could mean refuge. One of the ones David chose so often was Machaceh. Which has the meaning of hope, trust, and a place of shelter. All the aspects of a complete refuge. We struggled through finding a name for a while and as we discovered this word we realized God had breathed the first breath into a new organization.
Fast forward to this summer and God has not stood idle. He has stood by the promise that Camp Machaceh means. I talked to a parent who sent three youth to camp after their week. She told me that for three days before camp a man had been driving by their apartment complex and a nearby playground firing random shots at the kids who were out playing including hers. She looked at me with the most thankful eyes I have ever seen. The man was arrested while the kids were at camp. That week of camp may have saved her kids’ lives.
Today, the promise of Machaceh was driven even deeper into my heart. A young girl was not feeling very well after a hot day of camp. When her youth leader asked her if she wanted to go home, she said no because “this is the only place she has felt like a kid in a really long time.” Afterwards, she began talking with her youth leader, and I stepped out of the room for privacy. Later he came and told me that he has never heard her open up about God like she did today. At camp this week she found a safe haven where she could let her guard down. A place to find hope and trust. Machaceh is such a powerful promise for this ministry. We can’t wait to see how God continues to shape this ministry.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Port Arthur and other fun things....
We’re in Port Arthur (near Beaumont) this week doing construction for Rita Recovery. Hurricane Rita hit two years ago and thousands of people still live in homes that cannot even stand up to a normal rain shower. Alan, our construction director, told us that the reason there are still so many damaged homes is not due to a lack of volunteers, but due to the vast damages. Over 21,000 of the 50,000 people here had damaged homes.
Why are we here? Well, our day camp for this week fell through, but we still wanted to serve. So here we are.
Last week went very well. We had 14 campers!! Our 4 campers from the week before came back, and the new group wants to come back in July! I guess they are having fun or something. Actually, it was a very powerful week. Three campers accepted Christ for the first time! It’s crazy. You work so hard to bring something together, and you see God move even when things don’t go exactly according to plan.
My favorite moment from last week was watching one of our precious little boys from inner city Waco roll on the ground in laughter during a goofy song. That one moment, watching that rough ten year old with a mouth and a half forget everything and act like a kid is what we’re all about at Camp Machaceh.
We’ll be back home this weekend for a mission trip in the Dallas area. See you Sunday Honeymooners!! Then it’s back to camp in Waco.
Why are we here? Well, our day camp for this week fell through, but we still wanted to serve. So here we are.
Last week went very well. We had 14 campers!! Our 4 campers from the week before came back, and the new group wants to come back in July! I guess they are having fun or something. Actually, it was a very powerful week. Three campers accepted Christ for the first time! It’s crazy. You work so hard to bring something together, and you see God move even when things don’t go exactly according to plan.
My favorite moment from last week was watching one of our precious little boys from inner city Waco roll on the ground in laughter during a goofy song. That one moment, watching that rough ten year old with a mouth and a half forget everything and act like a kid is what we’re all about at Camp Machaceh.
We’ll be back home this weekend for a mission trip in the Dallas area. See you Sunday Honeymooners!! Then it’s back to camp in Waco.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The Adventure Begins
So a Copperhead snake fell out of a tree this morning and landed about ten feet from me. It was about 2 ½-3 feet long. Aaron and the guy with the weed eater killed it. Aaron came into the house we’re staying in and proudly informed me that he cut its head off with his knife. Apparently the body kept moving. I’m definitely glad I was inside by that point.
Right now, we are in Rosebud, TX (about 40 minutes SE of Waco) at the beautiful Forest Glen Springs Christian Camp. We are finally in the middle of our first week of camp. Boy what a ride it has been thus far!
Let me fill you in on the events of the last 2 ½ weeks…The adventure started before we even got out of Dallas. On the way to staff training, our trailer had a blowout requiring us to replace not one, but all four tires. Needless to say, we were late to staff training.
Staff Training…here are a few highlights of these two weeks: Aaron and one of our counselors got very sick during the first weekend—I think it was heat related. We had to walk between a quarter of a mile and a half mile one way to get from our cabins to the dining hall. We didn’t find the shortcut trail until the third to last day at that camp. Overall, though, staff training went really well. There were a few rough spots with our staff learning our leadership style and education model, but God is continuing to unite our staff into a tight-knit community of believers. I’m excited about getting to know each person better, and I am filled with joy when I see how God is working in their lives.
This brings me to the present. Like I said, this is our first week of camp. We have four campers this week. We were supposed to have more, but something happened and they couldn’t come. We went knocking on doors at an apartment complex in Waco on Sunday, and these four kids were the result of that. They are having a blast. I don’t think they even notice that there is not anyone else here.
One of our counselors told us that one of the campers said that being here at camp is better than being at home because he hears gunshots on a regular basis at home. That’s what Camp Machaceh is all about. That’s why we do this, and these kids are what keep me going everyday. We serve an awesome God, and I cannot wait to see what else He has in store for the summer!
Right now, we are in Rosebud, TX (about 40 minutes SE of Waco) at the beautiful Forest Glen Springs Christian Camp. We are finally in the middle of our first week of camp. Boy what a ride it has been thus far!
Let me fill you in on the events of the last 2 ½ weeks…The adventure started before we even got out of Dallas. On the way to staff training, our trailer had a blowout requiring us to replace not one, but all four tires. Needless to say, we were late to staff training.
Staff Training…here are a few highlights of these two weeks: Aaron and one of our counselors got very sick during the first weekend—I think it was heat related. We had to walk between a quarter of a mile and a half mile one way to get from our cabins to the dining hall. We didn’t find the shortcut trail until the third to last day at that camp. Overall, though, staff training went really well. There were a few rough spots with our staff learning our leadership style and education model, but God is continuing to unite our staff into a tight-knit community of believers. I’m excited about getting to know each person better, and I am filled with joy when I see how God is working in their lives.
This brings me to the present. Like I said, this is our first week of camp. We have four campers this week. We were supposed to have more, but something happened and they couldn’t come. We went knocking on doors at an apartment complex in Waco on Sunday, and these four kids were the result of that. They are having a blast. I don’t think they even notice that there is not anyone else here.
One of our counselors told us that one of the campers said that being here at camp is better than being at home because he hears gunshots on a regular basis at home. That’s what Camp Machaceh is all about. That’s why we do this, and these kids are what keep me going everyday. We serve an awesome God, and I cannot wait to see what else He has in store for the summer!
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