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.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
