Gideon's Army

Lately, Aaron has been calling our summer staff Gideon's Army and for good reason. Back in the fall when we started planning for this summer, we thought we needed at least 10 counselors. "We can't possibly run our program with less," we thought. But here we are three and a half weeks until staff training starts, and we have half the number we thought we needed.

I can just imagine Gideon's face when God told him "you have too many men for me to deliver Midian into [your] hands" (Judges 7:2). I imagine him thinking something along these lines: "Are you sure God? Have you seen the Midianite army? You want to reduce my army of thousands down to 300?!" (Find the whole story of Gideon in Judges 6-8.)

But God in His infinite love and wisdom had a plan for those 300 men. In Judges 7:2, God goes on to explain why He wants to reduce the army: "in order that Israel may not boast against Me that her own strength has saved her."

Put another way: "Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends." --George Muller

If God wants to use 5 counselors and Aaron and me to show His love to campers this summer, who am I to question Him? After all, He often uses a very small number of people to do very big things. (Gideon isn't the only example. Read Judges. And the rest of the Bible for that matter.) While I still hope and pray that God will provide at least one more counselor, I can rest in the knowledge that His plan is perfect. I have faith that He will provide the staff we need to run three weeks of camp. And in the end, God gets all the glory because the only explanation for Camp Machaceh's success is His provision.

In the mean time, we are ecstatic about the summer! We cannot wait to meet our campers! Please pray with us as the summer draws near. Pray for our staff, our campers, and Aaron and Stephanie as we finish up last minute details.

Thanks for joining us on this journey!

Exhausted But Energized

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." ~Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)

I [Stephanie] love this passage! I often feel weary and exhausted when I think about all I have left to do before June 21 when our counselors arrive. But when I take the time to stop and meditate on God's Word, I am truly renewed, refreshed, and reenergized. That's the way it's supposed to be. Many times I think we forget that doing God's work IS exhausting--that it's ok, even normal to be tired and worn down. However, we must remember to go back to Him for our strength and renewal. Perhaps Oswald Chambers put it best:

"You have no right to say-'O Lord, I am so exhausted.' He saved and sanctified you in order to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that your supply comes from Him." ~Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

In what area of your life is God using you to the point of exhaustion? Are you turning to Him for your strength? It's definitely worth it!

Camp News

Staff: Praise God for providing another staff member! Yea Hunter! It's awesome to see how God is bringing this summer together. Aaron and I have been praying hard about the whole staff thing, so this is truly an answer to prayer! God's timing is always perfect!

A quick note on Kroger Share Cards: Kroger has recently changed its program. The Share Cards you have no longer work, as I'm sure you've already figured out. The new program will connect Camp Machaceh with your KrogerPlus Card. We will let you know when we have more details on this new program. We also have programs with Albertson's and Tom Thumb/Randalls. You can find out more information at www.campmachaceh.org/donations-store%20cards.shtml

Thanks for you prayers and support as we continue on this exciting journey!

5.5 Weeks and Counting

This morning I [Stephanie] realized that we only have five and half weeks until our counselors arrive to begin training. Five and half weeks left to finish a million and a half details. (Ok. So it's not really that many, but sometimes it feels that way!) Despite the lack of time and long to do list, I still find myself awaiting the start of Summer 2008 much like a child waiting for Christmas morning. I simply cannot wait to see our campers this summer! I can't wait to see how our campers from last year have grown and changed, and I can't wait to meet our new campers. On July 6, all the hard work and complete craziness will be forgotten, replaced by pure joy as I watch each camper experience all that God has for them in five jam-packed days at camp.

Please join me in praying for each camper. Pray that they will be ready to hear what God has to say to them during camp and in the weeks following. Pray that they will meet with God in a powerful way. Pray for their health and safety. Pray that God will do more than we can ask or imagine this summer.

Thanks for your prayers. It's amazing what can happen in a camper's life in just five days. I can't wait to share with you stories and pictures of Summer 2008! Check the countdown over to the right--July is closer than you think!

I'll leave you with some of my favorite pictures from last summer:

A Taste of Camp Machaceh 2008

On Friday, April 25 we held our first annual "A Taste of Camp Machaceh" in Houston. It was a great success. We had about 30 people for lunch at the Bells & Whistles Cafe. (Sidenote: If you are ever in Houston in the vicinity of Minute Maid Park, the Bells & Whistles Cafe is definitely a great lunch choice!)

Guests were treated to delicious food and a "taste" of what campers will experience this summer. Thanks to all of you who came and helped make the first "A Taste of Camp Machaceh" a huge success! Also, special thanks to our family and friends who helped us prepare and who pray for us!

Enjoy these pictures of a fun afternoon!

A Special Peace

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!

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.

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.