Being "HOT" at JC Training

Letter to Prayer Coordinators for January 17-20, JC Training CampDear Prayer Coordinators,

Your prayers continue to bless us! Thank you for praying for us through the most recent JC Training Camp. The weekend was fruitful and awesome.

JC Training weekends are a lot of fun, although a bit exhausting. We cram a ton of things in from Friday night through Monday afternoon. This particular JC Training was focused on our winter camp theme #whoisjesus_winter2014 with a few training components included. We didn’t have any snow for the weekend, but got to hike in some new areas and still had a beautiful weekend in God’s creation.

Hiking at Vista Point!

One of the sweetest things about this JC Training is that we had 23 JCs in attendance with 13 of them being brand new. It was fantastic! Throughout the weekend it was so fun to watch the JCs, new and veterans, bonding with each other and the leaders, and being unified as a part of the body of Christ.

JC Group Initiative

One of the most intentional and fruitful times at JC Training is called Prayer Dots. 

During Prayer Dots everyone is divided into groups and each person, including the leaders, gets the opportunity to share their biggest prayer request. It could be anything, from a struggle with some sin to the hurt from a recent friend or just something that weighs heavily on their heart. 

The challenge always given to the JCs is that they would be "HOT." 

HONEST - OPEN - TRANSPARENT

I haven't been a part of camp for very long, but from what I hear from other the other leaders is that at each training camp everybody gets a bit "HOTTER." For reals, the JCs aren't pretending anymore. They realize that camp is a safe place, know that they're broken people having been made complete by the work of Jesus, and struggle with real things in life. No joke. 

This last JC Training was no exception and when Amy and I got to be in a group with six other JCs we were only amazed at how "HOT" everyone was. The greatest part of Prayer Dots is that after sharing everyone else in the group lifts that person up in prayer. We don't provide a brief counseling session. We don't try and fix it real quick. We simply pray and bring that person's request before God who is the only One that can bring healing, true healing. It's awesome.

Despite it being the most difficult part of the weekend, I would say, and the JCs probably agree, that it is the most worthwhile part of the weekend.

Thank you for praying for us! Pray that the JCs, new and veterans, would continue to grow in the faith and be built up as men and women of God. 

In the name of Jesus,

Jeremy

P.S. Check back soon for a few of our JC's reflections on JC Training. 

They Just Want to Have Fun!

Letter to Prayer Coordinators for January 3-5, 4th-6th Grade Camp
Dear Prayer Coordinators,

Your prayers are a blessing to us! To know that we have you and your prayer team behind us each camp brings us comfort and strength throughout the weekend. Even though it has been a few weeks since our January 3-5 camp, the memories are still strong of what God accomplished throughout the weekend.

One of my favorite memories is that the 4^th through 6^th grade campers just wanted to have fun. They did! And I love that at Camp Alandale we get to let them have fun and just be kids. They were goofy. They got to play games. They had lots and lots of fun. Doesn’t everyone want to play Foosball first thing in the morning? Well, the campers did.

Being goofy...Look, a deer! Just kidding.

For me, one of the most fun times was when we went to camp’s secret sledding hill. This is a place we hike to when there is not enough snow around camp’s property to sled and play in the snow here. It had been about two to three weeks without snow on the mountain. Just in case, as we heading out for the hike I told the campers that they could bring a sled along if they like, but that the chances of there actually being snow were pretty slim. Despite my disclaimer, a few of them decided to bring sleds along and to their joy found just enough snow (or ice, rocks, and sticks) to sled down. I was amazed that there was anything left, but God knew that there was enough for the campers to play in the snow for a little while, some for their very first time.

Directions to the not so secret sledding hill.

One of the campers who got to play in the snow for the first time was named George. He is a sweet guy that had only attended one camp in the past. When his counselor first met him and asked him if he knew Jesus, George responded by saying, quite frankly, “No.” He didn’t seem that interested at the beginning, but God slowly opened his heart throughout the weekend. As we told stories about Jesus and his disciples, I believe that God was reaching into George's heart and making it new. On the last day of camp, George's counselor shared with the group that he had chosen to follow Jesus, to which George affirmed. We praise Jesus for George's confession of faith and pray that it would grow deep roots in George's heart. Would you continue to pray for George?

It was an amazing weekend to start off the winter season. Even though I would have preferred to have lots of snow, God still made the weekend super fun and exciting. Thank you for praying for us and for taking the campers’ hearts before the Lord. To God be all the glory!

Will you praise God today for the way he moves at Camp Alandale?

Sincerely,

Jeremy

Something for Everyone

Where is this picture taken from?

Welcome to the new Camp Alandale blog! I'm glad you're here. Only God knows what will become of this blog, but let me share with you some of our plans. The opportunities are endless. It's going to be awesome.

First and foremost, we hope to share our life with you--give you the in's and the out's of what happens around Camp Alandale. 

I'm reminded of Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 when he said, "We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God's Good News but our lives, too." 

Of course, this blog will be about Jesus. 

It'll hopefully give you a deeper glimpse into the happenings of camp. This might work out in some high profile interviews with the Executive Director or the Chairman of the Board. Perhaps we'll feature a counselor of the month or the latest on our endless maintenance projects list. Maybe we'll even highlight some of the favorite places around camp like Castle Rock or the secret sledding hill and tell stories of the great times with campers.

Which way to the sledding hill?

Campers, this blog is for you! 
We'll be posting devotionals for you to read and use. We'll be answering common questions that many of you wonder about. You'll want to check back often, so that you don't miss out on anything that is happening in the Camp Alandale family. Feel free to comment or ask questions.

As a camp director, I'm often asked what we do during our "off season", like we all just go on vacation and sit around and drink coffee. Although we do take time to rest and probably drink more coffee than we should, we actually do stuff during these times. I won't explain it all here and now, but want you to know that we plan to debunk some of these assumptions. 

This blog will also be a resource for all you parents out there. Maybe you've wondered if your children have been Predator Proofed or what the typical signs of abuse may be. There are lots of things and lots of topics that would be helpful for you. For this portion, we'll definitely be using some guests writers within the Camp Alandale community and plan to give you only our best.

This also will be the spot to read the latest prayer letters and find out about special needs here at camp. We know that without the community of supporters and donors behind camp that we wouldn't have such a special place. 

Isn't this exciting? I can't wait to post pictures, share videos, and update you on what happens at Camp Alandale. Check back for weekly updates from Camp Alandale. We've got something for everyone.