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