Dear Prayer Coordinators,
Toward
the middle of April, God placed an overwhelming call on my heart to be a part
of Camp Alandale’s 2015 Summer Staff—but not in the way I had expected. My 2014
summer staff experience was amazing. I had served as a nurse (distributing
meds, cleaning cuts and scrapes, and praying over campers as they needed their
physical/health needs met) while still being able to counsel every other week.
I have been counseling at Camp Alandale for three and a half years. Counseling
campers is a task like no other. Seeing campers come to Christ during a
one-on-one and seeing God heal them from their hurts is indescribable. I love
counseling. Therefore, I was shocked when the Lord asked me to give up
counseling for the summer.
As
I grieved this calling, God lovingly massaged my hurt and slowly replaced it
with excitement for the full-time (non-counseling) summer staff job of Food
Coordinating. As a Food Coordinator, I would be behind the scenes—organizing
food storage, ordering and receiving food orders, making sure food items for a
meal are healthy and accounted for, and facilitating their preparation. The
Lord showed me that this role was something He had been preparing me for in
years past. As a naturally organized and detail-oriented person, the idea of
budgeting, coordinating, and preparing meals “tickled my fancy.” I joyfully
accepted the job.
Still,
my heart ached that I would not be spending this summer as intimately with the
campers. Throughout the Summer Staff Training week, I shed many tears and
continually cried out to God. Ever so sweetly, He reminded me that I am still
serving the campers. Many of these kids do not get healthy, planned meals three
times a day. Many meaningful conversations are had around the meal times
between campers and counselors. God is asking me to be an integral part in
setting the stage for campers to experience all of those things. As I held onto
that reminder, I felt the weight of prayers on me during the training week. As
I let go of my desires, God gave me new ones. I cannot wait to see the campers,
counselors, and JCs share moments together while eating at the picnic tables. I
know that God is going to work mightily this summer, and I am humbled to watch
it all happen.
Thank
you so much for your prayers for the all of the Summer Staff during our
training week. Your prayers are so important and we’re forever grateful for the
time that you spend lifting us up in prayer.
Sincerely,
Janine
Diaz
Summer
Staff 2015
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