Friday, March 4, 2016

Standing Out - Session #4, February 26-28

Letter to Prayer Coordinators for Session #4, February 26-28, 7th-9th Grade

Dear Prayer Coordinators,

Greetings from Idyllwild! This past weekend, Session #4 over February 26-28, was a great camp. We had 12 campers, eight counselors, and five junior counselors. God blessed us with an excellent weekend of weather and a few small snow patches for the campers to enjoy. Your prayers were definitely felt as we went throughout the weekend. The campers really engaged with the theme of “Come to Me” as Jesus shares with us in Matthew 11:28-30.

This weekend was a little bit boy heavy. We had eight boy and four girl campers, which made for an understandably rowdy weekend. At times, we had to remind the guys although we want to have fun, we can’t shove or push one another. The boys all responded well and seemed to have a brotherhood going by the end of the weekend.

One boy in particular, Robbie, stood out to me. He had been to camp once before in the summer and definitely has some rough edges. I’d assume that off the mountain, he is known by a reputation much different than he brings to camp. I don’t know much of his story, but I love having Robbie at camp. He is funny, engages during the sessions, totally loves having a counselor, and really likes being at camp. He looks like a city kid, but loves being in the snow, hiking in the mountains, and living the camp lifestyle. Over the course of the weekend, I saw Robbie open up more and more to his counselor and answer even more questions during the sessions. Robbie even memorized and shared the memory verse with everyone on Sunday morning. I don’t feel like I am communicating it well enough, but Robbie really astonished me, rather God amazed me, in seeing how much he enjoyed being at camp. Despite not knowing Robbie's past, it amazes me how safe, comfortable, and loved Robbie feels at camp. I hope one day he’ll share his story with us.

Another set of boys that always stand out are Josh and Jonathan. They are twin brothers who have been attending camp since the 4th grade. Pray for them! They have been reunited with their birth mother for some time and continue to attend camp. I know that coming to camp is a huge highlight from them. Both of them have even told me that one day they want to be a camp director. I always tell them, “I hope it happens someday.” Still, Josh and Jonathan vacillate in their spiritual beliefs and are yet to make a firm standing in the name of Jesus. Pray they would choose to follow Christ with their whole hearts. Pray that one of these sessions they would feel their brokenness and choose to follow Jesus. I know nothing at camp happens without prayer, for which I want to thank you and thank you again. Thank you for praying for all of us. We couldn’t continue the work at Camp Alandale without your prayers.

With the love of Christ,
Jeremy Allen

Assistant Camp Director

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