Camp Alandale Newsletter Q2 - 2019

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Summer Camp #1

Ernesto had never been to Camp Alandale before but from the moment he stepped off the bus into a cheering crowd of counselors and staff members holding cookies, Ernesto had a shining smile that was on his face for almost the entire week. As his counselor, I was lucky enough to hang out with Ernesto all week. Whether it was playing soccer, learning memory verses, or catching lizards, Ernesto was naturally gifted at whatever he put his mind to! As the week progressed, Ernesto wanted to spend every spare moment searching through the bushes and the logs for any sign of lizards; and every time he caught one, which was pretty regularly, his face would light up with his one-of-a-kind smile!

Since the lizards weren’t out during our one-on-one times in the evenings, Ernesto loved to look up at the light of the stars while we walked and talked. One night, Ernesto telling me about how he hated being alone at night. So I mentioned how God promises to never leave us. Ernesto looked at me with a skeptical look and said, “How do I know that God is with me if I can’t see him?” Then I got to tell Ernesto about how Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to live inside of us if we accept Jesus as our savior and make Him Lord of our lives. I asked him if he had ever asked Jesus to do that. Ernesto responded by telling me that he thought he was “Cathletic” (his way of saying “Catholic”) but that he wasn’t sure if that meant God was with him. I told Ernesto that he didn’t have to worry about whether or not he was saved because we could pray right where we were and that he could ask Jesus to do that right then and there. Ernesto stopped walking, looked at me with that shining smile, and said “I want to ask him right now!” So right there in the middle of a dirt path, under the light of the stars that Ernesto loved so much, he prayed like he was talking to a friend and then he knew, without a doubt, that God would never leave his side.

Summer Camp #4

Dear Prayer Warriors,

This week at camp, I had the joy and privilege of being Nancy’s counselor. Nancy was a spirited and creative camper who had a knack for exploring any chance she got. It was her first time attending Camp Alandale, but rather than being shy and reserved, she was outspoken and came up with nicknames for every single camper (and even a few counselors). While she was more interested in fishing than she was talking, she said that she used to be a Christian, but over the years she hasn’t been that close with God. I asked her if she wanted to rededicate her life back to Christ, and she said yes. Praise God!

On getting to know her more, she had a very dark past that she didn’t like talking about except when she shared it publicly during campfire testimonies. Even then, she still didn’t give many details and was quick to share more about her friends’ lives than her own. During the pine-cone ceremony, she broke down and she cried for the rest of the night. The next morning, she was giving everyone hugs. When I asked her about it, she said that she gave God all her problems and was changed. She went back to her group home that day, but she expressed much interest in coming back to camp for the rest of her life and eventually becoming a junior counselor. Please keep Nancy in your prayers that she will continue to grow in Christ and will continue to come back to camp to learn more about the God who took away her burdens.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Blackman  

Summer Staff

Summer Camp #3

Dear Prayer Warriors and Friends of Camp,

Thank you so much for praying for our last camp session. It was an exciting week to minister to 26 junior high campers—they had so much energy! I was blessed to counsel two young ladies named Rachel and Amy. Rachel spent much of the week giving me attitude, but enjoyed socializing with other campers and making friends. Amy on the other hand, bonded easily with me which was nice because she had a tough week. She had suffered serious physical and sexual abuse as a young child and was taking several medications as a result. I watched as Amy found things she enjoyed about camp. I learned she has a relationship with Jesus, enjoys snuggling and loves dogs. During the week Amy and I spent a lot of time petting the camp dog Diego together or walking arm in arm.

I’m neither a very touchy person nor a dog lover, so I found myself praying throughout the day asking God to love through me in these things. He answered my prayers. Every time I’d put my arm around Amy or even pet the dog with her, I could sense a love that wasn’t my own well up in my heart. I got a glimpse of the love our Father has for precious Amy. This spurred me to intercede for her continued healing all week…what a privilege! I’m not entirely certain what changes did or didn’t take place in my campers’ lives that week. However, I absolutely am certain the Holy Spirit ministered comfort and lavished unconditional love on them. What peace Romans 8:38 brings, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love…” He continues to pursue all the campers with His love even after they leave camp. We know He is working in their lives, breaking the cycle of abuse their families have suffered from for generations.  Your prayers are powerful! Thank you again and be blessed for your faithfulness for continuing to lift up this ministry.

In Christ’s Love,

Jamie Zimpelman

Summer Staff

Summer Cap #2 2017

Dear Prayer Coordinators,

Camp started off this week as usual-kids in junior high stepping off the bus, some with boundless energy while others were more tentative, followed bags ranging from thick cotton to plastic trash bags filled with clothes. The campers’ expressions went all over the board as they waited, some more patiently than others, for our camp directors to introduce themselves and talk about what this week would hold for them. As a counselor this week, I was assigned two campers. One camper, Jan, has been coming to Camp Alandale since fourth grade (she is going into 7th grade at the start of the new school year). Throughout the week, she exhibited such enthusiasm and interest in all that was going on at camp down to the last memory verse and pool time. Even when she was tired from the long fun-filled days, she still continued to answer and ask questions in every topic from Bible knowledge to Disney. She brought me so much joy and was such an awesome camper to have.

My other camper Latonya, came from an incredibly abusive background. During her testimony, which she shared at camp mid-week during testimony time, she told us that her mother and grandmother believed she was the devil incarnate, and her younger brother was one of her demons. She went through an unbelievable amount of verbal, physical and psychological abuse at the hands of her family before she was put into foster care. She carries a lot of guilt and shame; she told me she blames herself for what has happened to her family and wants her family back, despite past abuse. This week, however, I got to see her shine through her creativity and desire to instill justice where she could. She stood up for another camper when another camper attempted to bully him, and took initiative in getting another camper on our team to participate in memory verse time. She has a gift for hairstyling; she dutch-braided and French-braided everyone’s hair who asked, mine included. I got a chance to see her be a kid, to laugh and have fun and make friends and talk about the many dreams she has in the future, including being an actress and a Youtube celebrity. On our last one-on-one, she told me she wanted to make friends who were good friends and who cared about her. Please be in prayer that she will meet these friends. Before boarding the bus, I noticed she was crying. She didn’t want to leave this camp that she said was “like a family”. I pray she comes back next year, and continues to learn more about the God Who created her so perfectly.

Thank you for keeping this camp, staff and campers in your prayers. 

In His Service,

Elizabeth Blackman – Summer Staff

Prayer Update: Summer Staff Training 2017

Dear Prayer Warriors & Friends of Camp,

We wrapped up a very successful week of Summer Staff Training here at Camp Alandale! My name is Jamie and I’m so blessed to be on Summer Staff for the first time at Camp Alandale. Every day last week was chocked full of training, cleaning, cooking and fellowshipping to prepare for Summer Camp 2017.

One day we packed a picnic lunch and all headed over to a beautiful shaded spot on the Santa Ana River about half a mile from camp. We ate sandwiches and built a dam on the river for the campers to cool off and swim on our Thursday hike. The water was freezing cold! I imagined the kids there as I threw logs and rocks atop the dam—some shrieking at the temperature after dipping one toe in, and others boldly submerging themselves—I can’t wait to take them there.

During the week we read a devotional as a team about abiding in Christ and I was reminded of the importance of resting in His presence. It is essential summer staff and counselors understand this to be effective ministers, so please pray for us to continue growing in this! Please also pray for the hearts of each and every camper to receive the healing love of our Redeemer. Once again, thank you so much for your commitment to pray. Be blessed!

Love in Christ,

Jamie Zimpelman

Camp Alandale Summer Staff 

RETURN TO HOME

Prayer Update: JC Training Weekend, Summer 2017

Dear Prayer Warriors and Friends of Camp,

Summer is fast-approaching and our Junior Counselor training is upon us! JC Training runs May 26-29^th, and we need your prayers. JC training is the first event on our summer calendar, and we are getting excited. We have had many groups come up for work days doing lots of raking, cleaning, de-winterizing, and of course praying. We have been working hard to raise camper sponsorships to bring kids to camp.

At JC training, our JC’s will learn how to serve at camp. They will study the Bible, pray for each other in prayer groups, build friendships, mop floors, do laundry, wash dishes, paint cabins, weed eat and rake, and serve their hearts out. Many of our JC’s go to schools where they find few committed Christian friends. We hear year after year that the friendships built here at JC training make a huge difference in their lives. Many times we hear that our JC’s felt all alone, like they were in a wilderness with no other Christian kids their age. At camp, they find they are not alone and now have brother and sisters in the Lord to come alongside them.

The most exciting thing about JC training is that our new camper JC’s (kids from our camp program) get their first taste of what it is like to serve at Camp Alandale. Our camper JC’s meet with a mentor once a month and are doing monthly Bible studies as part of their training. It is a blessing to see the growth that happens in the hearts of the camper JC’s as they mature and serve.  

Stay tuned for more exciting updates on all the amazing things God is doing at camp this summer!

In Christ,

Matt & Tarrah Pritchett

Executive Camp Directors

RETURN TO HOME

Prayer Update, Winter Camp '17 Wrap-Up: Session #4

Dear Prayer Coordinators and Friends of Camp,

Eddie pulled me aside at the end of camp and said, “You guys have no idea how much of an impact you have made on my life.” He doesn’t realize how many people he has praying for him and how much of an impact that makes on his life! Eddie came to Camp Alandale last summer shortly after getting out of Juvenile Hall. He called it prison. We wrote a story about him in our newsletter last fall. He ran away from a group home last year before summer to follow a girl who betrayed him and prostituted herself to other young men they were staying with, eventually killing herself. Eddie was so confused last summer when he came to camp for the first time.

Eddie was one of the kids who received the Word of God implanted in his heart, and the Word has taken root. Eddie is a Christian. He has a new life. He is a senior in High school and will be graduating in June 2017. We are so proud of him. His plan is to go into the Army after graduation, and then he said he wants to buy his mom a house. Eddie loves his mother tremendously even though she has made horrible decisions in her choices in men. Men who abused both her and Eddie. That abuse is what landed him in jail for assaulting the abusive men when he got strong enough to fight back. You would never know that Eddie was once an angry, violent young man. Eddie is marked by Christ and becoming an honorable young man who loves his God, his family, and his country. Thank you for your prayers for Eddie. Thank you for battling behind the scenes, in private prayer closets for the hearts and minds of our precious campers.

Thank your for prayers and support!

Love in Christ,

Matt and Tarrah Pritchett

RETURN TO HOME 

Prayer Team Update, Winter Camp '17: Session #3

Dear Prayer Coordinators & Friends of Camp,

Well, it was a wet Winter Camp! So wet, in fact, from all the snow melt and rain over the last few weeks that Dan Hitchcock, our Maintenance Director, spent the week making creeks all over the camp to drain the three to six inches of standing water the camp was covered in for the entire week before camp. Praise the Lord, the water drained and the mud was fun and manageable.

Camp was fantastic! One of my favorite campers, "Katie Sunblast," as she calls herself, came to camp her usual chipper self. She has had a hard life. She masks insecurities behind a smile and a loud voice. She loves volleyball and is very outspoken about her opinions. At the end of camp at Victory Circle, she shared with us how much the time with her counselor Susan meant to her. She shared that the advice and encouragement she received at Camp, and always receives at camp, helps her so much all year.

We are blessed to hear these stories so many times each year and are so thankful for your prayers! As the years go by, we learn more and more that the real work is done before Camp as we pray against the strongholds that hold the campers and their families in bondage from generation to generation. Please keep praying for the work God is doing here at Camp Alandale, for our campers, and for our staff families.

If you would like to serve camp as a prayer coordinator, please email us at info@campalandale.org.

Love in Christ,

Matt & Tarrah Pritchett

Executive Directors

BACK TO HOMEPAGE

Prayer Team Update: Winter Camp '17, Session #2

Dear Prayer Coordinators & Friends of Camp,

Our second winter camp was a wonderful time for all as we enjoyed the several feet of snow that had accumulated at camp during the storm the previous weekend. It was some of the best sledding we’ve ever had at camp, and the campers were thrilled as they took turns carving out sled runs down the mountainside. Bible studies and worship time moved into a dedicated space at Cedar Hall, leaving the main lodge for meals and game time by the fire. What a blessing it is to have more space at the new camp property to make the most of all the study, worship and fellowship time!

Praise God! Two more campers, Raymond and Jason, gave their hearts to Jesus. Many other campers who have previously committed to following Christ grew in their understanding of what it really means to KNOW GOD and how to truly walk with Jesus as we studied 1 John. Thank you for your prayers for our campers!

A young camper named Amber shared with her Bible study group how heavy it is weighing on her heart to not know what has become of her five brothers and sisters. She was separated from them and is deeply troubled not knowing where they are. Please pray for Amber that she will understand God’s love and trust His plan for her and her siblings. Pray she will find comfort in Jeremiah 29:11, for though she fears disaster, she can know that God is for her and has good plans for her.

Next week, we welcome our second group of 7-9^th graders. Please pray that all the campers and counselors who have registered will be able to attend as planned, and that as they prepare, they will be free from conflicts or distractions so that they are rested and ready to fully embrace what God is preparing for them at camp. Please pray to our Heavenly Father that the children who have already come this year will take God’s word to heart and that the seeds planted will grow as they return to their foster and groups homes and reflect back on their experience at camp.

Love in Christ,

Matt and Tarrah Pritchett

Executive Directors

RETURN TO HOMEPAGE

Prayer Team Update: Winter Camp '17, Session #1

Dear Prayer Coordinators & Friends of Camp,

Our first winter camp was fantastic with two campers giving their hearts to Jesus. Jason Swanson our caretaker counseled our second camp last summer. He had a camper named Danny who comes from a very abusive past. Danny is a bright and happy boy who is very deliberate about everything he does. He likes his clothes organized in just the right way, his plate at dinner is just as organized as is his suitcase, and every decision he makes is going to be just the same, organized in his way. Last summer Jason shared the gospel with Danny, and he was not ready to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. “But God” had a different plan for Danny this winter.

As with many of our campers if they do not commit to follow Jesus their first time at camp they do on their second visit to camp which is usually winter camp. Danny sat talking to his counselor Pascual while on one-on-one and heard the gospel again. This time he was ready to hear the good news. After Pascual finished sharing, Danny asked, “Can I become a Christian right now, or do I need to wait?” Pascual with a huge smile on his face said, “No you don’t need to wait, you can pray right now to receive Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior!” Danny was born again to a new life at that moment.

I have heard similar stories so many times at camp, I cannot keep count. One person tills the dry hard ground, another plants the seed, another waters, and God causes the growth, then finally the harvest. Thank you for praying for Danny and watering the seed that was planted last summer. The harvest is truly plentiful, and the workers are few. Please pray to our Heavenly Father to send more workers to partner with you and I in bringing the good news to abused children.

Love in Christ,

Matt & Tarrah Pritchett

Executive Directors

BACK TO HOMEPAGE

Kicking Off the New Year with a Supplies Drive!

Hi Camp Friends! 

We're collecting MIRRORS, art supplies, DUFFLE bags, QUILTS and game prizes for campers... If you've got costume jewelry, charms, buttons, beads, silk flowers, plastic gems, feathers, or any other "bedazzling" craft supplies, we are collecting them for our upcoming craft events. Wall mirrors of all sorts are also needed for our silent auction to raise funds for camp.

If you'd like to support abused children with a donation of supplies to camp, click HERE to Get Involved. 

God bless you, and Happy New Year!
The Camp Alandale Family

12 Days of Christmas - Camp Alandale-Style

Merry Christmas! We send our warmest greetings your way, and a special campfire song for you to sing along...

"12 Days of Christmas: Camp Alandale-style"

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Lord Jesus gave to me...

12 hugs of healing,

11 Piper's piping,

10 counselors leaping,

9 ladies dancing,

8 campers hiking,

7 campers swimming,

6 campfire stories,

5 Golden JCs!...

4 calling birds,

3 French toasts,

2 triumphant twins,

And a big, happy camp family!

We are so grateful for your prayers, volunteered time, and the sharing of your gifts that have built and sustained the ministry and brought much-needed hope and healing to so many children. We praise God that we have the opportunity to serve Him together and watch His awesome power at work at camp!

As you celebrate with family and friends, please consider giving the gift of a camp family to an abused child. Our campers attend camp for free, 100% supported by our donors. Please prayerfully consider coming alongside us in ministry in 2017 and making a donation to camp today.

We are so blessed to have you as part of our camp family, and we wish you joy and many blessings this day and in the year to come!

In His Service,

The Camp Alandale Family

A Year and Hearts Full of Praise

Thanksgiving Update

Dear Prayer Warriors and Camp Family,

God did great things at camp this year! We saw campers accept Christ and saw even more grow in their relationships with Him. We settled in at our new camp location in Angelus Oaks. We saw the successful completion of our Hope for a Future campaign, which provided the new camp property and will support the vision for camp's future growth.

We are so blessed and grateful for our family of volunteers, counselors and JCs, staff and donors. And we have much to look forward to in the coming months...

Camp Directors Matt and Tarrah are preparing an exciting curriculum for Winter Camp, which begins in just a few short weeks and will run January through February. Winter camp is a special follow up time for campers who have previously attended in the summer, so the camper to counselor ratio is kept at 1:1 to allow maximum one-on-one time. This is part of what makes winter camp so special, but it also means that the need for counselors is great. We encourage all approved counselors to sign up for as many camp weekends as your schedules allow. And for those interested in becoming counselors, the next counselor training session in spring will be here before we know it. You are welcome to start the application process now if God is calling you to counsel at camp.

The Thanksgiving Camper Sponsorship Drive is underway, and we are hoping to raise the funds needed to bring 200 campers to camp this year. Each donation of $360 covers the cost of both summer and winter camp for a camper. If you would like to support camp with a financial gift this holiday season, you can find out more on our Giving page. 

For those called to serve in other ways, we have exciting opportunities for you to be a part of camp this year... The WOVEN Quilt Drive begins in January. We are collecting 200 quilts, one to give each camper who comes to camp this year to keep as their own. If your quilt guild or church would like to commit to donating a certain number of quilts, we'd love to hear from you in the Camp Office.

The J1:27 Chrysalis Brunch is a special Ladies' tea and brunch and will be held in March. We are currently looking for artists who would like to create and donate decorative mirrors for the silent auction to raise funds to support camp. If you are an artist or know one who would like to support camp with their creative gifts, please contact the Camp Office.

If you would enjoy a small gathering at the Camp Office in Idyllwild for fellowship and general office support like making phone calls, mailer preparation, or small craft projects, we always welcome helping hands. You can sign up using our Volunteer Form here.

We look forward to sharing more soon! We send our warmest greetings to you and yours and pray for much love, many blessings and joy through the holidays and into the new year.

In His Service Together,
The Camp Alandale Family
Matt & Tarrah Pritchett, Executive Directors

Camp Office: (951) 659-5253

BACK TO HOMEPAGE

Show Me Where to Go - Session #9, August 8-13

Session #9, August 8-13, 10th-12th Grade

Dear Prayer Warriors and Camp Family,

“Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works” (Psalm 105:1-2)! We give thanks for you, for you are part of his wondrous works. Thank you for your faithful prayers all summer. We wouldn’t be able to do camp without you.

Session #9, over August 8-13, presented its own challenges. We had to work really hard to get enough campers. We had plenty of counselors and JCs, but so many kids are already back in school. Still, God divinely selected 13 special campers to be at Camp Alandale’s final camp of summer 2016. It was a good, difficult week. The week started off with a bus mishap, which meant a delay in the campers arriving at camp, but soon enough all 13 campers filed off the bus and into the loving arms of their counselors.

George came to camp against his own will. He mentioned many, many times that he didn’t want to come to camp, but his social worker had to convince him. At times, George made it difficult to run camp because he didn’t want to participate. Still, we knew God had brought George to camp for a reason. During the first or second day, George began to struggle with the idea of hell being real and at one point he blew up on his counselor because he was so fixated on this. This provided an opportunity to remind him, once again, of God’s unfailing love and unending hope offered through his Son, Jesus. He didn’t tell us for a day or two, but after George heard there was a different option than hell, he put his faith in Jesus and became a Christian. The battle wasn’t over yet as George would fall back into his old ways. We’d remind him that God had made him new like 2 Corinthians 5:17 says and prayed for him to resist the Enemy’s lies. Pray for George as he fears resistance back home for being a Christian.

Another girl, Melanie, returned to camp after a two year break. Melanie has struggled heavily with depression, suicide attempts, demonism, and darkness. She shared with us on Tuesday night when it was her turn to share her testimony that she had plans to kill herself this week if she was at home instead of at camp. Her counselor got to work with her all week and together they came up with 31 things Melanie does well. Her counselor reminded her often of God’s plans for Melanie and the hope we have in Jesus. Still, Addison questioned God’s existence and wondered where he was all the times she was being hurt. Through much prayer, God broke down her walls. She wrote a prayer on the last day which says, “God I give my life to you. I want you to show me where to go. Teach me what tenderhearted means. Give me strength when I cry to you. I want to help give mercy to others. God you are higher than any other and the most wonderful Father a person can ask for.” May we pray this prayer with Melanie today!

In Christ,

Jeremy Allen

Assistant Camp Director

Give Her Pain to God - Session #8, August 1-6

Session #8, August 1-6, 10th-12th Grade

Dear Prayer Warriors and Camp Family,

Thank you so much for your prayers. We are eternally grateful for your willingness to lift all of us up daily as we serve God at Camp Alandale.

This week I had two amazing girls who knew the Lord, and were eager to know Him better; however, both were desperate for love and guidance. One camper, I will call Anna. During our first one-on-one she confused that she felt like she was a lukewarm Christian, and that scared her. She also confessed she was afraid of what her family would think if she grew more passionate for Christ.

For the rest of the week I as able to mentor and encourage her to seek after God no matter what, and give her some direction as to what the next step in her Christian walk might be. Please pray for Anna as she continues to pursue Christ.

My second camper I will call Catherine. She confessed she was scared to be at camp, and cried the very first evening during worship. I found out later that night that she had been impregnated by her father after months of him molesting her. Her father was now in jail and she had been to counseling, but she still cried every night during our one-on-ones from fear of her father and from the pain of the past.

I would hold her each night trying to comfort her as I cried out to God for this beautiful child He had blessed me with for the week. During that week God worked in mighty ways. Catherine went from being scared of camp to desiring to return the next week with tamales for the staff, and more camp. During our Pine Cone Ceremony there was a lot more tears from Catherine, but I was grateful she had a chance to give her pain to God in a tangible way through throwing her pine cone in the fire. I do not know if she is completely healed from the pain that she went through, but I do know that someday I will see her in a place where there will be no tears and she will be free of that pain and hurt completely. Thank you again for your faithful prayers and love for us!

In Christ,

Maggie Matos

Summer Staff 2016

Talking & Smiling - Session #7, July 25-30

Session #7, July 25-30, 10th-12th Grade

Dear Prayer Warriors and Camp Family,

Hello from Camp Alandale in Angelus Oaks! It has been a great summer so far and we really, really, really appreciate your prayers. We are so thankful to have you interceding on our behalf.

God did an amazing work in the campers’ hearts this past week, and there were many campers who one day aspire to be a Junior Counselor (JC).  One of these campers was Susie.  Susie is quiet, gentle, and sweet. She did not talk much at the beginning of the week and kept to herself.  

Her dad had abused Susie sexually for years.  One day Susie and her sister were talking about what their dad was doing to them and they decided that they needed to tell someone.  Susie told her best friend at school the next day and Susie's friend encouraged her to share with a teacher.  Susie was brave in her decision to share with her friend and to finally say something. 

Even though Susie was quiet and soft spoken she shared her testimony around the campfire with everyone else at camp.  As the week went on Susie was talking and smiling more.  The next evening was pinecone ceremony, where campers can put their hurt, and pain on a pinecone and give it to God.  They then throw the pinecone in the fire.  In the morning their pinecone is no longer there and it symbolizes how God can take and keep their wrongs done to them. 

Weight had been lifted off Susie's shoulders and you could see the difference in the way she acted. There was a difference in her demeanor.  Susie also gave her life to God that week. She left Camp Alandale a child of God, forever changed. It was so sweet to see her big smiling face the remainder of camp. 

Please pray that Susie would get plugged into a church and would be able to grow in her walk with God.  She still has a lot of questions and is hungry to know more about God.  Susie desires to be a JC one day; please pray that God would prepare her heart to serve at camp.

Again, thank you for praying for us. We couldn’t do it without you!

Sincerely,

Ariel Bogue

Summer Staff 2016

Biggest Highlight of the Week - Session #6, July 18-22

Session #6, July 18-22, 7th-9th Grade

Dear Prayer Warriors and Camp Family,

We want to thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and support during Session #6. Without these things, camp would be much harder, if not impossible.

I, Leah, want to give you an update on this past week. Shawna was born in Japan to parents who were considered missionaries, but were actually in a cult. They believed in a God who should only be feared. They were extremely legalistic, and would beat their children when they did anything slightly “wrong.” Shawna and her siblings would end up with bruises covering their hands, bottoms, and thighs. The parents would make the young children fast and starve them anywhere from three to ten days. When Shawna was about 15 years old her parents came back to America.  Shawna's older sister ran away and fled because the circumstances were getting out of control. Shawna was left alone and felt abandoned, but what she did not understand was that her sister went and called the cops on her parents. Shortly after that, Shawna was taken away. 

She is now in a Bible believing foster home and accepted Christ as her loving, gentle, and compassionate Savior. On one-on-ones, Shawna had mentioned that when she grows up she would like to become a Christian rap artist and a missionary. Later on that week at camp, Shawna was given that amazing opportunity to rap with one of our staff members in front of the whole camp! She did an excellent job and in her words, “rapping here at Camp Alandale was the biggest highlight of my week, maybe my whole summer!” Although God is doing an awesome work in her life, she still needs prayer. Shawna desperately needs Christ’s strength to forgive her parents. Shawna also needs healing form all the scars her past abuses have left on her soul.

On the first night of camp, Rosa shared her story with me (Bekah). Sitting on a bench beneath the trees, she unfolded the highs and lows of her childhood years. She’d grown up in Oregon in a Christian family and just recently discovered that her dad had sexually abused her older sister. Trying to escape the pain, her sister had attempted to kill herself multiple times, and when her dad found out he demanded that she stop. She agreed to it for the sake of Rosa, saying, “I’m only doing this to protect her.” Voice breaking and tears streaming down her face, Rosa recounted the details to me, and asked how her dad could do that. “He called himself a Christian!” Sadly, Rosa confessed that she struggled to sort through all the memories of her dad—the good and the bad, and how to make sense of it. 

As the week progressed, I watched Rosa grow in her understanding of God as her perfect heavenly Father. Though her earthly father has forsaken her, God has never once left her side and He proved that to her at camp. Please pray that she would reconcile her relationship with her dad and that God would continue to strengthen her faith and encourage her. Again, we want to thank you for your prayers and support. May God bless you abundantly.

In Christ alone,

Leah Dickinson & Bekah Woods

Summer Staff 2016

That's My One-on-One - Session #5, 7th-9th Grade

Session #5, July 11-15, 7th-9th Grade

Dear Prayer Warriors and Camp Family,

Last week, Session #5 from July 11-15, was another counseling week for me and I was blessed to be very emotionally stretched by my girls. One of my campers was named Tiffany, she was taken away from her parents when she was young because her family was addicted to drugs and has been in five foster homes since then. She was such a sweet girl, she held my other camper when she was feeling sick, and she treated all of the other campers with such love. She has been going to church and has known God as her Savior since she was young.

Right now she is in a good home but there is a family that she has known for a while who wants to adopt her, and I thank God for that. They are a Mormon family and she loves them so much. At first I was worried about them being Mormon, scared that she would be confused by their teachings. But I asked her who she believes Jesus is and she said, “He is God, the way to get to Heaven.” The family takes her to their house on weekends and is throwing her a birthday party in August. They take care of her and she loves all of the children in the family. So although she will be faced with some challenges to theology in the future, she is going to be safe and loved and I think that is where God wants her to be. Pray that she stays close to God as she goes into high school, that she would fall even greater in love with him.

My other camper's name was Jenn. She is highly functioning handicapped, but she could run, laugh, and play like any of the other kids. She was very clingy during amphitheater time, I gladly endured many dead arms during the week. She liked to play games of being mad at me, not talking to or looking at me and sitting far away. Then she would take my hand, pull me aside and say "we need to talk" and apologize for the way she had been treating me. She also has epilepsy, and had a few seizures during the week. The first time we were walking together and she dropped to the ground, clung to my legs and tried to push her head through my legs. I was very confused as to what was happening, but eventually she stood up, walked to a table to sit down and told me she was having a seizure. Throughout the week she would fake a few of them, not fall to the floor or anything, but tell me she was going to have a seizure in order to get the attention.

The other campers would also give her the attention she desired, hugging her and holding her hand as she walked. It was emotionally stressful for me because I didn't want to take a seizure lightly, but her parents confirmed she uses them as an excuse for attention. But God was good and there was no real complication. I think she went home feeling loved and I hope that she associates that love with God. God also used her to encourage me that I am doing a good job as a counselor. She shared her testimony at a campfire time, and in the middle of it she said, "That’s my one-on-one over there, she is very nice. My one-on-one takes good care of me. I like my one-on-one.” We have times where we talk with just one of our campers and it’s called one-on-one, which is where my nickname came from. Please pray with me that God heals Jenn's seizures and continues to protect her.

Thank you so much for your prayers,

Allie Hitchcock

Summer Staff 2016