Soaking It Up - Session #3, Jan 30-Feb 1

Letter to Prayer Coordinators for Session #3, Jan 30-Feb 1, 7th-9th Grade

Dear Prayer Coordinators,

Winter camp was again such a sweet time of refreshment and fellowship. As I picked up the campers on Friday night I knew it was going to be a special camp. We arrived to camp at about 9:00 pm and were greeted with cookies and hot chocolate.

As the weekend began one of our special campers named Jon began to feel ill. Jon had motion sickness that lasted throughout the night. The next morning Jon felt a little better and was able to have a special time of one-on-one with his counselor, Britt. Britt shared later that day that it was probably the best one-on-one that he had ever had. Jon and his older brother Sam are always a pleasure to have at camp. Sam has even applied to become a JC this year. Well Jon went downhill pretty quickly after the one-on-one. He came down with a fever and a temperature of 102 degrees and had to head home. I am thankful though that he got to have a special one-on-one.

Mark is a very tall boy. He is a head taller than all the other boys at camp. He is very strong and likes to play rough, sometimes a little too rough. This camp I got to know Mark pretty well. He is very insecure and worries a lot about being left out. He seems to try to cover his fear with his rough playfulness. I had to tell him quite a few times that I did not like my hat ripped off my head and my hair swirled around, it was one of those times to teach boundaries. Mark was all ears though. He was eager to listen and to try to change. As we spoke about the Beatitudes Mark soaked it up. The first Beatitude, God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs, really impacted his heart. As with many young Christians, they receive Jesus, but it takes a while for their relationship to mature. I think Mark is really beginning to see his need for God, and is realizing his poverty of soul. God is so faithful to complete the work in the hearts of these children, as He is with all of us.

Thanks for joining with us in prayer for the maturing of these young believers, and for the salvation of the lost.

Thank you for your prayers,

Matt, Tarrah, Aiden, and Piper Pritchett

Victory Circle Twist - Session #2, January 23-25

Letter to Prayer Coordinators for Session #2, January 23-25, 7th-9th Grade

Dear Prayer Coordinators,

Thank you for your continued support for all the sweet campers through prayer. We have been enjoying such sweet winter camp moments and all of that is because of your faithfulness to pray for us, the counselors, the junior counselors, and the campers. We really appreciate it!

Jeremy and I just finished our first weekend over January 23-25. We had such a fun group of returning kids. Our group was mostly boys, as I’m sure you noticed, and they were full of laughs. They each seemed to be matched so well to their individual counselors and we could tell that they were getting a full dose of love from them. It always amazes us, although it probably shouldn’t surprise us that even though the campers pick their counselor’s name out of a basket when they get to camp God always pairs up the right camper with the right counselor.

Most of these campers were already believers, so it was a sweet time of encouragement for them as they learned about the beatitudes. It was really special to see some of the kids like, Jose, Richard, and Josh, begin to mature in their faith and as young men. They all have been coming to camp for many years now and the maturity they showed was quite impressive for middle school boys.

One special moment this weekend that stands out above the rest was hearing the campers talk about their counselors at the end of the weekend. Usually we do what is called Victory Circle, where the counselors stand up and talk about the unique and wonderful qualities they see in their camper over the weekend. Since we had such a small group we were able to give the campers a chance to share about their counselors. Most of the boys shared how fun and caring their counselors were and even talked about the special qualities their counselor had. It was such an encouragement to see first-hand that these kids were absorbing such much needed love. So often these young men won’t have many male influences that are positive and Christ-centered in their lives. So the opportunity to come up for a whole weekend or week and be poured into by godly men is life changing for them. It teaches them what it means to be a man of God, not just by telling them about it, but as they witness it as the weekend progresses and they get to know their individual counselor.

We are continually blessed to be a part of God’s work here at Camp Alandale to the abused children, and we hope you are too!

God Bless,

Jeremy and Amy Allen

Sunset @ Camp Alandale

Crisp Mornings & Brisk Afternoons - Session #1, January 9-11

Letter to Prayer Coordinators for Session #1, January 9-11, 4th-6th Grade

Dear Prayer Team,    

Winter Camp at Camp Alandale is a special time of year. Campers awake to cool crisp mornings and play in the brisk afternoon sun. Winter camp is very different from summer camp. The time goes so fast, but is so fun. I wish you could feel winter camp with me. We only take returning campers for winter camp because space is limited, and the campers that come are extremely excited to be here. The peaceful relaxing mornings and the fun filled afternoons make it a special camp.

Camp was definitely special for David. David came to camp for the first time last summer with his older sister Sarah. These two kids are some of the sweetest kids I have ever met. They are both soft spoken, intelligent, and serious. Sarah met Jesus last summer at camp but her brother David had not. That was about to change.

At camp we have special times each day called one-on-ones (pray for these times) when the campers and their counselors get to go and have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time together. These are some of the most special times for many campers and counselors. The campers get to ask their counselor the hard questions about life. Questions like, “Why did God let this happen to me?” or “Why would God take me away from my family?”

On Saturday David and his counselor, Pascual, went off for one-on-one. When they returned David had a huge smile on his face. The conversation went beautifully. David had his questions answered and Pascual was able to share the gospel with David. He decided to follow Jesus. Praise the Lord!

It is this way with so many of our campers. They come to summer camp and learn about Jesus, maybe for the first time. They head home for a few months, but then they get to come back for winter camp. All those things that they learned during the summer began to make sense when they got back home, and the Holy Spirit continues to draw them near to the Father’s heart. Then they come back to camp in the winter and God does the rest. Souls are saved and lives are changed! Thank you for your continued prayer for the campers, counselors and staff here at camp. We count on your prayers as we wage this spiritual battle for the souls of the campers and their families and this for His glory!

Thank you for your prayers,

Matt, Tarrah, Aiden, and Piper Pritchett

Camp Alandale Newsletter: Issue 2, 2014 - Part 3

Satan Lost
By Matt Pritchett

A feeling of darkness and pain instantly developed as the campers walked off the bus Monday morning. Sarah found my wife Tarrah to tell her that her foster brothers had come to camp and that they were ready to beat up another camper who they hated. She said, “They are all Satanist and they do not want to be here." A great spiritual battle was unfolding before our eyes.

Our theme for the summer was, “The Invisible War." It was a perfect theme for this group of Satanists. Through skits and Bible studies they learned that there really is a war going on that we cannot see. We talked about how their families were caught up in this Invisible War. The sinful choices their parents had made landed them in foster care. Anthony, one of the Satanists, shared with us about his pain. “How could a God forgive me for the Grand Theft Autos I have done, or for hitting a kid with my gun and putting him in a coma? Satan takes care of me.” 

We encouraged the group of Satanists to move away from the darkness, to be forgiven and live the life that God has for them, a life with future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). We shared James 4:7-8, “If you resist the devil he will flee from you," and that “if you draw near to God He will draw near to you." It felt hopeless. If we were going to win this battle we needed even more prayer than we were getting from the 27 churches that were praying for each child by name. Our staff and counselors called and emailed to have more people begin to pray for their souls. Our junior counselors prayed diligently from Tuesday on that God would win the victory.

We began to see glimmers of hope, as one by one the Satan-worshiping campers began to receive the love that was being offered to them. Thursday the walls began to come down as Anthony, their leader, began considering what we were saying. He came to us again asking, “Could God forgive me for the things I have done, for the cars I have stolen, for the people I have hurt, for being involved in gang fights?” Anthony had been shot in the leg during one of the fights and had severely injured the young man he was fighting. He had spent lots of time in Juvenile Hall. He said, "I know if I continue down the path I am on, I will end up in prison.” He began to see the plans Satan had for him were not for his good, as he had previously believed. He was leading him down a road of destruction and death. His blind eyes were opening and God’s word was penetrating Anthony’s heart.

That night Anthony’s counselor overheard a conversation where our Satan worshiping campers were talking about giving God a chance. Anthony was sharing how his life was getting worse and worse, “More violence, more time in Juvi. I don’t want that." He said, “Maybe God really does have a plan for my life, a good plan with hope and a future." Tommy lashed out at him in anger, “No we cannot follow this God. If he is a good God why would he have created hell just because Satan disagreed with him?” The deception on him was heavy.
Another, Tommy had been to camp three times but was one of the few campers that came to camp more than twice without receiving Jesus. He was always angry. He knew anger was his friend. He could control his world with it. No one wants to get close to an angry young man. With no one close to him, no one would hurt him. But his counselor Wayne would not be pushed away by his anger. He would not let the threats, the yelling, the dirty looks, and the talk of Satanism dissuade him from showing the love of Jesus to this broken soul.
Alan was the third. He had been involved in black magic since he was a child. His parents were Satanist and would ritually abuse him and his sister. During one of our campfire talks about how to protect yourself from being sex trafficked, I asked the question, "What is sex trafficking?" Alan raised his hand and I called on him. Then he slumped down in his seat, put his hood from his sweatshirt low over his eyes and began to share. 

“You would be moved from city to city, and at each new location they would take you out of a locked van or cargo truck. Late at night when it is the darkest, they would move you into a warehouse. When you arrive they would inspect you. They would look at your hands and feet. They would check your teeth to see if you are healthy. They would shower you, and you would be taken to another location for a couple of weeks where they would sell you and men would rape you. Then the whole thing would begin again, in another city, another state. That’s what it’s like.” 

Alan was thrown out after they checked his teeth, but his sister is still gone. He has not seen her in years.

With all the pain these precious campers felt, they had to be overwhelmed with a tsunami of the love of Christ. It happened at our campfire time on the last night. One by one each of them was overcome by the love of God. Through song and tears, God revealed his great love for all the campers. Each one of our Satan worshiping campers asked to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. They committed to turn from their sin and follow Jesus. The evil presence we had felt at camp was gone. The campers celebrated, "We are free!" During the game time we have after campfire, they all kept singing. We finally gave up on games and worshiped the Lord for another half hour. At Pinecone Ceremony we added extra worship songs in because the whole camp was pouring their hearts out to the King of Heaven. Our Satan worshiping campers were now worshiping Christ for the first time. They stood singing at the top of their lungs with their hands reaching out towards the heavens praising their God and King. Anthony said, “What’s wrong with me? I can’t stop singing. I can’t stop smiling, I never smile!” For Alan it was obvious that his burden had been removed. Finally Tommy, in whom I have never seen anything but anger, stood before us, hands raised in victory, singing with a smile on his face and tears running down his cheeks.

God had won the VICTORY!

Camp Alandale Newsletter: Issue 2, 2014 - Part 2

A Camper Bio about Andi Garcia was featured on The Link, a newsletter by OC4kids.com. Click here to view the newsletter and see Andi Garcia's bio.

Click here to read the rest of Gallagher Goodland's, "How I Came to Love Camp Alandale."

Camp Alandale Newsletter: Issue 2, 2014 - Part 1

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Read the stories from the newsletter below.

37 Campers gave their hearts to Jesus this summer!!!

Rarely do we get to see the Spirit of the Lord move as undeniably as we saw Him move this summer at Camp Alandale. As you read this newsletter be reminded of the greatness of our God and how much He loves His precious children who have suffered abuse at the hands of angry and violent parents and family members. My prayer this summer was for the Lord Jesus to give us opportunities to glorify Him through what He has done. That prayer was answered many times this summer and these are just a few of the stories. See page 4 for a special story of Christ victory!!!

Wedding Bells are Ringing

One of the unexpected blessings at Camp Alandale each summer is seeing the young adults that God brings up to serve at camp on summer staff find love and get married. So it was with Justin and Brittany in 2013. We were blessed to see them seal their relationship in Christ on July 12th 2014. Ten of us are taking credit for matching them up, but we all know Who really matched this Godly couple up, don’t we? Please join us in praying a blessing upon Justin and Brittany’s marriage and for their future ministry together. May God Bless the Moline’s!!!

He Bled So They Wouldn’t Have To
By Jeremy Allen

“I didn’t want to come to camp because I was going to kill myself this week. I told my staff that I didn’t want to come, but they made me,” Josie told her counselor through tears after the evening’s campfire testimony time. It was Wednesday night, the second night of listening to the campers share their stories with the rest of the group, and these stories were heavy. They sent Josie into a time of weeping and wailing during her one-on-one with her coun-selor.

The night before the first brave girl named Josie got up to share her story I was unaware that she’d share something that would become a theme for the campers throughout the summer. She was a cutter. Josie had used cutting to escape the pain she was feeling in her life after being abused by her parents and placed in foster care. Jessica, Josie’s counselor listened to Josie as she tried to explain herself through the weeps and wails. Patiently, Jessica let her unload all of the burdens she had been carrying for so long.

Jessica shared the love of Jesus Christ with Josie. She got to speak into Josie’s life that night like no one else before and encouraged her to trust Jesus with her whole heart. Although it took time, Josie’s heart was opened to the truth and she left camp that week with a renewed hope in Jesus to help face the pain in her life. Josie would stop cutting, but there were still many campers cutting themselves. Josie had been a cutter for a long time and had the scars to prove it, but the release she used to get from cutting wasn’t enough anymore. She now had Jesus to release her from all her pain and suffering. If Josie had not come to camp that week, her group home staff may have found her dead in her bedroom.