I have been meaning to write this post now for a few weeks... In fact I took notes on the camp theme when Justin (our program director) talked in church at the kick off of the camp season, but enough time has now passed and thoughts have come and gone and with that I have misplaced my notes... if if they show up i will be sure to come back tell you more about the them. But for now I will tell you this. This years Camp Theme is "Transformed" I think it is an excellent theme for campers and staff to study throughout the summer because camp is a great place to let God start or continue the work that He wants to do in your life. I am excited as I hear stories of change and see God working throughout camp.
Summer camp is now on Week 3 of campers and we have a very full week. We are hosting hockey camp (campers come from all over state come and bus into the valley to play hockey and back for the day) as well as 3 of our core camps. It is going really well! Weeks before camp started we were still not sure how we were going to have enough guys to staff all of the guy cabins, but God provided and the day after making our prayer request known at church, Justin had 3 applications on his desk and a few more coming. We started out the summer staffed with enough people, and although everyone is stretched, kids are coming to camp and making decisions.
Aaron and I have been a little less involved in the training of staff this summer and the overall summer camp process. But we have had the opportunity to help with camper transportation and the very first week we took the van into Anchorage with campers on it and a little girl greeted her parents with her first words being that she had asked Jesus into her heart. It was beyond cool and a good reminder of why we are here doing what we do.
Since Aaron has been a little less involved you may be wondering what has been keeping him busy. Last year Aaron designed a renovation project for his Doulos teams to work on in the snack shop/Business Center. His goal was to combine the two spaces and update it with a more functional purpose. He had a plan, thought he had the funding, and started demo last summer with a group. Then everything stopped when we found out a new opportunity for funding. He has since been negotiating a contract with MTA for funds to complete the renovation in exchange for having it be a community "internet hotspot" equipping the community with faster internet. This spring he was given the go ahead to start. Every free day he has been there working on renovations trying to get it ready for business this fall. I NEED to go get pictures soon to show you. It is turning out great! He has had the help of some work teams and his dad, but still has a ways to go on it. But last Saturday he had to hang up that tool belt as we picked up his first group of the summer... Hence the wk 1.
WEEK 1
Our first Doulos group is from Hudsonville Reformed church in Michigan. It is fun to show off our beautiful state to so many newbies! There group is 22 high school kids and leaders. There work time has been spent doing a VBS at GlacierView Church, cutting, chopping, and splitting wood, cleaning out the brush around the sewage pond, and scraping paint. They have been great sports, and we have taken them to do some fun things most evenings. It has been fun for me this week because with VBS and a few other things I have been with this group a lot and have had opportunities to talk to them. We will be taking them to Seward on Sunday and back to the airport early Tuesday morning. I am looking forward to taking the kids to the beautiful port town of Seward and having some husband/daddy time... even if it is a busy trip!
And here are pics of our summer so far!
Raylee was a flower girl at my Cousin Jillian (Floyd) Eppler's wedding!
Skyler got to visit the neighbors new chicks... she thought they were fun!
The Family on the glacier!
Aaron talking about the glacier to the group Sunday Before the hike.
1. Safety as groups come and go and are working on the grounds.
2. Health for Aaron and other camp staff as busy summers usually take a toll
3. RAIN!!! Such a weird request for summer camps, but Alaska has had incredible weather, but it has left everything dry and fire danger at a high with many fires throughout the state.
Praises:
1. Kids accepting Christ
2. Staff to run summer camps
3. Excitement to see how God is continually at work
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