Awakening -- Days 3 Recap

Day two went great. The ropes course was open to campers and counselors.

Many students overcame their fear of heights.

Then there was archery.
The evening activity was Christmas in July. There were stockings hanging on the wall
games

Christmas carol contest between girl and boy campers

...and good times had by all.

Awakening -- Day 2

Monday started of with quiet times, Kristin sharing her testimony, small groups and then....GAMES!

The teams dressed in their appropriate colours. (It's not Mardi Gras ladies!) Amy went subtle. Janet went Elton John!

It rained hard all day, but somehow we managed to find five minutes to take a team photo. Elizabeth took the picture and will be photoshopped in later -- probably standing on top of that out-building behind David.

After the photo, the campers headed to their Impact Groups, where they played sports, painted, learned more about music and drama, and new ways to engage the Lord during their quiet times. Some of the girls participated in Beauty 101 and learned more about true beauty and how the Lord views them. After the Impact Groups, the campers enjoyed some free time and the Tuck Shop (where they had one pound to spend on some sweets and drinks). After dinner, the evening activity was "Opening Night" where the campers and counselors dressed up as their favorite movie character. Minnie and Mickey Mouse made an appearance. Awards were given to the best costumes and best male/female dancer.

Brandon and Jason were our DJ's.

Matt showed us his true colours in his Matt Damon costume. Matt calls this move: Invictus!

Strike a pose.
Strike a pose again.
After the dance, we switched gears and prepared our hearts for worship and to hear Ernie's next talk. Justin, Alex, Camille, Amelia T. and Brandon led us in worship.

Ernie shared a great message about John 18 and called the students into the greater things of the Lord. People received Jesus into their lives and were filled with the Holy Spirit. We also had one youth experience healing for her back.

We look forward to posting more from this week! Thanks so much for your prayers. Please keep praying for us and watch the livestream each day at 5:00 am EDT and Tuesday night's session starts at 3:00 pm EDT. For the livestream, click the link on the top of the blog.

Photos from Awakening -- Day 1

Before you can run the Assault Course, you have to prepare the Assault Course. In our first shot, we see Anna Kate doing just that and demonstrating that, indeed, everything is better with chocolate ... sauce ... on a tarp.

Amelia tries to find a place to hide. Silly Amelia. There's no hiding on the Assault Course.

One of the campers attacks the foot bridge that Amelia was hiding under.

The Kidney Beans team fires up the rope wall -- dodging water balloons on the way! The vuvuzela was meant to inspire. I think it did more to distract and disorient.

What you can't hear in this photo, is the camper's feet squishing on the wet grass -- or his high-pitched screams as he avoids the barrage of water balloons!

Sweet victory! Well, the chocolate sauce was sweet. As was the ketchup.

Jason thought she needed a hug.

The Navy Beans team posing for the camera after their run through the course. They seem satisfied. And in need of a shower!

Matt contemplates where he lost time on the course. The chocolate mohawk did make him more aerodynamic, but he feels he could have been more efficient. Always the engineer. (For those of you reading this in Georgia, when not leading his Garbanzo Beans team through the gauntlet, this man is tasked with helping ensure that Georgia's bridges are safe. We can all sleep soundly knowing that, right?)

Awakening -- Day 1

After months of preparation, the big day has finally arrived. We have 26 students at camp this year, and we are confident that every one of them is here for a reason. After greeting the youth and their parents at registration, we spent some time hanging out with them, getting acquainted with each other. Most of the team is new this year, so they enjoyed getting to know their soon-to-be Scottish friends, and the students seemed to enjoy getting to know a new batch of Americans. More southern accents to make fun of!

After everyone arrived and got settled in, we gathered them together to share the all-important camp rules. You can't have a church camp without reminding students not to drink, smoke or take their friends' prescription drugs. But as we said, it's not about denying them; it's about helping them leave behind things that prevent them from encountering the Lord and hearing what He has to say to them this week.

After the initial meeting, we had a fire drill to ensure the kids knew where to go in the event there was an emergency that required such an evacuation. We were efficient in our execution. We had 2 people with clipboards checking off names -- verifying the safety of everyone on site. It was a maneuver of precision -- something a Swiss clockmaker would've marveled at.

Then it was time for dinner. We were treated to an American dinner of hot dogs and chips or "crisps" as they say here. The varieties of crisps are rather interesting. Worcestershire and Prawn Cocktail are just two of the more notable "flavors" from which we had to choose. When in Rome, right?

After dinner, we settled in for some worship and a great message from Ernie Wagoner III. Ernie shared his testimony and encouraged the students to put aside the inadequate substitutes on which we rely to provide our sense of worth or our identity. He reminded us that Jesus doesn't call us to put aside those things that don't sustain to leave us with nothing. He calls us into a relationship with Him -- a life of abundance and excitement and joy. As Ernie said, we think that Jesus is boring, but it's not Him who's boring. We're the boring ones. Jesus is anything but boring. It was a great start to the week.

We are excited to hear what else the Lord has for Ernie to share with us -- as well as what Kristin and Elizabeth will share throughout the mornings this week.

We will post more tomorrow about Sunday night's activity: The Assault Course. The pictures will amaze and astound. You will thank us that they are not scratch-n-sniff!

The morning messages are at 10:00 a.m. local time or 5:00 a.m. EDT. Monday night's evening service will be at 8:00 p.m. local time and 3:00 p.m. EDT. You can watch them at the top of this blog if you like. Thanks for looking in and for praying for everything that the Lord has done here and will do for the remainder of the week and beyond.

Day 2- Exploring Glasgow

Bill in shorts and a long-sleeve shirt. Kristin dressed for Toronto in February. She's wearing long johns. No seriously. Long johns!

Our first day- camp set up

Sleep, Sightseeing, and Some Worship

After a well-earned long night's sleep, we started Day 2.5 with some breakfast. Every day should start with a hearty breakfast. We went with flakes of bran or corn and/or rice krispies. Some went a little Scottish with some buttered toast and jam while throwing in a banana or orange for good measure. One of our leaders, Kristin, brought a French Press to sustain her coffee habit. And she was kind enough to share her stash of Daily Grind coffee with the rest of us too. The first shall be last and the last shall be first, but Kristin gets the first cup of joe. It's her French press people. So back off!

We packed our lunch for the day and headed out to explore the fine city of Glasgow. We started at the Glasgow Cathedral. Many used the opportunity to purchase post cards to send home -- perhaps to some of you reading this very post.

From the cathedral, we ventured to the City Centre where we dispersed to explore the shops. Between the cathedral and the shopping, the team experienced the finest in Scottish weather. Clouds, drizzle, wind, sunshine, more clouds, more drizzle, more sunshine, wind, more drizzle, sunshine, more clouds, wind, sunshine, rinse, repeat. Many doubted the claim that the weather changes about 50 times throughout the day until they were able to experience it first hand. Most hadn't appreciated the hood of a jacket as much as they did today.

On our walk through the shopping area today, we were treated to a Highland drumline of sorts. Incredible street performers. Here's just a glimpse:

After completing the shopping portion of our day, we headed to the Kelvingrove Museum. Man that was a site to see -- from the outside anyway. Turned out that the museum was closed due to a work stoppage. That's right. Museum workers protesting the harsh conditions in the museums. Where's Charles Dickens to write of the atrocities in the museums when you need him? "They make us stand near art ... ALL DAY! It's just not right!" Please.

Undaunted, we loaded back into the vans to see the Burrell Collection -- a story about a shipping magnate and his uncanny ability to acquire art and artifacts from around the globe and then bequeath it to his countrymen for posterity. Walking about the halls, admiring the varied pieces, it kind of made you stop and think -- like this guy:

(Too much?)

Anyway, after the museum, it was time for dinner at our tour guide's favorite restaurant in

Glasgow -- Cafe Salma. Harry and his wife, Anne, eat at this restaurant every Friday night. It was a hearty meal of Indian cuisine for everyone. If you're ever in Glasgow, the team highly recommends the chicken tikka garam marsala. Tell them Harry sent you!

After dinner, we returned to Lapwing for a pre-camp worship service with our friends from the Potter's House Church. It was great to worship together in preparation for the week ahead. We prayed for the Holy Spirit to move this week in the lives of the students who will be here this week -- students that we know the Lord has here for a reason. There were two sets of verses that were shared during the worship:

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth. 3 John 1:4-8

and

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." John 16:12-15

Our response was: "We say 'yes' to your Spirit!"

Camp kicks off tomorrow. We are excited for the culmination of all of our preparations. But we do not want this to be "our" camp. We want this to be His camp. His camp that awakens a new generation of believers that will share the reality of Christ with the nation of Scotland for years to come.