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.

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.