Missionary Giving This Summer

As I'm writing this my family and I are in Michigan on what we call a "supporters tour". It's when we visit and give updates to our supporters of how the ministry is going and update them on our family and any needs that we might have. It really has been good to visit and see people that we haven't had the opportunity to see in quite a while. I was reminded how during the summer at camp we emphasize giving to the missionaries who come every week to camp to share with our campers what missions mean and how they can get involved. Of course we challenge the campers to "break the bank" at store time and I must say the majority of the time this summer that was accomplished. I was really pleasantly surprised at the willingness of so many campers to share a portion of their spending money to help support those missionaries we had this summer. I always try to challenge those campers to continue on with that giving spirit with their home church when they go back home.

So how are you doing with your giving? Remember, God can do so much more with your resources than you can if you just give it and allow him too. Just think of the little boy who gave his small lunch and watched Jesus feed over five thousand with it! Guess what? He is still the same God today. So give with a cheerful heart!

Only At Camp Nathanael

I've seen some pretty unusual things at camp over my 18 years of ministry here. A lot of those things were centered around floods and dealt with things I saw floating down Troublesome Creek. However, yesterday as I was checking out one of the boys cabins (Cuba to be specific), I heard what seemed to be a chicken cluck down the dirt path used to go to creek stomping. As I glanced down the hill I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was a real live peacock! That's right, a huge long feathered beautiful male peacock! My first thought was, "You are lost mister". It went on its merry way and I decided not to follow it. I just smiled and laughed to myself. You just never know what you'll see here on the grounds of Camp Nathanael.

Monday Morning Excitement or Something Else?

I know every Monday morning I'm excited as a fresh group of campers enter the campgrounds for their week of camp. The fact that our staff gets to invest an extreme amount of time and energy into these campers lives really is exciting to think about! However, there seems to be something else in the air as campers are going through the registration process and saying "good-bye" to those parents and others that have brought them. For some kids it is the first time they have ever been away from home for five whole nights. This fact brings on a certain amount of uncertainty not just with the kids themselves but also the parents. If I must be honest it is probably harder on most parents than it is the campers. It is a time of realizing that perhaps my child can survive a whole week without me! That understandably can be a tough pill to swallow for some. I would like to think of it as a sign of growth and that if a child can adjust it shows the parents have done a superb job of raising their child to adapt. Not to mention Camp Nathanael is in my opinion the best place for any child to spend their first week away from home. We provide an environment to enjoy Gods creation and fellowship with others without a lot of outside distractions. We play hard, eat well and study truth from Gods Word. As we finish our last week of camp with 103 4th and 5th graders, I hope most will agree it was a week of growth and excitement.

A Special Gathering

I just got back from a special event in the dining room with this weeks graduating 8th graders. I won't go into detail because I want next years 8th graders to be surprised. However as I sat with them tonight I realized that for most of them they will not get that regular monthly visit from a Camp Nathanael worker anymore. That made me a little sad and perhaps it did for some of those kids too. Then I thought of all the potential sitting in that dining room. What if these kids stuck together and became a real christian influence in their respective high schools next year? They could be change agents for Christ! Of course we hope to see most of them back next summer for camp, but in the mean time Live the Great Adventure God has called you to live!

I Survived The Snake Hunt of 2008

I normally don't break under pressure but this is one exception. Some of my staff thought this would be a good story to tell. I wasn't sure if this was the right kind of story to put on a blog that is trying real hard to keep kids interested in a week of camp here at Camp Nathanael. You see this story involves nature but it's the cruel side of nature. Anyway, here it goes.

It all started with a phone call to my office at about 10:30 pm by one of my staff saying that there might be a copperhead snake under one of the cabins. I grabbed my trusty flashlight and ran up to Bonaire. After arriving a little winded, one of my girl counselors told me she beat a snake down from her porch rafters with a broom and it slithered under Bonaire. One of the boy counselors who was in the area was already looking for it with his light. "What was it doing up in the rafters?", I questioned. "Eating", responded the counselor as she pointed to a birds nest built in the rafters. "Did it really eat a bird?", I asked. The counselor went on to tell me how she would see a little birds beak poking up from the nest but tonight she saw two feet sticking straight up. So when she got her flashlight and slid the bench over to stand to investigate the next image she saw was a snake taking its last swallow of the bird. "Wow!", I said. "Most people only get to see that on Discovery Channel." Needless to say it wasn't long before we found the snake under Bonaire with a great big bulge about half way down. It was a black snake about 5 feet long. We chased it down over the hill and that's how I survived the snake hunt of 2008. Below is the counselor's artistic rendition of the event.

Lost And Found

I've been announcing to both the middle school camp of June and high school camp that I was going to start my blog entries this week so here it goes. Let me first say that this probably will not be a daily blog but one that will be created as things and ideas come to mind.

This week is family camp and we're having a great time. As I walked into my office I found 3 trash bags full of laundered unclaimed lost and found. I couldn't believe that there were that many high schoolers who had left so much stuff behind! I'm talking some pretty good stuff too! A huge assortment of towels, shirts, and shorts. Of course there were plenty of mismatched socks and unmentionables. So if you left something, call in and describe it and I will check all three bags. As camp policy states we will store it for two weeks and then we distribute it to those in need.

I'm glad God doesn't forget about us like so many campers forgot about so much that belonged to them. Gods Word says " He will never leave us or forsake us."

Maybe you could give me some suggestions on how to get rid of all this stuff or some ideas on how to get kids to take it home in the first place.