Welcome to week 3! So far the week has gone very smoothly, for the campers at least. :) Yesterday was an eventful day and included a broken tooth for me (Lynsey) and a following trip to the dentist, a small fender bender (we like Geico! ;) and lots of fun. God was present throughout the day and we are continuing to learn to lean on Him and practice longsuffering!
Alpine has an equal amount of boys and girls this week, which is uncommon - usually the girls outnumber the boys. So pray for the boys' counselors and for the boy campers to grow in an awesome way this week.
There is a scripture that's been on my heart lately, a beautiful prayer from Paul for the Ephesian believers. It's my prayer also, for the campers and staff here at Victory:

"...I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong."

-Ephesians 4:14-17

We are praying that God will be at home in the heart of every person who passes through Victory this summer, and that there will be deep spiritual roots grown strong.

Week 2 down is down and we are getting ready to head into week 3! We said goodbye to the Off the Wall Ministry team Friday night and were so thankful for the time they spent here. If you're interested in a discipleship training program, check out their website at offthewallministry.com.
Alpine's campfire friday night was encouraging and a little sad as campers had a chance to give their testimony or share what they learned this week at camp. It's sometimes tough to send kids home when you know they don't come from good surroundings, but it's so wonderful to hear how God is working in them and changing their lives.
This next week could prove a little tricky for the waterfront since the waterfront director is counseling at Ranch camp and one of the lifeguards is out of state for the week.

Some praises:
-We had great weather this week with lots of hot sunshine! We are so thankful!
-There were lots of kids at Alpine that came from solid Christian homes

Some prayer requests:
-A girl camper who has a very rough past and has accepted Christ. Pray that she will learn all she can about God and grow in His love
-Rest & time to refresh for the counselors, who are now beginning to feel the fatigue that summer camp inevitably brings

(Photos: Justin playing gibberish with Travis, the assistant director of Off the Wall, during the Alpine wilderness campout; and the embers of the night's campfire)

Midweek update!
For the past two weeks, we have had a group here from Off the Wall Ministry. Off the Wall is an intensive discipleship training program in Ohio, and the director and assistant director have been sharing God's word with the campers and staff each evening at chapel. The rest of their team has been helping with music in worship, and they have been an awesome ministry to everyone here! It has been great to hear the gospel and God's word presented with such energy and for such a broad audience.
Alpine's counselors have been taking turns sharing their testimonies Tuesday nights at campfire and it is neat to see how God works differently and powerfully through each counselor's life. It's great for the campers to hear these personal testimonies as they are a great example of someone that the kids know personally that's in leadership over them, sharing what God has done in their life.
Alpine has a slightly older group of campers this week and the counselors have been blessed by them. They've been greatly encouraged by the fact that the kids are very interested in the Bible studies and have lots of input to give in discussions.
Justin has been getting back into his old role of engineering skits at mealtime and doing mail call which involves requiring staff and campers to sing if they want to get any packages that've been sent to them. :)
The sunshine is warm, the lake is cold, the food here is great (thanks to food service director Jacob!) and God is doing awesome things here this summer!
Things you can continue to pray for:
-Open hearts of campers and staff alike
-Patience for counselors as we have a couple of special needs campers this week
-Safety on the lake and with the horses


(Photos: Alpine at fireside, getting ready to play gibberish; The iceberg at the lake; Evie conquering a rock in the wilderness!)

Week 1

The first week of camp is almost over! Alpine had around 30 campers this week. There have been the inevitable bumps in the road, especially as the first week of camp is a lot like a test run as everyone figures out the schedule. And there are always a couple of campers who have attitude problems that need a little extra love. But there have been lots of awesome happenings! On Monday night the campers gathered around a campfire at Alpine fireside as Justin, or 'Maverick' (everyone has a camp name here!) shared some about his favorite scripture passage. Wednesday night was a waterfront night and Alpine did its first ever Water Olympics.
Also Wednesday night, several campers made first time decisions to follow Christ, and there were a couple of rededications as well. Justin was greeted by a counselor with a camper who wanted to share the awesome news of her decision to trust Christ. He didn't even have to ask; he could tell by the radiant smile on the camper's face what news she wanted to tell him!
We are also praising God that He held back the rain for the campout last night. It rained before, after, and in the middle of the night, but the campers stayed warm and dry throughout! It's awesome for the kids to be able to get deeper into nature and take some time in the solitude of the lakeside campout to talk to God.
I have been struggling a bit with being first and foremost a mommy this year instead of regular summer staff. It's sometimes tough to watch everyone and not help out with things even though I'd like to. But my two precious girls always make it very clear that they need mommy, and I love being needed, even if it is for a different ministry. We are falling into a nice little routine and are enjoying Parmenter, the camp house we've been placed in this summer. I have been able to help teach a life session on dating alongside Justin and really love doing that. God has also placed it on my heart this summer to be in constant prayer for the staff and any needs that arise around camp. Prayer is an entire ministry in itself, which I am finding out!
Tonight is the last night that campers will spend here in their week of camp. Please be praying for God to open hard hearts, walls to be broken down, and the newborn children of God that made decisions this week to be strengthened and rooted in His love after they go home.

A Sunday of Prayer

We left Kenai around 9 o'clock last night, and arrived at Victory around 2am this morning! It was a great drive. It was like seeing old friends as we laid eyes on the mountain ranges that completely surround Victory.
We were immediately greeted by a water heater with an exposed wire in our summer house. It was smoking and buzzing and I have to say that the DANGER: EXPLOSION HAZARD sticker on the side didn't look very encouraging to me. Justin made a phone call and a kind staff member came over to check it out and diagnose the problem.
We attended Glacier View Bible Church this morning and got to see some old friends.
Today is the last day of staff orientation...campers come tomorrow! So the camp staff will spend today in prayer for the campers and each other. We walked through different parts of the camp and prayed for the ministries that would be happening there and praying for specific groups of staff at the different camps- Frontier, Alpine, Ranch Camp, and S.A.L.T. If you would, pray for wisdom, encouragement and perseverance, and joy for the staff. For the campers that come tomorrow, that they would have open hearts to hear the gospel, a desire to grow in their faith, for homesickness to stay away, and safety during games and on the water.

We'll be posting pictures soon!

Headed to Camp!!

Lynsey and I are about to spend our last night in Minnesota before we get up at 5 am to head back to Alaska. Vacation with the family has been good, and its been fun to see my (Justin) brother one last time before he heads out to Papa New Guinea. Tomorrow I will head to Victory to prepare for the summer. The staff at Victory is in the middle of orientation week. I will have to step in ready to direct my Alpine staff and prepare them for what the weeks of camp will look like. I will have about a day and a half to do this. On Saturday I drive to Kenai for my brother in laws wedding, to pick up Lynsey, and head back to camp all in the same day! Then a day of prayer on Sunday before the first campers come Monday! We are excited for the summer and totally blessed to be serving Him at Victory again. GOD IS GOOD!!!

Whoops!

Today we realized that the address to the church that we sent out in our summer support letter is wrong...I (Lynsey) take responsibility for the error! The church address that you can send support to is in fact:
208 Lawton Dr.(not 108)
Kenai, AK 99611

Sorry about that!