Well, week 4 is at an end and I can't believe how fast the time is flying by! We had a great week with hot sunny days and a couple of rainy evenings, which was just perfect. The smaller numbers of campers allowed us to join Ranch at their campsite, Hicks Creek, and we had a lot of fun with a boat race down the river (each cabin makes their own boat) and an epic round of gibberish, a charades game.
The speaker for this week, Joel Kiekintveld, is the director of Parachutes Youth Ministry in Anchorage. He spoke about our identity in Christ, using our theme verses for the summer, Isaiah 41:9 & 10, which is a powerful scripture. If you want to learn more about Parachutes, visit their website, www.parachutesalaska.com.
Friday night's campfire was full of kids sharing what God taught them this week and how He's drawn them closer to him through their time at camp. The night ended with marshmallow fights and staying up late!
Today the week draws to a close and kids will be loading up on the buses and heading home. It's our prayer that each one of them will not forget what they learned, that the new lives in Christ will find ways to plug in to a youth group or church to attend, and that God will place someone in their lives who can mentor them in their walk.
We are leaving first thing tomorrow morning for our staff trip to Seward, where we'll spend a couple of days. Justin is heading up a large group of people going on a whitewater rafting trip down 6-Mile Creek out of Hope.
Tonight the staff will relax a bit and have fun with an open mic & coffee night put on by the leadership at Victory. Justin & I have prepared a skit to perform!
Ways you can pray for Victory right now:
-Renewed focus for the counselors & other staff. This part of the summer is often the toughest as staff can get homesick (many of the staff are from out of state) and lose focus on why we're here.
-Health for everyone here; we've had a great summer so far with not much sickness at all; let's pray for it to continue!
-Continued safety for campers & staff on the lake and around the horses, and during games
-Next week is our short week with our youngest groups of campers, who will arrive Wednesday. Pray for brave little ones and for the homesickness to stay away!
(photos: the poster at Spruce Lodge for our theme this summer; a counselor talks with a camper at Alpine)
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