Sunday
The second week of camp already here! The campers arrived on time with little complications. One of the group’s vans broke down on the way; but the group still managed to pull together, and get settled easily. Praise God!
After the groups were all settled, there was a leader’s meeting, and following this, it was Camp Gathering Time. This week, the Camp had been blessed to have a Band by the name of “3 Shades of Blue” leading the music portion of the Worship time. The speaker this week was Chuck Jewell, a Pastor North of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And as mentioned the theme of this year is “Be Strong and Courageous.” The theme of the night was “Strong Courage.” He used some background of Joshua from the Bible and reminded us that Joshua was the one who inherited the Promised Land and he was courageous, he carried out his calling. The speaker ultimately challenged the group to meditate on the word of God, he gave the idea that we should read a verse aloud, and each time we read it, emphasize a different word in the verse and it will bring a new meaning to the scripture. He then left the group with the idea of worry. He asked us to worry about the word rather than our usual worldly matters. This left many of the campers enlightened and eager to take the challenge!
With a great message and a lot to think about, the campers went off to bed shortly after, resting well for the busy day ahead! Wow, what a day of the Lord.
Monday
The campers rose bright and early, to have breakfast and start their first day of work! Many groups were continuing the work of the previous week, as others began to work on different homes. There was another home where the owner was a hoarder, and a group began de-hoarding a house. Others were priming paint, replacing a screened in porch, fixing skirting on mobile homes and fixing holes in bathroom floors. The groups were working hard all day, and came back exhausted but feeling accomplished. Glory to God!
As the campers arrived back at the Church, they showered and took some time to themselves before dinner. After all were fed it was Camp Gathering time.
After some worship in song, it was time to hear the word of the Lord. The theme of the night was “Strong Faithfulness” The Speaker focused his message on Joshua 3:5-8 when Joshua was about to lead the people across the river after the Ark of the Covenant was lifted up. The speaker then showed a video about a man who, at fourteen years of age, woke up one morning blind. He put his faith in Christ and discovered talents and abilities he never knew he had before he was blind. He began to sing, play guitar and work at a blind institute. There was also a testimony given by one of the campers who struggled with both of his parents living with addiction and how he stayed faithful to God through his life. It was a great way to encourage the campers to take a leap of faith even when they aren’t sure of what the outcome will be.
Finally, the night was coming to an end and the campers broke off into small groups, enjoyed some time playing games and other activities, and uniting in devotional time. Soon enough though, it was time for lights out and sleep so these hard workers could be ready for the next day.
Tuesday
A new morning had begun. The groups rose early for breakfast, completed their cleaning assignments for the day, and it was off to the work sites!
The groups seemed to be even more on task than Monday if that is even possible! These groups have been great at whistling while they work! Enjoying their time and putting the effort in, as well as letting Christ shine through them and into the hearts of their homeowners. As we traveled through the work sites we saw people painting porches, putting up drywall, getting rid of trash, sorting through household items that were to be thrown away, and finishing up painting inside a home.
The campers arrived back at the church, most of them early, giving them time to wind down and get ready for dinner. Dinner came, and then it was time to join in worship with the Lord.
As the band had finished leading worship in song, the speaker preached about the theme of the day which was to have a “Strong Narrative.” The speaker used Joshua 4:1-9 to describe a Strong narrative of the 12 tribe leaders Joshua had make a pile of rocks called an “Ebeneezer.” The speaker then left the crowd with the story of Staci, a girl that came to know Christ at a young age; but because of her peace and joy, which was so prevalent in her, many were influenced and came to know Christ, especially when she died at a young age and they had realized how God used her to serve others. The group was left with the idea of how to infiltrate their own “Strong Narrative” in their lives, so they would be equipped with answers, when others had questions about their faith.
After Camp Gathering Time, it was once again, time for all to rest up for the next day’s work! What a great week so far, it will be exciting to see what the Lord has in store for the rest of it!
Watch the videos of the week at:
www.youtube.com/theworkcamppeople
View pictures from the week at:
http://bit.ly/LB2013wk2