Monday!

Today was the first full day with these campers. Our chapel speaker for the week is Pastor Ron from Cheyenne, Wyoming. He gave a very good message with a couple of powerful demonstrations.

First was about sin. He started with a glass of clean water and asked who would drink it - 0f course everybody would. Then he showed a glass of "toilet water" which was actually made with a few bouillon cubes and different seasonings and stuff from the kitchen. He asked who would drink that - of course nobody would. He then dipped a fingertip into the dirty water and put it into the clean water and asked who would still drink that. Again, nobody would because even a little bit made the whole cup dirty. That's the problem with sin. Even a little bit makes us totally unclean in God's eyes. He then drank from the "toilet water" cup (one little girl was gagging in her seat, poor thing). That represented Christ taking the punishment for our sins. He then poured clean water from a pitcher into the remaining "toilet water" until it overflowed and ran clear. That represented Christ washing us and making us clean in God's eyes.

For the next demonstration, he had help from David - our program director (seen in previous blogs as Mr. Incredible). Ron asked the kids who would like a Snickers bar. Almost all hands went up. He said, OK...if you can do 250 push-ups you may have one. One very confident girl did try and got up to about 5 before giving up! Ron said that if David could do 4 push-ups for each person, he would give them their candy. So he went around the room, person by person, getting each camper's/counselor's name and asking them if they wanted the candy. As one said yes he would tell David "Will you do 4 push-ups so this one can have a candy?" and David did them, and the person got a candy. Even if someone did not want or could not have one he would still tell David "Will you do 4 push-ups for this one who does not want a candy?" and David did them. After all the campers and counselors had their turns, Ron went around the back of the room to myself and others and went through the same routine, and David did more push-ups.

I had to leave then to get lunch finished, but Ron told me later that he ended the message with explaining to the kids how Christ died for everyone! Even though some people may never accept the free gift of salvation, Christ still loves them enough to have paid the price. Amen!

All in all poor David did about 200 push-ups on that concrete floor. He is Mr. Incredible indeed!

At evening fireside the high school students did a skit called "Is it Time Yet?"

I did take a good video of the kids singing, but I need to change the format before it gets uploaded. Check back in tomorrow for that.

My overall BEST part of the day was getting chocolates in the mail from a good friend back home! The kitchen crew was very happy that I shared with them too.

Today's Highlights

Well, day 1 with our new campers has just come to an end.

There are 40 kids here in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.

Dinner was sloppy joes (on hot dog buns which are the perfect shape/size for shoving into your mouth), potato chips, broccoli and carrots with ranch, and fruity jell-o for dessert.

The kids then made up team names and cheers and were off to play tug of war.

Not just any tug of war - 4 way tug of war!

Counselors had their turn as well.

With the exception of a few minor rope burns, it was a good time all aound.

Evening fireside time was next. First, our high school studens put on a skit called Doctor's Office. Then we had some great worship time. Tonight's songs were Every Move I Make, the Infantry Song (military, outer space, and Mexican verses), and I've Got a River of Life.

They all have really fun motions. I'll try to get videos of them soon.

Jerome Jackson was teaching on Mark 16:15, the great commission.

His wife Harriet does a "2 minute tidbit" story of someone on the mission field.

The camp's theme this Summer is Heroes. As a mission project, we are supporting IJM, the International Justice Mission. They are a group of lawyers (real-life heroes) who work to free people from slavery and introduce them to Jesus. Any money found laying around camp, or in pockets when Harriet does the staff's laundry goes into a jar for IJM. At the end of the week, kids have the option of donating any money leftover in their store accounts as well.

FYI...this poster was made by Jim Howard, Andrea Hawthorne's dad!

The kids were then sent off to get ready for bed.

I'll be doing the same thing myself soon.

Watch for another update tomorrow!

County Fair

This weekend was the Gallatin County Fair right here in Bozeman. I went this morning because it was FREE admission day.

There was a rodeo scheduled. It was some girls (maybe junior/senior high) doing barrel racing. Now for those of you who don't know what barrel racing is, it is when you ride your horse around 3 barrels. But you have to go in a certain pattern. You can lose points for not following the pattern. I think their moms were the announcers and there were many comments about how nice a rider's helmet was, and how cute that the rider's shirt matched the horse's leg wraps, and oh no she lost her hat/headband, etc.

The 4H had barns full of animals being judged. I did not go into most of them because they were smelly. OK, so I am not a total farm girl. It was fun to look at the chickens/hens/roosters. I love the hairdo on this guy!

Other displays included plants, art, food, etc. I got a free shirt from the MDT (Montana Department of Transportation) who were there promoting seat belts. I wear mine every time I am in the car and I make my passengers buckle up as well. Do you?

There was an interdenominational church service put on by the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys. That was fun to go to even though there were no cowboys there. Where are they all??? The leader is running a rodeo Bible camp here in town next week.

Thus ended my weekend time off. We're expecting about 40 campers here this week. I see a group of them playing on the field outside my window right now. Please keep us all in prayer: that the Holy Spirit will fill this place, that we will work enthusiastically and safely, and that our desire to serve the Lord and see kids get saved will leave Satan shaking in his boots.

I have a lot more pictures posted on Facebook. If you're not on Facebook and would like to see them, email me and I'll send you links to access them!

Day Off

I did not have to work at all yesterday (Andrea, thank you sooo much for that blessing!) so I went out exploring. No specific itinerary, just got in the car and started driving. Thankfully my Echo has been averaging 37 mpgs out here so I don't have to feel too guilty about driving around aimlessly.

First stops were at garage sales. My car just follows the neon arrows alomost automatically! Couldn't resist looking around and picked up a couple of small things.

Then I went and got my first Montana bagel and it was pretty good. Slightly smaller than NJ's but very similar texture.

The road trip brought me to Livingston, MT. There was a railroad history museum there, which normally would not interest me but it was free so I decided to go in.

I walked around their historic downtown. Lots of little stores to stop in. One street had several thrift/consignment/resale/antique shops.

Next stop in town was Sacajawea Park, where they were having Summerfest. There was an old car show and lots of vendors. I treated myself to a necklace/earring set.

The park is located along the Yellowstone River. I spent some time sitting on a bench there just relaxing and praying. It was quite peaceful despite the crowd. I had a cherry-lime shaved ice to help beat the heat.

Downtown Bozeman had crazy days sidewalk sale this weekend so I then went to check that out. I got a big box of beads in a storage container for out craft shop and a t-shirt for myself. All that for $10. Sweet deal.

Next stop was Target. Best thing I found there was a new kind of laundry detergent sheet with fabric softener and anti-static stuff built in. Now, I realize that this is not a big deal for most people but since I am allergic to most fabric softeners it made me very happy. I don't even like the smell of them or the artificial "cotton blossom" or "clean laundry" candle/air freshener scents. Anyway, this one is labeled as clinically proven to be hypoallergenic. Can't wait to try it tonight.

Final stop was for dinner at MacKenzie River Pizza. I had half of a personal size Thai chicken pie. It was good.

Another week over

WOW...what a week!

Our campers left this afternoon, we had a staff debriefing and prayer time, and now I can sit down and share some stories of the week with you.

It was a large group here and that did not leave me much opportunity to leave the kitchen and make it to the chapel services. I did go one morning and the speaker was giving a great message about self-worth. He reminded the junior high kids (and staff as well) that we are God's workmanship, created in His image; we are chosen by God and adopted as His own; we are a new creation because of His loving sacrifice; and other great things! Image is something almost everyone struggles with so it was encouraging to once again hear how special we are to God. Let's pray everyday that Satan will not fill our heads with any negative junk.

For evening fireside time, the speakers ("retired" missionaries Jerome and Harriet Jackson) have been encouraging everyone to surrender all to God and make ourselves wholly available to Him and be willing to do whatever He asks us no matter the cost. Quite a challenge!

They have been telling stories of different missionary organizations (Samaritan's Purse, Mission Aviation Fellowship, etc) to show how God can use us no matter what our skills and interests are. He created each of us with the ability to serve Him in a unique way. Hmm...sounds a lot like what we were learning in the morning.

One night for fireside, our camp director and his wife (Jim and Andrea Hawthorne) shared a bit of their personal history. It's pretty cool. Jim's mom's brother was Jim Elliott, the missionary. Andrea's dad's sister was Elizabeth Howard Elliott. They told the story and showed some video of their 2006 trip to Ecuador to commerate the 50th anniversary of when Jim Elliott and 4 other missionaries were killed by the Waodani tribe there. This is the event that the movie "End of the Spear" was based on. There's great examples of reconciliaton by the widows (Elizabeth Elliott later went to live among that tribe) and children who lost their dads (Steve Saint showed mercy to his dad's killer). Another example of God's power to heal hearts and change lives. If you have never read the story or seen the movie I would have to recommend it.

There were lots of sweet God moments throughout the week as staff encouraged the campers and one another. Several of our staff members have left for the Summer. Please pray for them and for those who are still here and missing them. In such a short time we have become like family and it will be hard to have our new brothers and sisters away from us.

Last night was our traditional Thursday night surprise for the campers. Counselors got them settled into their cabins at bedtime, then we rang the "you need to be somewhere" bell. After the usual confusion, everyone was led to the dining hall for party time.

The treat was a 40-foot ice cream sundae!

Might be hard to see in the picture, but on these tables is 4o feet of gutter (which I personally cleaned and sanitized before use) filled with bananas, ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles.

You might have noticed that there were no bowls out.

Oh yea, all 75+ people got to eat from the gutter with spoons.

Very messy and unsanitary but it was a great time!

Makes me thankful that I am not a big fan of ice cream. Although I did manage to steal a spoonful of Jim's later in the evening. It came right from the freezer and had m&ms in it.

Of course, things got a little bit out of control, as they often do when you mix kids plus sugar.

The guys came up with a creative way to help clean up.

I'm guessing that chugging ice cream is something they probably don't get to do at home.

By the end of the night we were all worn out and ready for a good sleep. There sure were lots of tired faces at breakfast this morning!

I am officially off-duty until Sunday afternoon. Please pray that it will be a time of physical, emotional, and spiritual refreshment. I certainly need them all.

God is good.

July so far...

Well, a lot has happened since my last (long ago) post. We hosted family camp from July 3 to 6. The speaker gave really good messages about relationships. On the 4th we celebrated our country's independence with a big bbq and fireworks at night.

There were no guests here from the 7th to 11th and it was a good time for the staff to refresh and enjoy one another's company. One night we set up a make-your-own ice cream bar. Everyone got to choose their own treats to mix in, and then we enjoyed a movie together.

Last Saturday we took a trip to Townsend, MT for a play day at the lake. The local Alliance church provided lunch for us and we grilled some shish-kebabs for dinner. Packing food and snacks for 50 people is no easy task! The weather was beautiful that day and we had a lot of fun in the water.

This past Saturday I had some free time and got out to enjoy the town a little bit. Went to the farmers market, a couple of garage sales, some antique shops, the thrift store ($1.75 jeans!), and for a short hike at Hyalite Canyon. Yes, that is SNOW on the mountain top. No, I did not go that far up.

This week we have 7th to 9th graders here at camp. They are a fun and energetic bunch! There is also a group of guys spending the week backpacking in the mountains.

Personally, I just finished reading (along with my small group at home) "One Month to Live" by Kerry and Chris Shook. It was a great book about living life to the fullest and without regrets. It's available for purchase at the BIBLE HOUSE in Hawthorne.

Please continue to keep the camp in prayer, and I'll try to do better at keeping you posted with what God's doing here.

Ready...Aim...

Today I had the chance to visit 3 more skill builder classes.

The archery class was having a "shoot off". The leader had strung plastic milk jugs filled with water from a clothesline in front of the regular targets. Altogether the boys got about 8 arrows through them. Impressive!

The riflery class was shooting rifles (I know, no surprise there). I got to shoot a round as well - from a chair,not on the ground. The boy who carried in my paper target was very excitedly telling me that I had a hit. Whoo-Hoo. Very exciting only until the instructors informed me that the hole was way too small to be from my bullet. I think the boy poked a hole with his fingernail or something. Hmm....pity points given by an 11 year old...good enough for me. I was allowed to keep my shell casing and was promised an adult lesson on another day!

The camp craft (camping skills) class was learning how to tie knots today. This leader has a tremendous amount of patience to be teaching these little girls how to tie fancy knots when they only want to use them for bracelets! Boys in the class were wanting more fire-building skills.

One of the activity directors tried to talk me into participating in a game of paintball. Sounds like fun except that running, being hit, and getting dirty are all on my top 10 list of least-favorite things. Maybe by the end of the Summer. Keep praying. : )