Dear Prayer Partners,

The first day of camp is in the books. Here's a great story from our scribe.

The door of the Break Room opened and a man with a wide smile on his face rushed in. He was clutching a small swimsuit in one hand and shaking his head. It’s my job to eaves drop, so I heard him tell his story to another staffer. It seems that a little boy didn’t bring a swimsuit, so this man had made three trips across campus to the stock of clothes, bedding, and other supplies to find a suit that was small enough to fit the tiny body. Instead of expressing frustration at the time and effort required, he exclaimed in wonder: “That little boy is just so precious!” Instead of saying I’m sorry son - there won’t be any swimming for you this week, he chose to say Yes, we’ll make sure you have fun with all the other boys.

Another yes-sayer was a counselor at my table at lunch. Both of her campers made a pass at their lunch of chicken strips and salad – they said no to green beans and parmesan potatoes – and asked if they could get more cheese from the salad bar. She encouraged another bite or two of chicken, but when they asked again, she slapped both hands on the table and jumped enthusiastically to her feet. “Yes, let’s do it!”

It’s been a day of yeses: yes, there is a sign with your name on it; yes, you can help bus the table; yes, we can go to the pond; yes, you can play in the sand. In our prayer circle this morning, one of the younger counselors prayed that all of us would say yes as often as possible this week. Most of these children have lived a life of no. Pray that something we say or do this week will prepare them to say yes when the Lord calls them.

Before the kids arrive, we took some time as volunteers to work through prayer exercises tonight at our group. You can see those in the photos below.

Thank you for your prayers!

Darren


PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • For some of the kids having a hard time transitioning to camp