Dear Prayer Partners,

The photo above is what you see when you leave camp. 2 Thess 3:16 says this:

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.”

Today those words from scripture were heard more powerful than ever as the buses and volunteers left camp. Let me explain.

First off, in any "normal" Royal Family Kids, we always pray for peace and hope for these kids as they move back into their lives back home in whatever "home" looks like to them. For some, it's an easier transition because they get to go back to their forever family or a loving foster home situation.

And then there are others. Some of the kids are living in "not so good" foster homes where they are simply a number ... not the treasured soul we told them they were all week at camp. We see that when they return and a foster parent will whisk them away in a hurry because they are off to another church or organization to pick up other foster kids who all live together. You can just sense the tenseness in these kids as they start to pull away on Thursday evening or especially Friday morning. Normal Friday's at camp are hard enough as it is. Then ...

Well, let's just say we ran into a little hiccup. Some will call it a "miscommunication". But if you were at camp, most of us just said, "Oh boy..."

When things don't go as planned, some of the kids don't respond well. Especially those "hard kids" who have been difficult all week. Today, we got word as we were waiting on the buses to arrive around 12:30 (post lunch) that the buses would not be arriving til later this evening (close to dinner) because that's what they thought the plan was. That was not the plan. Again ... "miscommunication".

We had to scramble a plan together that would keep the kids occupied for more hours than we had planned. Keep in mind, all of our camp stuff has been packed away for the next camp. Then there is communication with the caregivers explaining what was going on and the delay of returning home we were facing. Then there is communication with the bus company to find a solution to our problem.

Meanwhile, our volunteers (staff and counselors) took on additional roles of entertaining kids until the buses would arrive. We played games, watch a movie and even had a freeze-dance party. Of course, everyone did so well with this new plan. I always say at this camp, "Blessed are the flexible" and today, those words took on a whole new meaning.

But, let's go back to the picture above. 2 Thess 3:16 ... may he give us peace at ALL times and in EVERY situation! Again, those words rang loud as we left camp today. God was definitely there at all times all week and in our situation today providing peace as only He can.

Thankful for our prayer partners offering prayers for our week of camp - they were definitely felt today. Thankful for a great week of offering hope and peace to these kids. Your prayers are greatly appreciated!

Blessings,

Darren

p.s. If you know of someone wanting to volunteer as a counselor at our 2 remaining sessions in July, pass this email onto to them. They can sign up here.