Dear Prayer Partners,

Our last FULL day of camp is officially in the books. Today felt different from the time we woke up. We knew that 2 big events were coming in the afternoon: The girls' Royal Tea Party and the boys' Dude Royal.

Today is a very special day for all the girl campers. They had an opportunity to dress up in beautiful formal dresses (that they get to keep), wear makeup and have their hair fixed fancy. They were headed to a lovely Royal Tea Party. The boys and staff lined the sidewalks to cheer on the girls as they went to the Dining Hall in their dresses. It never gets old to see. 

Later on in the day the boys got to experience what we have called Dude Royal for years based on the boys' love for the Christian YouTube sensation, Dude Perfect. For Dude Royal, we bring in a fun Ninja Warrior experience and some plastic axe throwing for the boys. They absolute love it.

Today may be the last full day of camp but tomorrow will be filled with its own emotions as we wrap up our final session of Royal Family Kids Camp and head home.

We do ask that you continue to pray for the kids. It's about this time during the week when they start to "pull away" and "act out" in preparation for their return home. Some will go home to loving families while others will return to their foster home where they are simply a number and often overlooked. We pray that we have filled them with long-lasting hope and showered them with love all week.

Here are some great stories from our camp scribe:

Dear God, 

Today I was seen. You see, I was a camper way back when, but this summer I came back to camp as a teen helper. I discovered today that when kids are aging out of camp, they get to do some special activities. One of those activities is to learn how to sew a pillowcase. Thinking back to when I was a camper, I never got to make my pillowcase. The sweet sewing lady, Mary, listened to my story and she helped me make my first pillow case! It was such a fun, new experience for me. I felt like she cared about it, even though I just met her a few days ago. Thank you for allowing her to be at camp this week and for giving her the patience to help me with my new pillowcase. I felt seen. Thank you for that!

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Dear God,

Today was a little hard. I was running through the obstacle course and didn't realize my friend, Gage, was right in front of me. I ran right into him!  On accident, of course. We both got frustrated with each other, but our counselor pulled us together to talk it out. He reminded us of our lesson from chapel today, "God, You, will help me forgive others". We used that message to forgive each other, and we kept racing through the obstacle course. Thank you for giving us the lessons in chapel this week. They really are helpful.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Dear God, 

I want to be a comedian! I just LOVE making other people laugh and feel good. Tonight at the variety show I was able to open up the show and tell some good jokes. God, I fully believe that you gave me the gift of comedy to share jokes and stories with others. I ask that you continue to teach me how to use this gift to bring joy, impact others, and to share Your love for people who may not know You. I trust You to help me with my plan. Thank you for everything today!

In Jesus' name, Amen.  

Blessings,

Darren

p.s. Pray for the buses and the bus drivers tomorrow who will be arriving around lunch time. We pray for their safety and their trip with the kids back to DFW.