You helped make
it so,
coming alongside with the most important gift, your
intercession.
The Lord drew us to
Psalm 34 this summer …and to a renewed corporate commitment to
prayer. And you joined us … thank you! Many, many
requests were met this summer … and here is how the summer
ended. Thank
you, thank you for standing with us.
Summer
Team
Nothing can compare to watching young leaders develop. Trying
leadership on for size, experiencing personal growths while
tackling challenges is what the summer is all about here. And
this summer was definitely a watershed year. If you have a
minute take a look at these incredible young people, and take a
look at what were some of their take-aways from the summer.
(click the image for more)
Camps
High School Camp
HS Camp was a great
week! We drove 15 hours in two charter buses to Westcliffe, CO
to a camp called Horn Creek. An hour and a half south west of
Colorado Springs, it has been a popular retreat for central to
mid-westerners for years. This summer, though, they embarked on
a new journey inviting some urban campers to stay with them. We
were one of the lucky groups. The camp is nestled in the foot
of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, the largest
uninterrupted stretch of the Rockies. Campers rode horses,
hiked 13,500 foot peaks, climbed rock walls, played intense
dodge ball games, walked 30 feet in the air on a ropes course,
rode the infamous 'death' swing, and even rafted down 3 & 3+
rapids on the Arkansas river with the Noah's Ark rafting
company. Lina Thompson, from World Vision in Seattle, spoke to
the young people about how God hears us even when we say hard
things to Him. We journaled our thoughts all week and many of
us had great moments of talking to God in new ways.
Kids Camp
There is nothing
like ending the summer with Kids Camp. It is a different form
of intensity, has a slower pace and deeper and more intimate
moments. And worship and our barn talks take the kids to a new
level of understanding their faith and following Jesus. Captain
Light and Victor reminded us every day to fight the darkness of
the lies we believe, the sins done to us, the temptations and
sins we commit and the things trapped in hiddeness … all this
brought kids and leaders to the mike the last night, to commit
to being Dark Fighters themselves. We all agreed, it was a
powerful camp.
I Can Do It Trips
All summer long,
kids who had fulfilled their school requirements of grades and
attendance earned a summer trip with their leaders. These are
times of bonding, experiencing new things, celebrating
accomplishments and dreaming future dreams. Here are some
reports from a few of the nine trips:
“We had such
an amazing time! We canoed, went horseback riding, and went
on hikes. We played hide and go seek in the cabin for like
3 hours. We all got to know each other better on the trip
and at the end we were all able to agree that this was one
of the better vacations we'd taken in a while.” –Shiloh
In talking
with some of the girls they said that had a great time and
one of their favorite memories was going over to Chelsea’s
(summer intern from last year) house and make there own
pizza’s and hang out together.
Joy said that
the girls were able to bond a lot because they were so
scared of sleeping outside…they were excited but when they
got there they could not even sleep that first night they
had scared themselves so much…Joy’s parents live in Payson
so they stayed at their house the next night and just
enjoyed the great outdoors during the day.
And then there
was ETHIOPIA …
Somewhere in the hub
bub of the summer and all that goes on around here, we were able
to imagine with two team members, taking the ethos of the work
here with children and youth and help train children’s workers
in Addis Ababa and Debre-Zeit; two communities where our friend
and co-laborer Aila Tasse has been working among leaders for
many years with LifeWay Mission.
Pat McCormick and
Deanna Kochman left for Ethiopia the end of July and came back
early Aug. They served in helping train children’s workers and
also participated in holding a camp for 80+ kids. We sent
training outlines, organized with other Ethiopian friends to
participate in the trainings, packed up kids club crafts and
t-shirts and couldn’t believe it when it was all set to go. In
faith, Pat and Deanna believed God for what they were going to
encounter and learn there, as well as contribute. And it was
amazing!
Our friends want us to come back …
Greetings. It was one of the blessing
time that we had in Ethiopia with Pat
and Deanna. Both were a great blessings
to us. I have discussed a little bit
about the future of this training. We
need to continue this training both in
Kenya and Ethiopia. Eventually it will
be an All Africa Children workers
training. I want us to pray towards
this. We are already in Kenya and
planning to settle. I will go back to
Ethiopia in September for a month
and work with the team over there. Let
me know how you feel about future us
doing this trainings for a period of
1 to 2 years.
Aila Tasse
So thank you once
again for standing with us this summer. We are convinced that
it is your willingness to intercede on our behalf that allow us
to have a report like this one. One filled with the
breakthroughs, the lives impacted, the imaginations enlarged,
the hope inspired, passion ignited …
