Things here at camp are absolutely crazy! Here's a quick run down of the past few weeks to keep you up-to-date.
Natalie's Big Month of Milestones:
Natalie turned 2 years old on July 11th. We had a small party with cake and ice cream. Natalie was more excited about the food than the fact that she turned two. Just a few days ago Natalie moved across the hall into her new room, which we have dubbed her "big sister room." That same day we sat down as a family and had a discussion about how big sisters don't use pacifiers. As the discussion came to a close we took Natalie's pacifiers and threw them in the garbage. Since then Natalie has only asked for her pacifier a couple times...and she hasn't cried or thrown a fit about receiving "No" for an answer. This parenting thing is pretty easy [sarcastic grin]. We will see how it goes with two kids at the same time...which should be any day now with a due date of August 5th.
Day Camp
Our first week of day Camp is here and gone. It was a wild and crazy week full of activities, special guests, awesome food and some amazing presentations of the gospel. We were blessed to have a Drama Ministry team with us from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Each day they preformed dramas and mimes giving a tremendous presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, each afternoon the campers went to Drama Class. This was hands down the most enjoyed program element. The campers asked about Drama Class every day. They could not wait to learn the dramas they were seeing each morning. I was blessed to hear that many of the campers were going home each night to perform the dramas and mimes for their parents. Some families even worked together making up their own dramas. It was great to see the gospel presented in a dynamic way each day...building on the day before...and then become a very tangible activity that our campers took a hold of and made their own.
We also had some very special guests and friends from the community like: Sign Language Class with one of our past staffers who is deaf, Horses from the therapeutic riding center just down the road, and our local meteorologist Steve Prinzivalli who came and shared about storms and bad weather. We also had a surprise visit from Samantha Hensell (from the local tv station) who brought a camera and did a story on Day Camp. Needless to say it was exciting to have such a great outreach into the community through the media. Oh yeah, the campers also went nuts over the fact that they were going to be on TV.
Most of all though, we are praising God for a fruitful week of ministry. Through God's grace we were a part of one young camper's decision to receive Jesus as his Savior. What a celebration to see God's love and mercy take away darkness and usher light into a life. Please join us in praising God for the great things that only He can do.
Special Olympics at Arrowhead
Construction of our new Bocce Ball courts is underway. At the tail end of this week we are going to be putting up two Bocce Ball courts. The courts will have two purposes. The first is the addition of a new program element for Shepherds Camp. The second is preparation for a Bocce Ball Tournament that we will be hosting for the Southern Tier Special Olympics. That's right, the Special Olympics are coming to Shepherds Camp! We are very excited and thankful for God's leading as He continues to give us success in meeting our goal of reaching out to our local community. What a blessing to be able to invest in the lives of our neighbors and friends.
Oh Baby?
We're heading into turn three. It is the proverbial Thursday of summer. We have less days left and more days done. Even though things are going to get busier there is the anticipation of "the best is yet to come." We have four weeks of Shepherds Camp ahead of us. We also have a baby coming VERY soon. Don't forget the Spiedie Fest and the Bocce Ball Tournament...and those are just the things we are expecting.
Stay Tuned, we will keep you up-to-date.
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