I had no idea when I woke up this morning just what I would encounter. My camp resume contains Northland, the Wilds, and of course...Camp Victory. For those of you who don't know...I have attended Camp Victory multiple weeks each year since I was merely months old. It has also been my privilege to serve as part of the staff for the past five years. Recently I calculated that I have spent nearly four years of my life on the grounds of Camp Victory...so to say that today was going to be a step out of my comfort zone would be appropriate to say the least.
I've always been a good packer, so I kinda just took over getting luggage into the van today. Alicia, or "the bag lady" as I now call her was so gracious to drive our church van filled with luggage, and a few interesting guests. After prayer with Pastor Dave, we departed. I would first like to thank Pastor Darryl, "The Bladder god," for not allowing us to make a plethora of bathroom stops. It made the trip go by much faster, even in cramped vans. The lunch break at Fazoli's was great, and the credit for that goes to our awesome group of kids. I'm so proud to be one of their leaders! Apparently they didn't eat as much as Alicia anticipated, so Padre and I were able to deliver a feast to a family with seven children in the area who needed it more than we did! (Did I mention several Jr. High guys packed ENTIRE DUFFLE BAGS of snacks!?!?)
We arrived on campus and quickly unloaded our things in our dorm rooms. The guys attempted to be gentlemen and carry the massive armoires the girls had collected, but were quickly turned away at the doors by the dorm leaders. Honestly...a blessing that we didn't have to find their rooms. The guys dorm is MASSIVE. A large commons area reveals the wrap around sets of dorm rooms. My suite has Jacob Blegen, TJ Ungerer, Brian Jones, Michael Hicks, Caleb Henry, Nathan Racz, and Dillon Richmond. I wish we would have looked at that map before trekking all over three floors only to realize we had it right the first time!
We quickly adjured to "The Cathedral" where we met our campus pastor and various leaders for the week. To me it felt weird to be one of those adult sponsors instead of the camp staff...I'm not sure if I'm going to get used to that. Supper was unusually good for a college campus. Eric and I discovered a secret place that has DELICIOUS yogurt and fruit, and Darryl found a juice bar! (shhhh! We aren't telling the kids until we leave. ;)
The service was definitely the highlight of the day! With all the distractions and things the enemy had thrown at us throughout the day, I knew something good was coming. The worship experience began with a powerful worship set. I don't know about anyone else, but God's Spirit had free reign with me during this time! The preacher delivered a challenge from Ezekiel. To sum it all up, when you have had a genuine encounter with God, you cannot help but live a radical life for him! This challenged me at a whole new level! Ezekiel had to do crazy things like build and destroy a sand castle, scare people from a hole in his home's wall, and eat dung sandwiches...What radical thing has God asked me to do? Well, at its very basic level, God has asked each of us to EVANGELIZE and DISCIPLE. No less than that! Yet we shy away from it because we are scared of....embarrassment???! That goes to prove that most of us do not even believe God is who he says he is...much less have we had an encounter with him. God began to speak to me personally, and reaffirmed his calling on my life. My encounters with God have generally been in a music setting, and God has specifically called me to spread his word and love through a musical platform, and speak when he opens the door.
Family group with my middle school guys was a heart softening time. God has his work cut out for him in the hearts of these boys, but I believe 110% that by the end of this week, there will be a fire burning so passionately inside them that they won't be able to contain it. My prayer is that this group of young teenagers comes home and teaches our dead adults how to live, love, praise, and have REAL CHURCH!
I won't tell any of you about the party we had in our dorm's commons area....what happens in the dorms, stays in the dorms. :) I'm so excited y'all! God has something big in store! Stay tuned to hear more about it!
No comments:
Post a Comment