Hunger and Thirst

Those who are never thirsty
are never refreshed.

Those who do not hunger
are never filled.

~ Dominion, by Randy Alcorn

Fire!

It's cliche, I know, but it's hard to believe the summer has gone by so quickly. There are only 3 weeks left!

It has been good to get to know the other staff. As different ones got sick and drank firewater; stepped on nails; overheated, hallucinated, and/or collapsed; or broke bones, we have drawn together to care for each other and grown into a team I don't want to leave.

God has worked in the hearts of many campers, softening hard hearts, transferring children and teenagers from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son.

This week was perhaps the most exciting yet, and certainly the most difficult. We got back to camp and visited the pet baby rabbit (who died a couple days later), played a couple rounds of Jungle Speed, and hurried around preparing for a surprise birthday party.

After dinner, we heard an awesome testimony from a newish couple on staff, then hiked down to the lake to jump and swim in those beautiful waters.

Monday morning, 175 campers arrived. They ate, played, and went swimming. They had a powerful worship service where the preacher encouraged us to give ourselves completely to God (Romans 12:1-2). They ate candy and went to bed, then woke up for another day of the same. Or so they thought.

The wind picked up, and around 3:00 it rained - an answer to a couple weeks of prayer! And oh, it smelled so good! The staff didn't eat much at dinner, saving room for the tea party that night.

Everyone had to wear a hat, and we voted on the most creative one. We went around the room and shared stories of our most embarrassing moments, and halfway around the room someone's phone rang.

"There's a fire!" We thought it was just a brush fire, or a forest fire; but it turned out to be in one of the dorms. It was hard to believe, standing there in the dark watching flames lick the walls and roof of a building where so much had happened over the years, an investment of many loving hands and a tool of our loving God. It seemed so purposeless.

And yet, all of the campers were safe. It was understandably traumatic, and those girls shed many tears. While the firefighters fought the flames, two girls were eternally saved from Hell's fire.

Camp will continue for the rest of the summer; it will just require a little rearranging. Please pray for the camp, and for the director and his family. 

First Week

How good it felt to be back at camp this past week! After a summer off, it was a joy to drive down that 15mph gravel road to the wood dining hall and walk around the beautiful property.

One by one the staff arrived and began to bond over jungle speed and ultimate frisbee, washing dishes and cleaning cabins, jumping off cliffs and hauling logs. We gave candy to campers, and we listened to each others' testimonies. We heard a talk on bitterness and were warned not to let any little thing divide us. The director and his wife demonstrated proper and improper ways to hug. We watched The Pineapple Story, and a sermon about meditating on small chunks of God's Word - one verse a week. 

I learned more about humility, and enjoyed seeing how beautifully God is working in my life and those around me. 

A few firsts this year: 

cooking for 100 people all at once

entering the "tower" and climbing to the fifth floor

climbing back up from the lake via the rope

waltzing with a girl in the dishpit

walking Emmaus-style when it wasn't Emmaus

getting lost in the woods

eating surprisingly delicious microwavable potato chips made from only potatos and salt

drinking chai tea

Next week will be the first week of official campers, and we're praying for 100. Please pray for us to be yielded vessels pouring God's love into the heart of every 7- to 14-year-old girl who comes to camp!

Community

"For this reason I bow my kneeds
to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom the whole family in Heaven and Earth is named"
(Ephesians 3:14-15).

the whole family in Heaven and Earth . . .

A few weeks ago, God fulfilled a lifelong dream of travelling to Africa to help children in poverty. I flew across the Atlantic Ocean, switched planes across Europe, crossed the Mediterranean Sea, and sped over hours and hours of rock and sand in the Sahara Desert until finally landing in the tiny, crowded country of Burundi. And what did I find there? My God, the one true living God, active and worshipped by a thriving community of believers. I was at home there in the community of God's people.

Just like here.

Except a little different. There, it is appropriate to talk to everyone around you. It is right to greet everyone in the room, and to shake each hand. The markets and buses are full, body-to-body. You don't have personal space, and honestly it's kind of refreshing not to have to worry about staying out of everyone else's physical and emotional bubbles!

When I said goodbye, they sent greetings.
"Greet everyone, your parents first of all. Greet the believers in America. Tell them the brothers and sisters here greet them in the name of Jesus Christ."

Then last weekend at the Emmaus Walk - I mean Grace Young Adult Chrysalis Journey #5 - coming together with brothers and sisters from all around Kentucky and Tennessee to love on twenty-five young women and lead them closer to the Father, it was there again, this sense of community: "the whole family."

I think of the greetings at the end of every letter in the Bible.

Then there were Paul's journeys.
"And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. . . .
We came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. . . .
And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. . . .
At Sidon, Julius gave Paul liberty to go to his friends and receive care. . . .
And the next day we came to Puteoli, where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome. And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us."

And then today, reading in 1 Corinthians, I found this beautiful verse:
"To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours."

Why is it that the Christian feels at home so many places all over the world, wherever his brothers and sisters are? Could it be because this world is not our home, but Heaven is, and wherever God's people are gathered it is a little taste of that Home?

Trying Hard

Well she tries to believe it
That she's been given new life
But she can't shake the feeling
That it's not true tonight
She knows all the answers
And she's rehearsed all the lines
And so she'll try to do better
But then she's too weak to try
~ You Are More
(Tenth Avenue North) 

You can't get to Heaven by working hard to earn a ticket,
and I can't become pure and holy by trying really hard.


It is God who saves, and it is God who purifies.
His grace made me His, and His grace will make me all His.
He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it!
Jesus is the Author and Finisher of my faith.


I've tried so hard, and the results are only failure; but His grace is sufficient for me.
Thank You, Jesus!

He Would Run to Me?

Humans are slow to forgive.
Humans wait, aloof, arms crossed, for you to walk the whole way to them.
Humans accept apologies with words of reproof, to clarify that their forgiveness does not excuse the wrongs that you did.
Humans take you back with limitations and qualifications.
Humans may remind you later of your unworthiness and guilt.

But when you return to God, He runs to you. Runs!
He is looking for us, waiting. And when we come to our senses and start to walk home, the moment we come into view on that dusty road He runs to meet us, throws His arms around our necks, and proclaims a party.

Would He really do that? Would He run to me?
Luke 15 says He would.

Cooking with toddlers . . . and allergies

No one in my family has a food allergy, so when I eat or cook I pay no attention to the ingredients list. It tastes good, so that's all that matters, right? But now that I have toddlers in my classroom who have food allergies, it's a big deal. Did you know how much stuff has soy in it? Bread, margarine, sprinkles, EVERYTHING!!! What is it for, anyway?

So this week we're studying cooking.

Monday we mixed goop - sounds fun, right? Trust me, it was. =) 4 cups of cornstarch and two cups of water, mixed together (it's stiff at first), makes enough for 12 toddlers to touch and play around with. It also makes a very sticky white mess all over everything.

Tuesday we spread jelly on English muffins. Jam and bread both have soy.

Wednesday we rolled cookie dough - eggless, soyless cookie dough. Mom already had the recipe for cut-out cookies, and I googled egg substitutes. It turns out that applesauce and mashed bananas work great.

Here's the recipe with alterations: Cream together 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 cup real butter, 1/2 cup applesauce, and 1/2 mashed banana. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp. lemon extract. Stir in 4 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. soda. Shape into roll 3 inches in diameter. Wrap in wax paper, and chill. Do not freeze. Roll out; cut shapes.

Wednesday night after church I baked the cookies (at 350 until lightly brown), and this morning I searched the dairy crisper in the refrigerator for real butter to use in the icing. To my dismay, 8 sticks of margarine met my eye. No butter. I ran to brush my teeth, and carefully locked the door before driving around the bend to the nearest grocery, then rushed back to stir the following ingredients: 1/2 stick butter, 1 pound powdered sugar, milk, and 1 tsp. vanilla. It was ready just in time to put everything away and head out the door to work.

The kids loved spreading the icing (and some of them enjoyed adding sprinkles . . . umm, no, I didn't even research how to make soy-free sprinkles. Really, who puts soy in sprinkles? Oh, well.) Nothing like 12 sticky, messy kids smiling up at you while stuffing frosted cookies in their mouths and signing for more.