Reflections on Summer 2014
It seems like just yesterday summer
started with our Annual General Meeting at the end of June. At the end of the meeting we
gathered the staff together to pray for them and the upcoming
summer. (Prayer is a good thing). I've been asked, how did it go?
Great, awesome, stretching, new, interesting, uplifting, challenging
are words that come to mind. From a strictly numbers perspective we
had a good summer. Summer camper numbers were up (779 total compared
to 718 last summer) and God provided all the staff that we needed.
That makes for a good start.
135 campers made a first time
commitment to follow Jesus and 179 made a re-commitment in their walk
with Jesus. Our staff and speakers this summer were phenomenal as
they really connected with our campers. How exciting is it that 314
campers made a life changing decision this summer? That's why we're
here. We want to be used by God to bring campers into a personal
relationship with Jesus.
It was also a summer of new. We had a
new Pit Crew program, a new Intern program, a new leadership
structure and a new activity – paintball. With all new things
there comes some adjustment, tweeking and frankly some head
scratching. But we're excited about the direction we're heading.
Our goal with the new Pit Crew and Intern programs is to begin to
grow our own staff. We want staff to learn early on the traditions
we value. We want them to understand that we are here to serve the
campers, to give the campers such a good experience that they become
open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It will take us a couple of
years to see our full potential in these two new programs, but we
already have some great young staff lined up for 2015!
Summer ended the Labour Day weekend
with our annual Family Camp. We had a total of 23 families join us
for the weekend. The full dining hall made for a great atmosphere
and it was good to see some new families join us for the first time.
Our speaker, Jay Janzen from Abbotsford, did a great job of
communicating through story telling. We had a great Aquatic Race
Saturday and Sunday afternoons and a really fun skit night Sunday
night. It was a hoot to see families “acting” together. The
highlight for me was the “transporter” skit using twins which
made it very realistic.
So I can safely say that summer 2014
was a great summer. We saw lives transformed by the power of Jesus.
We told the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His
power, and the wonders He has done. A job well done staff of 2014!
Ranger (Bob)
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