Juniors Winter Camp

At our church, Dave and I serve in a ministry for 4th-6th graders, called "Juniors". From the minute we stepped in the door several years ago to check out the ministry, we were blown away. The quality of people serving in the ministry is top-notch. The structure, order, and discipline being given to these young people amazed us. And the leadership-loving, humble servants. We knew we just had to be a part of this life-changing ministry.

Every year, Juniors holds both a summer and a winter camp. I have had the privilege of going to Winter Camp three times now. I just got back from another amazing weekend up at Forest Home Camp in the beautiful mountains capped with snow, in a cabin with 8 amazing little young girls who are such a joy to minister to. And you know what? They ministered to me without knowing it. Every Sunday I have a small group of girls that I teach after the main lesson is over. Most of the girls in my cabin come from that small group. So I am familiar with them, making the time together comfortable. Our amazing Childrens' Ministry pastor, Kurt Gebhards came and taught the kids with love, compassion, and power from the Word of God. I pray hearts were softened tenderly to the messages they received. Among the many children in attendance were two of my own, Austin and Luke. This was Austin's last camp as a 6th grader, as he will move into the Junior High department next year. This was Luke's first camp as a 4th grader. So this ministry even serves my own family in a personal way.

Some of the highlights of camp were the quiet times I had with the girls to discuss the lessons, time in the cabin decorating our "Funky Monkey" themed cabin, giggling like a little girl with them, the flashlight hike, the zipline (I went twice, I'm such a kid), the rock climbing wall, and pulling a prank on one of the 6th grade boys' cabin. We decided that while they were away we would take everything (I mean EVERYTHING, including mattresses) out of their cabin and move it to a nearby empty cabin, so that when they returned they would have a nice surprise. The girls absolutely LOVED doing that. It was too fun! It was a long and tiring weekend, but by God's grace, I was able to get through it. In fact, I caught a cold the day after I returned! I'm so thankful it wasn't during camp! Praise God for his many blessings on our camp and I pray for His work to be done through it in the lives of these precious young people in our ministry!