It's over.....and I'm kinda numb......

It's officially the last day of camp.....I can't believe it.
In some ways it has flown by, but in others it has just crawled along slowly. Either way, the end is officially here and I am, once again, amazed at how God has worked through this camp to reach so many kids.
We had our last campfire yesterday and all I can say is God is so good! Despite our tired staff, God worked in the hearts of so many campers and it was so encouraging to hear them verbally share how their lives are changed by Him. It makes all the late nights and the long days worth it.

This day is always bittersweet.......so looking forward to getting some real rest and spending time with my family, but at the same time, you hate to lose your front row seat to such an amazing ministry. And as usual, I always look back on the summer and think about all the things I could have done better, but like I said, despite our exhaustion and the fact that we are broken vessels, God still used us and never failed to "fill our cup" daily.

As soon as they get all the numbers tallied, I will be sure to post them here.....how many campers actually attended camp, and a rough estimate of how many gave their lives to Christ. Again, God is good!!!!!

Thank you all for your prayers and support over the past 2 months.....we still have another 24+ hours to go, so praying that we finish strong and with no regrets!

We are in our last week of camp....I can't believe it's almost over! In many ways it has flown by, but sometimes I did feel like it was crawling by. Either way, the end is in sight and we are trying to finish well.

It's one of our biggest camps this year....more than 150 teenagers.....and they are a blast! There is a lot of basketball going on this week.....and when it isn't raining, there is volleyball, too. We are thankful for the rain, but it does make quite a mess. The chapel carpet is coated with mud! We'll have to do some major cleaning when all this is over.

Please pray for our staff as we are trying to finish strong.....it's hard to fight against the exhaustion, but with the end in sight, hopefully we can push through.

Be sure to check out the previous blog and watch some of our weekly videos!

Our dear friend Justin Kontz has been putting together the weekly videos for most of the summer.....huge help!!

And he has even uploaded them to youtube so we can all enjoy them.....


http://www.youtube.com/BABRCampVideos

ENJOY!!!!

I know, I know.....I have slacked the past couple of weeks. I hit the wall same time last year! Week 5 usually does me in!

But just to catch you up on all that the Lord is doing here at BABR, I'll briefly highlight the past couple of weeks.
Week 6 was the biggest week we've EVER had.....we maxed out with over 180 campers....they were everywhere!!! We had to kick the work team out of their bunk house and use it as a cabin.....that particular cabin had 25 campers (girls) in it!!! Man was it loud in there!
But we had an amazing week and even with all the chaos and noise, God did such a wonderful work here at camp and in the lives of so many campers! But we were so tired by the end of the week and the weekend never looked so good!

God really pushed us all that week and there is no way we could have made it through without HIS strength! It's so amazing to see Him take over when we are weak and exhausted.

Then, we entered week 7......we went from the largest week to the smallest week......what a shock! And the camp was so quiet with only 72 campers....less than half of the previous week's number! Insane!!!!
But again, God was faithful and made it fruitful, despite the small numbers.

I am feeling the fatigue of the summer.....as we slowly crawl through the weeks, the signs of exhaustion are starting show. It's just in the little things mostly....like putting the milk in the pantry instead of the fridge, and taking clothes out of the dryer and putting them right back into the washer again. And everything is MUCH funnier by week 8.....I've laughed til my face hurts!! It's good for my weary mind!

Thank you all for praying, even if I haven't kept you updated the past couple of weeks. Pray that we finish strong!!!!

It was a short week because of the 4th of July, but it was still a very tiring week. We squeezed in all the fun stuff....water fight, mission impossible, skit night, campfire, etc. And again, we had a great group of campers....no major discipline problems, thankfully. They seem to be a younger group this week....lots of tiny ones....really cute! But I know sometimes the younger ones can be more draining for our staff.....I know several of them are looking forward to the weekend and some good ole fashion r &r!

Of course we are all feeling the strain and exhaustion of the past 5 weeks....there is really nothing we can do except try to get rest. We are way past our own strength and having to fully rely on HIS strength. It's a good place to be....God is very real right now for those who are allowing Him to refuel us and be our everything.

Thank you for your prayers.....

Week 5....can you believe it!!???

I can't believe we just went over the halfway mark.....4 weeks down, 4 more to go.

It's another junior camp so we have the little ones again. I love this age! And 2 of my kids are campers again, so the house is a little quieter this week.

We just came off a long weekend and I'm praying that the staff took advantage of the extra time. I hope they have found the enthusiasm they had the first week....I need a little dose of that, too!!! My family and I left town for the weekend and got some much need rest. It was so nice to get away and not even look at the camp.....as much as I love it, I need to leave the confines of the fence every now and then :)

It's a shorter camp week because of the 4th of July....we started camp on Tuesday instead of Monday. We, as a staff, enjoyed a fireworks show and cookout last night. I think our staff had a good time just veggin', eating, and ohhhh and ahhhhing over a firework show.

Thank you, Lord for the long weekend and extra sleep and rest.....

Wow, I can't believe it's Friday already.....tomorrow this week will officially be over and all the campers we have grown to love will be heading home.
It's been a great week and I think (actually, I KNOW) the campers have had a ton of fun. We have had 2 workteams this week and they have both done an awesome job. They have challenged our kids with games ("In It to Win It"), they have challenged them to memorize Scripture, and they have challenge them with God's Word.....it's been a good week. And even though we were small in numbers, there have been some BIG decisions made. We heard about many of them at the campfire last night....what an encouragement to see a little guy, who can barely reach the microphone, tell the crowd of 150 people that he accepted Christ in his heart this week.....and that was just one of many announcements. Many kids shared how they had once rejected God, His Word, and His free gift of love, but now they have decided to do the opposite and accept Him and all He has to offer. Please pray for these kids as they head home this weekend....pray that they will have support at home.....pray that someone will help them get to church.....pray that they will remember the songs, the messages and the love they heard about here at camp.

We will close out this evening with a big Award's Chapel.....it's always bittersweet to see them go. My body and mind desire the rest and "quiet", but my heart wants to hold these kids here a little longer......Lord, protect them and guide them in your paths.....

It will be a long weekend as the 4th of July is on Monday so camp won't start until Tuesday. The extra day of rest will be so helpful. My family is planning on getting some much needed rest and try to have some fun in the midst of it all.
Happy Fourth of July!!!!