Week 2, Day 1... COMPLETE!

And what a GREAT day it was!!

We just have 21 kids this week. A lot of them were here last year for camp, so I recognized them immediately. They are mostly all older kids again, 10-12 year olds. But we have a few 8 and 9 year olds. It was EXTREMELY hot today, and it is supposed to be all week, which is a downer. But we threw in some water games today, and it made everything better. Even with the heat and the craziness of a first day of camp, I had a really good time today, and I think the kids did too.

The Bible story today was about creation. We are using the Saddle Ridge Ranch curriculum. So Aubrey was talking about God creating everything and describing the garden while Rebecca drew it out. When she got to the part about God telling Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree, one kid asked, "Well then why did God put it there in the first place?" How do you explain that to an 11 year old? haha..but we had a good discussion about it. These are SMART kids.

Also, I am typically a bad adult coordinator, or really, a bad Go Now Missionary. Every time I have done Go Now, I ALWAYS wait until the last minute to do my ledger! BUT I AM CAUGHT UP!! CAN I GET AN AMEN?? I sat down this afternoon and balanced my ledger... It may not be a big deal to you..and you may not care... BUT I'M STINKING EXCITED ABOUT IT!

Later, when it came time to dismiss, one dad was talking to Ruth. He said he was from a Roman Catholic background (as most here are) and he wanted to talk to Ruth more about faith later in the week. He noticed (in one day!) that there is something "different" here. How (non)coincidental that this was the EXACT thing that we prayed last night during our prayer time, that families would just sense the Spirit's presence at the camp. I think our exact words in our prayer were "That they would see something different!" It's exciting! And we can only give God the glory. Because if it is us that they see different...just some goofy Americans, it will fall short and lose its luster fast.

Ways to pray:
- Pray for this father. That the God would "lift the veil," as it says in Corinthians.
- The kids - These are sharp kids. Pray for good connections with their leaders.
- THE HEAT!! It is REALLY REALLY hot here. And tomorrow, we hike to a national park, where we will play capture the flag. We are taking lots of precautions, but pray for God's protection, as the kids here are not used to this heat.
- Ruth - she has a lot on her plate right now and there are lots of decisions to be made about the future of English camp. Pray for the Lord to give her clear direction
- One person on our team is having a lot of heartache back home. I dont want to go into detail, but it has really been on my heart. Pray that God would heal in mighty ways, give direction, and draw all involved back to him.

Hopefully I will post some pictures soon!