As we opened our hands and asked the Lord to use us to encourage pastors, we watched God bring to us the opportunity to serve at The Wilds this summer. I thought I might answer some questions you might have about our ministry there.
What are you doing at The Wilds? We get to come alongside the sponsors who bring campers to the camp each week and encourage, listen, pray and befriend them. We are following their schedule and attending the services they attend, eating meals with them, and also enjoying some special times set aside just for them.
How long will you be at camp? We are serving this summer and will arrive at camp on Tuesday morning and come home sometime on Thursday. This way, we will still be able to serve at our church each weekend, and we’re so thankful!
When we arrived on Tuesday morning, we attended the sponsor’s meeting. We were introduced to the group, and our hearts for them were expressed. We immediately began to make new acquaintances and have the blessing of encouraging them in the ministry where they serve.
Coffee at Cool Beans Coffee Shop was a great way to fellowship and chat!
Meal times, like the sponsor’s picnic was another great opportunity to meet more new friends. What a blessing to hear their hearts for ministry and how God is using The Wilds to reach their young people with the love of God!
A putt-putt golf tournament was another fun way to get acquainted. Then a late night Snack time ended the very busy day, and left our hearts full!
How do you serve, Denise? Each morning I attended the sponsor’s prayer meeting that Dale led. We gathered with sponsor’s to pray for the spiritual needs of the campers. What a blessing to call their names out to the Lord.
On Wednesday afternoon, Dale and I did split sessions for the ladies and men. There was a small group of ladies – probably around 20 who attended my session. I was thankful for the blessing of challenging them concerning a subject matter about which the Lord has been teaching me.
Where are you staying at camp? We are staying in a speaker’s suite below the Freemont Chapel. I’ve “cozied” it up with things from home since we’ll be staying there all summer. We even got to show hospitality in our little space on Thursday.
It wasn’t homemade, but I offered what we had! Granola bars, fruit snacks and fresh grapes were sufficient to enable us to be hospitable!
The services in teen camp and Junior Boot Camp were such blessings!
What was the weather like? We had a little rain and some sunny times. A rain shower does not stop camp activities from happening! (Unless there’s lightening and thunder!) The temperatures this week were quite comfortable. We know that will change in the weeks ahead, so we tried to enjoy the cool breezes when they came!
The greatest blessing of the week was recognizing that this was all God’s doing. He orchestrated the plan for us to serve Him as we surrendered our burden to Him and asked how we could encourage ministry couples. We get the added joy of walking with lay people who are at camp as well. Their burden for their kids is wonderful to witness.
We are thankful for the small part we can play each week at The Wilds, and we’re praying for much fruit for God’s glory!
What ministry will you be involved in this summer? VBS? Summer Bible club? I’d love to hear!
RefreshHer 