All Things New
Cathy Stewart and I are at Pine Springs Camp right now, serving as Volunteer Weekly Directors for the Middle School (called “Journey”) Camp, with 38 campers and six counselors, alongside 137 other campers and 20+ other counselors and many additional support staff up here at the same time. We’re eating and playing, swimming and praying, singing and laughing and learning about how God is, and has, been making All Things New – that’s the theme of this week.
If you’re wondering exactly what a “Volunteer Weekly Director” does at Pine Springs, we’re the ones who “Lead” a particular camp (There are different “camps” here this week, based on age and affinity) and our job is to help lead and plan games, lead the daily “Bible Interactive” (small group bible study on the daily passage/verses), support and encourage the counselors and participate and fill in to little gaps along the way. I really enjoy it… but I’m also absolutely exhausted! Cathy on the other hand, shows no signs of it at all!
I don’t know if it’s the games, the pool or the walking (actually, half the time I’ve been driving around camp and meeting the campers there) – or if it’s God’s way of saying – “If you’re not going to get the sleep you need by your own choice, I’ll just make sure your body forces it on you!” Of course, every time I’m needed for something – to lead a Bible Interactive, help singing at the campfire, participate in a game – I’m all in. I’m fully awake. Much like last week’s message at VBS – it’s Jesus’ Power that’s pulling me through this week!
While my body is tired, my heart and my mind are absolutely flooded with joy and thanksgiving to be here and to be experiencing all that’s going on this week. Like VBS, I love to hear the kids – these ones a little bit older – sing and shout during last night’s “PSPN – Pine Springs Praise Night” or during the mealtime skits, or evening campfires. It’s great to see them really think about what it means to be following Jesus, to see them let down some of their cares and concerns, to let loose a little bit and even in the course of a week, to open up in new ways to God.
I know this is just one week in their very long lives. But I hear, year after year, how one week, or the accumulation of one week at a particular place (like Pine Springs) over the years, was used by God to mold and shape adults, through their formative years as children and teenagers, into faithful followers of Jesus now.
I’ll close with a few quick bites – first, a huge thank you to everyone who’s been praying for Cathy and me – we so appreciate your support back home that enables us to have an impact on your behalf, really.
Second, I can’t encourage you enough, if you’ve got kids or grandkids, to check out Pine Springs as an option, for the Summer and also for various retreats that happen throughout the year. And while most of their camps focus on children and youth, they do have some adult retreats throughout the year, and we run our annual Winter Family Camp here – check it out!
And Third, if what you see (or have heard) sparks your interest even in the smallest way, there are tons of opportunities to serve – whether it’s as a volunteer (Weekly Director, like we’re doing, or others) or as a staff member for the summer. Each year they have to recruit counselors and support staff to come and provide the excellent camp experience we’ve known to love. And there are jobs for virtually anyone from 16 to… well beyond 26, that are needed. And each one of those jobs will have a marked impact on the lives of hundreds and hundreds of campers throughout a given summer.
Pine Springs Camp is a special place – not for the location, but for the people who come and make it so, sharing the love of Jesus in a million different ways. Thanks again for letting Cathy and me come and be here this week, as representatives and ambassadors of you, and of Christ. Thanks again for sending your kid to a place that I wholeheartedly endorse for the way it’s impacted me and my kids, and thanks again for the ways that you will continue to support and utilize Pine Springs in new and surprising ways into the future!
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus – at home, at camp and everywhere in between,
Pastor Don