This morning as I was spending time in prayer, I felt led to find out how LeTourneau Christian Camp is doing. I told y'all a bit about them this past summer. They are still currently trying to raise money so that they may procure the deed to the property so that they may be able to do so much more with it. They'd like to upgrade things that are outdated, weatherize the tabernacle, and so much more!
The camp is located about 10 minutes away from the city of Canandaigua, and is on the shore of Canandaigua Lake. One of the most beautiful places to be is when the sun rises behind you, and the sun sets in front of you when you're on the shore of the lake.
I've gone to LeTourneau for the past 4 summers, and for a couple winter retreats. It sounds cliche, but they have impacted me there. Being able to serve by encouraging and reaching out to those in my group, and be served in similar ways, is a blessing. Before I end this post, I would like to share my experiences from this past year when I took Child Evangelism Fellowship's Christian Youth in Action training for the 4th time.
Monday: I arrived and I settled into my room. I met my roommate who was a sweet girl. We all went up for lunch, and right after we prayed I went to stand up, but felt nauseous and sick. Lunch smelled horrible to me, so I went straight to bed for 3 hours. I felt miserable. I told myself if I didn't feel better by 6:30 I was calling home. Thankfully I improved over the afternoon, and by evening I was 90% myself. Being sick changed something in me. I can't quite put my finger on it. I sang on the praise and worship team which really lifted my spirits.
Tuesday: A long day with classes all day. I learned many things in the Bible, adding a few more sticky notes, bookmarks, and underlined passages. God's word really spoke to me that day. I also began to consider sharing a testimony on prayer. I almost did it that night during praise and worship, but something held me back. In my diary it says "When you open your heart in Scripture, praise or prayer, it's simply amazing how God shows things to you."
Wednesday: This was the first day of our practicums. The interns (I was an intern) were taken out for ice cream. I also demonstrated the first lesson of the missionary story on this day. I "over-dramatized" it, and I will probably be teased for years! It was a wonderful day.
Thursday: From my diary "POWERFUL day! Wow! The awesome power of God is unexplainable! I shared a testimony during praise and worship that had a ripple effect that was all GOD. Praise God for his glorious plans!" God said yes to my desire to share something. I shared a testimony about the fox attack and how prayer sustained me. I then shared that during the time this spring with my Mom off her ankle for a month, and then her sinus infection for 2 weeks, my prayer life grew in leaps and bounds. I would not have gotten through it without God. I used 1st Thessalonians 5:17. Right after I shared that, one of the leaders shared something on prayer, which lead to many heartache-filled testimonies which we prayed for as we went through them. I would have never guessed the stories from some of them. God's hand was moving that night. Tears and prayers were lifted to God and burdens were lifted. (That night still amazes me to this day!)
Friday: I had a few people come to me for prayer, as I had offered to pray for them, and one person told me that morning that the verse I told them to look up was an answer to prayer. They had asked God for someone to give them a verse to encourage them. God answered not only that prayer, but another one. From my diary - "God is so good. I praise him for the glorious things he has done. <3 He is truly amazing! A lovely day @ camp & some heavy prayer requests"
Saturday: "This is the best year yet! I'm so sad it's almost over!!!! I miss everyone though. Thank you God for this lovely day you've blessed us with!" Monday and Tuesday were hot. Wednesday was nice. Thursday and Friday were very chilly in the morning and evening but nice in the afternoon. By Saturday the weather was quite enjoyable.
Sunday and Monday were days filled with busyness as it was the end of the training, we went to Church, finished up our practicums, packed up, and were commissioned for the work we were doing that summer. It was a long powerful week, and I still look back on this past summer as the best summer I've ever had. Why do I say that? Because I grew remarkably in my faith in God.
In closing, I ask that you pray for LeTourneau as they continue to raise the money needed to procure the deed. They have a wonderful ministry, and after 80+ years, it's still going strong! Praise God!
(Here is a video about the camp!)
