Rhino's and Butterflies, Oh My!

We have victory over the power of death! God has given us the opportunity to serve Him and what a blessing it is to be served while serving. We have just finished our first week of SOUL. We had a smaller group from Cedar Square, Centre and Providence Friends and 2 from Mississippi. The week leading up to the start of sports camp we as a staff we so nervous because we have had up to 100 campers from the McIntosh community visit, and with a total of 22 people (including staff) how God was going to allow such a large camp happen would be nothing short of a miracle of how God leads, builds, constricts and stretches the faith of all involved. While children learned of ways to build their relationship with Christ through prayer, reading the Word, going to church and spending time with other Christians, they learned sports skills. The youth from North Carolina and Mississippi led groups around to stations, also led by youth,  that taught them good sportsmanship while learning how to pass a soccer ball, dribble a basketball or throw a football.

In the afternoons the participants would work on landscaping a families home, building a wheel-chair ramp or cleaning up trash off the roads. These times offered common ground to build relationships with kids in and out of their own youth group. After such a long day we'd rest before dinner and follow up our full stomachs to fill our hearts with what God was going to teach us through Caleb Hunter. Can I say we did not expect to hear about Rhino's or butterflies.

During the week we had worship and many from the community would join in to hear what God wanted to say. Service is all about putting ourselves last, but we can do that while forgetting to put Jesus first. We learned through the contrasting examples of Levi (Matthew) and the Rich Young Ruler. As we served the community we were challenged to look at what we had placed before God, and how to put Him before all else. At the end of the week, campers, community, participants, and ourselves did not leave without learning to be bold about Jesus Christ in our lives.Many were saved or made re-commitments and we ask that you pray for those fresh in their faith. Ask God to give them ways to build their faith, ways to be accountable for each other, to fill their hearts continually with the desire to seek Him first but also to make them a "crash of Rhino's" with the potential to make great things happen under the name of Jesus Christ.