live from camp: wednesday night... at least i think it is

Hey everyone,
I couldn't be more encouraged as to how camp has been going, and today is no exception. Amongst the girls Jordyn, Lily, and Tessa have started to become good friends, and i have seen a lot of the boys hanging out with other guys that they just generally ignored before. Noah , Josh fisher, and Jon have been hanging out with Joe and Josh Studley. Alex and Jordyn seem to getting to know each other a lot. In just the group i have really seen Landon, Joe, and Josh Studley step forward as the leaders of the group.

The day started with breakfast that seemed all to early and then the morning meeting. In the meeting the worship band (330plan) has been great, but usually when they play a bunch of kids run forward and worship at the stage. It is hard to explain, but really great in practice. Our group tends to be a lot more standoff and watch, as opposed to participating. Over the course of the week, our group has increasingly wanted to participate in singing. To me this is one of the more encouraging things that can happen since worship encapsulates all that we are to do in life. We were made for it, and i think the more we learn to worship, the more at home it becomes and it is a part of what God does to transform us.
The morning meeting Our speaker told his life story where he had cerebral palsey, but then in 8th grade all of a sudden another disease took over and he became paralyzed. He spent 5 years in a wheelchair and just wanted to die, thinking God made a mistake with him. Eventually he began to walk again through therapy, and had some amazing encounters with friends, prom dates, even Bill Cosby that God used to restore him. I think middle schoolers really relate to his story because with all their bodily changes, they feel a lot of shame about who they are.
for rec time we played the other 2 of the crazy games we missed yesterday. It was "dress like a robot day" and Nathan had a complete robot costume and all the girls wore excessive makeup and drew tears on their face since they are on team "Emo-bot". In the afternoon i know that Jordyn and tessa went off for some activities. Word on the street is that Alex did a double flip on the bungeejump. A bunch of the guys went down the cliffs to surf the beach right at point loma. I personally got a much needed nap. :-) (we have been running almost non-stop from 7am till midnight for 4 days!!!)
Tonight the speaker used "Popsecret" popcorn as his illustration of the christian life. Our faith isn't supposed to be a secret, we are to be salt to the world, it expires so our faith is best lived NOW, and it was individually wrapped so we need to not rely on the faith of our parents, but need to individually chose to live as a christian. just like last night we had a large number of our students respond by going forward and chosing to not just believe right things, but change our actions and follow Jesus. Between the two nights we had 10 of our studnets go forward for differing reasons. For the sake of privacy i will email you the specifics, but we brought 18 students, so odds are your son/daughter felt compelled to move forward. One person i think might have accepted Christ for the first time, but i think every student that came with us grew up in Christian homes, and many of them are waking up spiritually and are realizing that being a christian is more then knowing the bible, going to church, and having christian parents.
On a funny note, all sence of nutrition has officially left camp. For breakfast i watched Tessa eat chocolate rice crispy treats, and just about 5 minutes ago we sent the boys to bed with a "good night donut".
I am weary from the physical toll of camp, but i am encouraged that God has been working mightily in our group. I personally haven't been interacting with the girls as much, but talking with Courtney and Marie yeary and it sounds like they are responding very well to what is being taught and are having a lot of fun with all the activities. The guys have been great, and with the exception of some natural immaturity that comes with middle schoolers they have been a delight.
Continue to pray for Courtney, Marie, Kevin, and Myself. We are getting VERY tired and with the lack of sleep it becomes harder for things like patience, discernment, and just a positive attitude. tommorrow is the last full day of camp and we will be home in about 36 hours! Also pray for the students that they would open up and respond to God.