Rock Solid Breakaway Camp 2012!

Fun in the sun with teens from all over the world and learning about life with Jesus is a good way to spend a week! I returned yesterday from camp out at Whangarei Heads with youth and leaders from all over God's planet: Korea, China, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Tonga, Samoa, Niue, and America (me!).We had a super time kayaking, hiking, fishing, caving, swimming, painting, getting dirty and having great discussions about what it means to know God and follow His lead in life.  For many of the kids, exploring God's creation like this was a new experience and one I'm certain they will remember.

Though the forecast called for a week of rain, God mercifully spared our little corner of New Zealand and we enjoyed many days of sunshine and summer heat, with only the occasional rainy spell.  Our tents were situated in a valley nestled among beautiful hills and heaps of very vocal wildlife (well, really just cows).  The roar of the ocean could be heard on a clear silent night, as the beach was only a 5 minute walk through the forest.

As per usual when you spend a week camping with teenagers, not a lot of sleeping occurs, and my body is still recuperating.  My skin has also turned various shades of brown and red and is looking for a bit of respite from the intense New Zealand sun.  All in all it was a great camp and I look forward to seeing some of these youngsters again next year. 

 Please continue to pray for the those who attended camp.  Some of these kids have incredibly difficult home lives and the positive environment they experience at camp can sometimes be very different than their reality back home.  Pray that when the 'camp high' wears off and they soon forget about all the new friends they made (that they swore they would call everyday) that they would remember Jesus Christ and call on Him.  The new faces of friends won't be so new and exciting anymore; the new experiences will settle in the recesses of their memory.   But when everything else looses it's luster; our God remains. 

 After all,

  

⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fade,
      but the word of our God stands forever.”

~Isaiah 40:8