Youth Camp April 2012

We praise the Lord for another camp. From April 5^th to April 8^th we were able to enjoy the ministry of camps among the teens. This time we went back to the little house of Cannova. We had “full house”. I had the opportunity to teach the morning classes while Rosa helped at the kitchen. I felt quite burdened this time more than ever before. More and more I see the spiritual need of these teens.  Some of them are bringing a heavy burden of worldliness and they are in a great spiritual need. Yet, once again I was able to witness the work of God in the hearts and souls of these young men and women.  We have been involucrated in camp ministries since the beginning of our ministry. We have not always been the “leaders” or directors  of the camps. Many times we were just helping in this ministry doing different things. It has been in these last years that we took full responsibility and charge of this ministry. Together with our co-worker, Kevin, we have shared burdens and responsibilities. It has been a precious challenge and a blessing. We have been able to see a good group of children growing up (physically and spiritually) and taking part in the camp ministry as  counselors. Some of those children that came in the past are now grown up teenagers that have become a great help in the ministry. It has been a special privilege as a father to see my own children, Daniel and Jeremy, becoming a good source of help, energy and encouragement in this ministry.  We have seen many coming to the Lord as personal Savior and others taking Important decisions in their lives. But not everything has been easy, and many disappointments have come our way. Our vision and desire in this ministry has been some times demanding and sacrifice had become a norm. I remember also the times of expectation when it seemed that something “great from the Lord” was coming to us… but then it just disappeared… I have to be sincere and say that those occasions brought frustration and discouragement to my own heart. I remembered a time when  we were praying for a possibility of buying a piece of ground in order to build a camp ground at that time an important donation of money was mentioned to us… but it never materialized. .. We prayed for a long time for a propriety that had been used as a Christian rehabilitation center and at that present moment it was not been used. We talk with the owner about the possibility of using it for our camp ministry. Mss. Rachel, The sister who owned the land, was delighted with the idea and in several occasions we were able to use the ground for activities. We even were able to put in that property three little mobile homes that were donated to us with the idea of using them as part of the camp activity… things were going well in the direction we had been praying for… and then sister Rachel died and the land was donated to her unsaved son as part of the heritage… that was the end of our activity there. We did not allow discouragement or incomprehension to stop the burden and vision of our heart. Years ago I told the Lord I will serve Him with whatever He provided for us. I never wanted to live above the people I was serving, or doing things in the power of money instead of in the power of faith… We trusted, we obeyed God´s direction, and we waited in prayer for His will to be done.

As we look into the future new challenges wait for us in the near horizon. The main need will be to prepare the following generation to take our place as camp directors. We already have a good group of young people that are now official counselors. We encouraged them to get their official diploma from the government so we will obey the authorities in this matter. We will continue renting legalized camp grounds where we could develop our activities. We have several needs, some of them important ones, and I know it will take God´s provision to supply those needs. As the camp ministry continues to work we will need an storage place to be able to keep all the material for camps. I see also the need of a bigger and newer van. After several problems with the van I was able to fix a major combustion problem in the motor and I think that now it will last for a few more years (I do not know how many more) but every time we go to camps, I just do not have enough room to carry everything that we need, and that is a major concern. I do not have all the answers; I am just sharing with you our situation so you could pray with us more specifically. I still believe that we have to expect great things from the Lord, things according His will and perfect purpose for us. Every month, at the end of the month, my family and I give thanks to the Lord for another month of opportunity to serve Him… and to live for Him.