How God Rescued Me and Revived the Story!

          Two Sabbaths ago I was stationed as the group leader for the children's activity at Campfire Point. Our activity was called Treasure Discovery and it involved having the campers search for the hidden Bible promises that were under logs, pinecones, and tree branches. After each camper found a Bible verse to take hold of we gathered as a group and eager volunteers took turns coming up to the front to read the promise they had found.  

Campfire Point

          One of our Adventurer campers, Livi Constable, got really excited when she read Matthew 8:27 which says, "The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!" She told all of us that this was her favorite Bible verse and that she was so glad that God helped her to find this hidden treasure! While she was reading that powerful Bible text, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind one of the most treasured experiences I have had that actually involved Livi's Aunt Jesse. What I'm about to share with you is exactly what I shared with our campers right after Livi read that promise.

          When I was a little older than you guys, I went on a canoe trip with the youth group at my church down the Dowagiac River. It had just rained and the water level was much higher than it normally was. My parent's parting words to me was to always wear my life jacket, even when others around me decide to take theirs off. So, off I went down the river with Livi's Aunt Jesse and a friend that was my age. Our canoe took the lead as we stayed in front of everyone else. After awhile it started getting really hot and my friend took off her life jacket. As tempting as it was for me to take mine off, I obeyed my parents and kept it on.

          Eventually we came across a ginormous fallen tree that was blocking our path down the river. There were power lines near us and the current under the fallen tree was super strong. We thought that we could not fit ourselves and the canoe under such a tight space, so we decided to climb on top of the mossy tree trunk and slide the canoe under it and then climb back in once it was clear. All was swell until I slipped off of the slimy tree trunk, fell backwards into the fast water, and swallowed three gulps of polluted water! The current picked up speed as it separated me farther from our canoe. As soon as I came up from falling in the water, I looked up and saw Livi's Aunt Jesse pray as she said, "Jesus, help her!" The craziest thing happened next, I felt a force stronger than the current I was fighting against push me upstream back to our canoe. As soon as I grabbed hold of a tree branch, I felt the force that propelled me there let go as I held on tightly.

          Finally, a married couple's canoe caught up to ours. They made it safely under the fallen tree and then thought that it was time to save me. When the husband got out of their canoe, it flipped his wife along with all of their belongings. They both fell out closer to their canoe than the distance that I had fallen, yet both of them could not fight the current for anything. A tree branch got wedged into the man's tennis shoe and was beginning to drown him. It was scary to see him fight for his life and it was intense to see another friend dive down into the water to unhook his tennis shoe right before he went all the way under the water.

          I truly believe that my guardian angel pushed me upstream against that strong current until I reached the tree branches to take hold of. That place in the river was wide and there were no adults or other canoes in front of our canoe when I had fallen off of the tree trunk. There was no human there to rescue me and there was nothing left to take hold of except a miracle. Thankfully, when the husband and wife flipped out of their canoe, other adults had caught up to intervene when they needed help.

          It was indeed a God thing for Livi to find this hidden Bible treasure out at Campfire Point because it was her favorite text and because we got to dwell on the miraculous wonders that God has done! Livi's big sister Aly was my childhood best friend and it was their Aunt Jessica Rios who had prayed when I needed it most! Praise God that I didn't get sick from swallowing all that water, that my parents are so wise, for prayer warriors, for heavenly protection, and guardian angels! The kids each got a chocolate treasure at the end of our discovery and the sweet presence of childlike wonder was stirred in all of our hearts as the kids kept wanting to share the Bible promise they had found and what God has done for them.

Livi and I at the first rodeo/carnival of the summer!

          Remembering the powerful and astounding things that God has done strengthens our faith in Him and sharing testimonies with others brings a joy that only Jesus can give. I think all of Heaven was celebrating the Sabbath with us as Livi agreed to come up with me to tell the whole camp about our Treasure Discovery adventure that was just shared with you! Take hold of God's promises that have come to life through your own experiences and those around you. Write down the miracles He has done so that you will have them to come back to when you need to remember it most.

          Looking for more hidden treasures? The kids at Camp Au Sable will tell you that they are preciously packed into the Bible! Ready! Set! Discover!

How God's Amazing Agenda Unwinds

          Today is a Happy Sabbath at Camp Au Sable as the staff are preparing our hearts for Summer Camp ministry. My family started coming here for Pastor's Retreats, Family Camps, and Summer Camps when I was three years old. Learning how to canoe, being blobbed for the first time, and sleeping under the stars are moments I want to keep forever. Being at the boardwalk's dedication and fellow camper's baptisms were priceless.




Haystacks make us happy!

          Camp Au Sable was a place where I also was rightly disciplined by my loving parents and confronted on my choices by God-fearing adults. At one point my unbecoming teenage attitude from Camp Meeting carried on as my family went to Tween Camp, as my dad was the Pastor for the week. Instead of staying in the cabin with all of the other girls I was detained in the air conditioned Deer Lodge. My parents put a hair net on me and had me clean the silverware during meal times at the cafeteria. I am so thankful that I was held accountable for my actions and taught in the way in which I should go.

         Besides gleaning spiritual insights, seeing Bible stories come to life throughout the plays, and witnessing characters change and mold more like Christ's, my ultimate favorite place to be was at the Camp Store. Maybe it was Mrs. Baker's bubbly personality greeting me every time I walked in or the creative stationary waiting for me to write letters on, or perhaps it was because God placed a desire in my heart to someday serve right there in the store.
         
          I learned valuable life skills through working in the kitchen and keeping an eye out for the allergy list (I'm on it for fructose-intolerance) and spontaneously being on board with teaching the Vegan Cooking Class. I cannot stop praising God for placing me in the store starting my first staff summer during Family Camp. Miss Tammy Micheff and Mrs. Morgan have mentored me moment by moment as they seep sunshine all around me! I just love getting to see every single camper come in to get their favorite ice cream, snow cone, or camp souvenir. It touches my heart every time one of the kids tells me that they want to give some of their camp money towards, The Worthy Camper fund. I always look forward to praying with each cabin before we go inside together. It is fun to observe each counselor's "parenting" style from negotiating how many treats the campers can pick out to keeping them on their best behavior. There is usually a camper who did not bring money and their face lights up when their counselor chips in to save the day. There is always freshly popped popcorn ready for each camper to munch on.

Marcia Boothby taught me how to make Pizzazzy Fruit Pizza!

         Parents can buy their children gift bags that I make in the shed. I have enjoyed wrapping presents since I was little, even my parents let me wrap my own Christmas presents with my eyes closed! What I treasure so much about the gift bags is that it gives me time to pray for each of those campers as I put their name on their package.

          When I am not in the store I am soaking up time with my Cabin Family. I love going to morning and evening worships with them and sitting with them for meals. For one week at a time I get to know about seven to nine young girls as they share their pressing prayer requests, biggest dreams, hardest heartaches, and spiritual breakthroughs. It is awesome to see previous campers come back and come forward for the call for baptism and dedicate their lives to Jesus.

         A special camp scholarship is given from Seventh-Day Adventist colleges and Universities that match up to a certain percentage of Summer Camp earnings. Andrews University faithfully blessed me with that scholarship for two years. This is my third and final summer working at Camp Au Sable. This is because graduate school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln starts in August and the Master's in Speech-Language Pathology lasts throughout the summers for two years. After praying about coming back and asking the Holy Spirit what to do, I enthusiastically agreed and wanted to be stationed at the store. Realizing that a public university would not give me a summer camp scholarship I trusted that God would take perfect care of me. Not too long ago I received two fellowship awards totaling in about the same amount that a summer camp ministry scholarship would have been! God had a grand plan that totaled in over a grand!

          We can never, ever, out-give God! When we show up to minister, Christ shines all of His blessings brighter than we are expecting! God is constantly coordinating to bombard you with blessings and His intense love for you will never stop! There is no good thing that our Heavenly Father wants to withhold from us. When God calls you to do something, do it with an irreplaceable joy as His amazing agenda unwinds.




Sabbath sunset around the boardwalk!

 

2 Corinthians 9:8 says, "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."