Today was a very full day in so many ways.  We started by joining the nations in worship at Verbo Church.  It always gives us a glimpse of what heaven will be like when we experience worship in multiple languages.  We lifted our voices in Spanish and English and then were encouraged in God’s Word to fully rely on God as our Good Shepherd (Thanks Elizabeth for our translating to English for us).  The church experience really led to good discussion at our team time tonight – from their freedom in worship, passionate singing, dancing and their friendly welcome.  It was a good day to be in the house of the Lord.

We had to do a quick change and lunch in the bus to get out to Ruby Ranch for our final day of camp.  The kids were a bit slow to arrive and then God provided a quick downpour to keep the dust down and cool the temperature right as we got started.  We were excited to have one of our former team members, Katie Pullen, join us today.  Katie has come with our team for years now and is currently serving down here all summer.  

The last day of camp is always bittersweet, but it was made much easier knowing that we will be working in their community all week long.  We invited them to come out to the Ranch each day after school.  But before we finished we took a walk up the mountain to the open air chapel.  This is truly a special place as one of our teams about 3 years ago were the ones who cleared the brush and did the groundwork but never got to see the final result.  So I stood today at the foot of the cross on the ground that was cleared and the Gospel went out.  It was a great reminder for this year’s team that even the small, tedious or partial tasks matter for the Kingdom.

The children listened intently as I laid out the good news to their sin problem.  Standing in the shadow of the cross allowed me to point to the reality of what Jesus meant when He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  I gave the children the opportunity to respond to the Gospel and pray to accept Jesus and their Lord and Savior.  We will work with their teacher and local church to provide follow-up and discipleship.  

After our closing chapel, we cranked up the water on the giant slide.  I’m not sure who had more fun – us or them!  We were then able to bless each kid with their own new backpack filled with school supplies and a few goodies.  This means so much to them and they were very grateful.  We sent them off with God’s blessing and are hopeful that this camp was life changing for all who attended.

God is not only working through us – especially at our camp and with the children, but we really sense He is working in us.  I’m excited about our team time each night and diving into God’s Word.  Our small group time after that is also a very special time as we talk and pray for each other.  We continue to pray that God would move in power this week and we thank you for praying with us!