Dear Prayer Warriors,
We feel so blessed to have your continuous devoted prayer to the
ministry of serving and caring for abused children. God is doing some exciting
things this Winter Camp season that we have been so blessed to witness. We hope
that you are also blessed to hear of God’s goodness in the lives of these
children and how your very prayers are a part of that.
This past weekend, only Jeremy and I’s second weekend of
directing camps, was much fuller than the last. We had a total of 10 campers
and again they were mostly boys. They were full of energy and were hard to keep
up with, so for all of you who prayed for our physical and emotional energy to
be raised, thank you, we needed it! Although rambunctious, they were a
blessing. One of the boys in particular, Daniel, was a camper who we knew from
the past summer. He had confessed his desire to exit the gang life and to begin
living for the Lord after he had suffered the loss of his mother last year. His
brave commitment to change was an unsure one as we saw it, knowing that leaving
the gang life can prove more than difficult and possibly life threatening. He
reported back to us this last weekend that he had indeed been able to cut off
old relationships, to the point where he was no longer even spending much time
outside of the house for fear of violence. And instead he was spending lots of
time with his family and attending the boys and girls club a few blocks from
their house. Daniel has the gift of leadership if I’ve ever seen it. I even
told him people would follow him straight off a cliff because of his charming
and brave attitude. Continue praying for his perseverance through this
difficult time, grieving the loss of his mother, as well submitting his gifts
to the Lord’s will.
Another beautiful camper that stood out this weekend was
Maria. This was only her second time at camp. A shy and quiet girl, it seemed
that she would stay wrapped in her own fears undoubtedly. But through talks about
forgiveness and intimate one-on-one talks with her loving counselor, she slowly
began to open up. By Sunday she had her long dark hair pulled back out of her
face, was no longer wearing her black hooded sweatshirt, and was a wearing
smile. She shared with me through tears several times how she knew God was
telling her that she was so loved and special. At victory circle time she
shared Luke 5 with the group, spurring them on to know that God loved them even
more than all of creation because we were made in his image and he died for us!
To see her stand in front of the whole group and share was so inspiring, as we
remembered the shy girl that got off the bus only two days before! Continue
praying for Maria as she faces her fears about not being taken back by her
mother.
Thank you so much for your loving prayers, as you can see
they really do matter, and we can’t imagine what camp would be like without
them!
Much Love,The Allen’s and the Camp Alandale Team!
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