Winter Camp Session 3 Update

Dear Amazing Prayer Partners,

This winter camp season has been a struggle.  Mostly just in counselors signing up to come.  In the struggle though we always see God’s hand at work and He always provides exactly what we need.  Sometimes it’s an overabundance of help, and other times it’s just the right amount.  Never have we been in a situation where we didn’t have what we needed.  This weekend was no different.  It was filled with some surprises in how God worked it out, but God is always good and faithful to work it out for us.

This weekend was a smaller camp numbers wise.  8 Campers, 2 JC’s, 5 Counselors and a Staff Person.  Smaller camps always seem more intimate and seem to go to a deeper level.  This camp did just that.  From the discussion times, to the fun game times, it really felt like we were at a family reunion of sorts. 

One of the most surprising aspects of this camp was that my wife Lisa got to be a counselor for two of our girl campers.  Lisa had Kendra and Anna as her campers.  Their times were blessed with deep discussions and prayer.  The campers were so excited about having a director as a counselor.  In fact Anna asked me before we got to camp what counselors were coming for the weekend.  I told her the names and when Lisa’s came up she said, “I hope I get her as my counselor!”  Sure enough as God would see fit she did, and Lisa and her had some amazing times of being open to each other and learning more about Christ.  We pray for both Kendra and Anna because their last camp as campers was this weekend because both of them will be graduating in June.  At the end of the camp we honored them as our Senior campers and prayed over them and their future.  I am praying that we will be able to see them back at camp as JC’s or Counselors sometime in the future.

Gilbert is a camper that has been coming for a while.  He has some speech disabilities, and some would consider him a bit slower in thinking than most.  What we have seen is that Gilbert has a soft heart and is learning a lot as he grows older.  His counselor definitely had some tough times with him at camp this weekend as Gilbert refused to do the bible studies.  Even though he did, his counselor lovingly spent time with him and played games and shared Christ’s love in other tangible ways.  We are still praying for Gilbert’s heart to be changed by Christ.  He has seen some horrific things in his life that have made him continually resistant to God.  That being said though, the reason he keeps coming back to camp is Christ’s love being shown through the counselors, and the fun that he has.  We know God has great things in store for Gilbert and would ask you to continue to pray for God to get a hold of his heart.

One camper that always brings joy to my heart to see is Daniel.  Daniel gave his heart to Christ a few years back at Camp Alandale.  He has grown leaps and bounds since then.  He is plugged into a good church in Riverside and is continually looking for ways to express his faith to people.  One of the biggest changes I have seen that God has done in him is his control over anger.  When he first came he had a problem with getting angry and exploding in anger towards whoever made him angry.  This weekend however I saw a more mature, healed Daniel.  As there was opportunity for anger, he gave it to Jesus and remained calm.  At one point I got angrier than him at a situation and he helped to calm me down.  God is good!

All in all it was another amazing weekend of God’s love being shown to our campers.  Please continue to pray for our campers to run to Jesus with everything!

Blessings in Christ,

Mike Towler,  OC Camp Director

Winter Camp Session 2 Update

Dear Amazing Prayer Warriors,

This last weekend we know that some special Prayer Warriors had to be on their knees for extended times! The High School camp was so powerful, so warm that the campers were swept up into God’s arms. They stole the hearts of their counselors and Directors away. God put together an awesome team of counselors that loved on these campers so fully that at Victory Circle (a end of  the weekend wrap up session) every camper shared their gratitude to their counselor. This has never happened before. Maybe a couple, maybe half the campers share at most! To go with that all but one counselor got emotional and choked up sharing their tributes to their camper - and we had 6 men counselors and 4 women with the 11 campers!

We were warmed seeing children in whom deep waters and sensitive hearts reside were given so much by God through their counselors. Counselors commented that the camp was the best camp at which they ever were able to serve children.

We are grateful to God for all your prayers! We know that your part in reaching these broken hearts was indispensible. You are vital, indispensible and holy! We don’t see these results without you!

The two campers who had not accepted the Lord before at camp (Freddie and Alex), came willingly but after tons of answered questions about theology, about pain in the world and dealing with their pasts, they were just on the edge but were not ready to make a commitment. Please pray that what their counselor told them about how to accept the Lord at home will be sparked by the Holy Spirit.

More freedom and healing was seen in Adrianna and Salina. The rest visibly filled up on the Word and the love of God.

This was Sierra’s last camp since she is graduating out. With tears but a smile, she said camp was her family and she was going to miss us so much. She said she learned all about God at camp and had so many wonderful counselors but her last one, Gina, was the best!

Again, we praise God for your faithful prayers. We see it all the time--the more prayers, the more the victories from the battle over these children.

God Bless You!

Karen Wood,  Founding Director

Winter Camp Session 1 Update

Dear Amazing Prayer Partners,

Winter started off with a bang.  Not literally, but spiritually.  A large camp  by winter camp standards.  15 campers, 2 JC’s and 10 counselors.  So much of what happened at the first winter camp was because of God’s amazing power.  The eyes that were opened, the hearts that were encouraged, were the evidence of the powerful working of our Savior.  Here are a few stories of campers that were impacted during our first winter camp of the season.

John is a camper that we look forward to every time he comes.  Lately the Lord has really been doing an awesome work in his heart.  He was so enthusiastic about sharing answers during the program sessions.  Part of his enthusiasm is the fact that we asked him to be a JC this year.  Part of seeing God’s work in a camper’s life often time leads them to a place where we see they are ready to be JC’s.  John is ready to give back and serve the Lord at camp.  He might as well have been a JC that weekend.  He was stepping up and helping where he wasn’t asked, and wanting to bless other campers by encouraging them.  We are excited about what God will do in John’s life as we watch him become a JC.

One of the greatest things about winter camp is seeing campers that we have known sometimes for years.  Kayla is a camper that came to us many years ago.  Now she is living back at home, and not to long from now will be emancipating from the system.  Kayla has a very troubled past with many hurtful damaging experiences.  These have influenced her to lifestyle choices at times that were along the same lines.  Her counselor poured Jesus Love into her all weekend.  What we love seeing is Kayla’s demeanor change while she is at camp.  It’s as if she is allowed to be a kid again.  The joy shows up in little increments as she interacts with the other counselors and staff.  This weekend we know that God and His word did it’s perfect work in her heart.  We are praying that Kayla will fully give her life to Christ someday and that she will find a good church in OC to grow in her walk with Christ.  God is good and it is His faithfulness and work in Kayla’s heart that we trust in.

This camp was full of JC candidates.  Esti is one that we have been praying about being a JC for a couple of years now.  This last summer we saw his heart ready to take the step and be a JC.  This camp confirmed that to us.  Esti has a heart for God, and is strong in his convictions and beliefs.  His siblings have walked the way of this world and Esti has seen the impact and effect.  He claims God and his relationship with Him as his reason for not being angry anymore about being in the system.  He met God at camp and since has found a good bible believing church that has been encouraging him in his faith.  We are excited about what God will do with Esti as a JC.  It was a blessing to watch him enjoy the camp program as a camper for the last time.  The end of an era, but the beginning of a new chapter in Esti’s life as he steps out and serves His amazing Savior as a JC.

The odd thing about this camp was the weather.  It almost felt like the end of summer.  Warm days  with cool nights.  There were only fragments of snow left.  Enough to mess around with, but not as much as we want during this time of year.  The program this year is called, “Triumph”  a look at the story of David and Goliath.  The campers responded to this familiar story as we dug a little deeper into subjects like, Getting Past our Past, and Pick up Your Rocks – What’s your next step.  It was a blessing to teach God’s Word and see Him do His perfect work in the campers hearts.  Thanks as always for the super important role you play as our prayer partners.

Blessings in Christ,

Mike Towler,  OC Camp Director

Camp Alandale Prayer Update

Session 9, August 15-20, 2011

 

    There are moments in time that make you so happy to be in the right place at the right time. Session 9 was one of those moments. One comment that kept coming up at counselor prayer from the counselors was that this was the best camp that they had ever been to. What they mean by that is the campers were amazing and were really soaking in all they could, and having a ton of fun. It was really a memorable camp in that regard. The thing that was most impressive was that a couple of the counselors that said that had been coming to camp for more than 10 years. I know for me it was an amazing camp filled with a ton of fruit. I hope the stories in this update really encourage you that your role in this ministry is so vital.

This last week of camp was just super sweet. We had quite a few returning campers who were eager to learn more about God and His love. Many of the counselors shared that their campers were asking great questions and wanted to understand God and the Bible more. For one of our campfire talks we ask the campers to come up with the topic. This week, they sure took us up on this challenge. There were so many questions that we didn't have enough time to address them all, and we went to bed super late. Some of the questions were: "Do you think teenagers know what true love is in relationships?" "What is the easiest way to share the gospel?" "Does dating mean you're disobeying the Lord?" "Is there a sin that God doesn't forgive?" "Is God angry if I have doubts about him?" and so on. We trust God answered each question for each camper and that they truly grasped His goodness and love and great plan for their lives.

Isaac was just one of these campers. He has been to camp a few times. However, he is so shy and to himself that you really don't know if he is having a good time or receiving the love. As the week progressed, a smile appeared on Isaac's face that everyone noticed. He just couldn't keep it in any longer. He was having a great time, bonding with both campers and counselors. Isaac wrote on his camper evaluation at the end of the week that his favorite part was having Doug as his counselor, and being on the Red team. Our favorite part was having Isaac at camp.

Ana was new to camp this week. She also started out quiet and somewhat shy. As she got to know everyone, she opened up. She shared her confusion about the Catholic church and the difference between it and Christianity. But what she saw was a love that covered her confusion. She was very moved by the love and care she saw and felt at camp from everyone. By the end of the week she didn't want to leave and she even wants to come back as a junior counselor some day.

Cheyenne is a camper that we have known for a number of years now. We have watched her grow into a young woman at camp. As we watched her this week we noticed something that had definitely changed in her. She told her counselor early in the week that she wanted to be a JC and that she wanted to not get distracted with boys this time at camp, but that she wanted to focus on God. It is such a joy to see a teenager put their focus on Christ. At one point she was acting so much like a JC that she was encouraging the other campers on her team to focus on God and accept Christ. It was amazing. It also shows the work that God does in these campers lives in a week of camp.

The hardest part of any summer is watching the campers go home each week. It is especially hard the last week of summer because the realization starts to sink in that summer is over. What amplified it for us this last week of summer was having such an amazing week with an amazing group of campers. God reminded us of His amazing goodness. It is His power and His love that we sent home with the campers. It will be His relationship with them that will sustain them and grow them into the young men and women He wants them to be. Our comfort and the victory this summer was remembering that we serve an amazing God who is more than able to accomplish the work He started in the campers lives. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Thanks again for all the prayers this summer. You were a part of God's work at Camp Alandale this summer.

Love in Christ, Mike Towler, OC Camp Director, Camp Alandale

    

Camp Alandale Prayer Update

Session 8, August 8-13, 2011

 

Dear Prayer Supporter,

We are blessed to share with all you of the amazing miracles that God did this past week. As the High School campers unloaded the bus on Monday, they were re-united with hugs. For returning campers, this week was a time of discipleship as they learned to stand firm in God's truth. This week was Jeremy's 4th year at camp and it was clear that he had grown in his faith in Jesus during the past year. He would play worship on his guitar around camp and demonstrated a heart that was filled with joy. However, as he shared during testimony time on Tuesday night, there was still pain in Jeremy's heart that he needed to surrender to God. He shared his struggle with forgiveness and trusting in God during the trials in his life. Sharing his testimony was an important step for God's continued healing work. Throughout the remainder of the week, Jeremy was able to encourage other campers who had endured similar pain to put their trust in Jesus and him to take the pain from their lives. It was a blessing to see God's continued work in the camper's lives as they continue to return to camp.

    In John 4:37 Jesus says "One sows and another reaps." Here at camp we sow and water a lot of seeds, and I am so thankful that God has chosen us to be workers in His field. That being said, I am always so blessed when I am allowed to reap. This week was Jason's first time at camp, and I quickly noticed that he was very shy and never started conversations. It's always a blessing to see campers come out of their shells when they are submersed in the loving atmosphere of camp, and he was no different. On Friday night, on our last one on one as we were sitting and talking I felt that I was supposed to give him a hug, and just as I was going to ask him if that was fine with him, he turned to me, opened his arms, and said Brian, give me a hug. His knowledge of God was very limited and he called himself a Catholic only because that's what his mom was. As we talked throughout the week I could see him becoming interested in God, and as we were one on one that night I gave him the opportunity to accept Jesus. When he said that he wanted to I told Him I was going to pray and that he should repeat after me. After I prayed the first line, I waited with my eyes closed for about 10 seconds waiting for him to repeat my words. When I finally opened my eyes and asked him what was wrong he said that he wanted to pray for himself. He proceeded to pray a heartfelt prayer that brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. Jason has a new life in Christ!

     Although he wasn't my camper, Robert still had an incredible impact on my week. He was at my table and every morning I was greeted by him shouting in my face and trying to get me riled up and upset. Robert has been involved in gangs since he was about eleven; violence and hate was all that he knew. He had been coming to camp for a few years, and we had interacted together, but he had never really taken camp seriously. By the end of the second day, he had attached to me and had confided in me. I felt that I was able to provide him with a correct model of what a female figure could look like. Robert did have a problem with expressing his anger, and when he was upset, he would shut down and not talk. He would often sit by me at camp fire, and so on the last campfire, he got very upset about something his sister who was there had said. He shut down and wouldn't talk or touch anyone. As the testimonies continued, he slowly relaxed and leaned into me. By the end of the campfire he was crying onto my shoulder. His slow relaxation into his pain and his ability to embrace it and then grief; but to come to a conclusion of relief was a perfect demonstration of change. When in the beginning of the week he wouldn't let anyone see anything but his facade, to being able to cry onto my shoulder proved to me how powerful God is and how He can change each person's heart; not just at camp.

With Christ's Love, Summer Staff 2011        

Camp Alandale Prayer Update

Session 7, August 1-6, 2011
 

    Session 7 was our first High School camp. We look forward to High School camps because we get to spend a day longer and we get to see campers that we have known the longest. This week was a little different in terms of the mix of guys and girls. We had 11 boys and 5 girls. Most of them had been to camp before, but with that many boys we knew it was going to be a rough and tough, testosterone filled week. The guys did not disappoint.

    Dionte was new to camp. He wasn't new to Christianity. As he shared his testimony one night, it was clear that God had started the work in this young man's heart long ago. Through some bad choices that his parents had made, and a few of his own, he wound up in the system in a foster home. He knows that he was fortunate to wind up in a foster home for a boy at his age. Usually boys 15 years old get placed in a group home. Dionte was well aware that God was giving him a chance. This led to some amazing searching by this young man all week. His table became the Bible answer table. His counselor and the other counselors at that table did an amazing job of answering even the toughest of his questions. Isaiah 55:6 says: "Seek the LORD while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near." (NLT) Dionte did his fair share of seeking this week and God did the finding. Dionte prayed to receive Christ toward the end of the week on his one-on-one with his counselor. Please Pray the Dionte finds a good church to go to and grows in his new life in Christ. God is good.
    There aren't many campers that come to camp that escape receiving Christ. Especially when they come back year after year. Alfredo is an escape artist. He likes being around the love of God, and loves being around camp, but when you ask him, his heart is not ready to receive Christ. I would love to tell you his story this year ends up with him receiving Christ. It doesn't. In fact Alfredo, or Freddie's story at camp is a mystery. One thing is for sure, God continues to show Freddie His love. It seems our job in Freddie's life is a planting one. Planting the seeds of Christ in his heart that we pray will one day spring into eternal life in Christ for Freddie. Despite his subtle non-acceptance of the claims of Christ we had a great fun week with him. My children Charlie and Gracie spent a lot of time after meals playing with him in the field area. Freddie has a neat heart, we'll keep praying that God brings him to Christ in His timing. God is still good.
    This first High School camp was filled with a lot of boys. It was also filled with Christ's love reaching out to those boys. One thing that we saw was Christ reaching these campers hearts through play. Whether it was Basketball, Ping Pong, Scatter ball, or Hiking, these boys loved to play. Pool times at one point consisted of 3 people because the rest of the boys were playing basketball. Of course they jumped in the pool after to cool off during the last 10 minutes of pool time. The greatest thing about sports and games is that they soften the hearts and build respect amongst the counselors. We saw God use the simple, to confound the wise when all it took was play to open the hearts of these young men who we were blessed with. God is good all the time!


Love in Christ, Mike Towler, OC Camp Director

Camp Alandale Prayer Update

Session 6, July 25-29, 2011

Dear Prayer Family,

Greetings! We had a blessed week of camp as we witnessed God's miracles among the lives of children who have been abused and neglected. The Junior High campers learned how to take up the body armor of God and stand firm in his truth.

    Manny, who was a returning camper, had been known as a trouble maker at camp. He often was rebellious against his counselor and pick fights with the other campers. This week, he got off the bus with a stern look on his face and was unresponsive to the hugs and friendly greetings from the counselors. However, as Manny heard the testimony's at campfire and did bible studies with his counselor, his countenance began to change and it seemed as though God had began to soften his heart. He began to participate in the camp activities with more joy and enthusiasm that was absent before. As one of the older campers of the camp, he was often seen encouraging and being a positive role model to the younger campers. During the pine-ceremony, he sat isolated from the group as he remembered and pondered the love of Jesus. Please pray that God would continue to move in Manny's life and draw him unto himself.

    It was Ace's first time at camp, but seeing the enthusiasm with which he approached the activities I would never have guessed it. On our first one on one Monday morning he mentioned to me that he had been a Christian for three years, and that he had first become a Christian as a direct result of the Junior Counselor on our team, Anastasia. It was such a blessing for me to be able to partake of the fruit of her labor and build upon the foundation that God had built through her.

    For Matt, Camp Alandale was a new experience. He soon began to enjoy the activities at camp and make friends. Though he was a joyful camper, he showed a need for affection and attention. As the week progressed and Matt learned about God's truth, Matt began to realize his need for Jesus. In the middle of the week, he accepted Jesus into his heart and allowed Him to begin to take away the pain and burdens that were stored up within him. Throughout the rest of the week, we witnessed a freedom and joy in Matt's life as began part of Camp Alandale's family. More importantly, he became part of God's family. Praise God!

 

Written by: Summer Staff 2011