Apart Into a Desert Place

This past week closed yet another camp at the Gila Christian Ranch in Silver City, New Mexico.  Technically, it is not desert, only semi-arid, but it is a place where people can come away from the influences of the world and focus on the things of God.

This year, both juniors and teens were combined in camp so as to save the driving burden on commuting churches.  All four of my children were campers, two in junior camp and two in teen camp, while Sarah worked 14-16 hours a day in the kitchen.  The Lord blessed and several campers were saved.

Many of the campers had little background in church, and no help whatsoever from home.  It was sad to see the effects on both teens and juniors who had to witness the adults who are supposed to guide them act wickedly, especially in the area of morals.  It comes as no surprise that these kids really struggle.  When we lovingly instructed them at camp, many responded positively and opened their hearts to the Word of God.

As the Gospel went forth, several campers, both juniors and teens, were saved.  Others made life-changing decisions of surrender, while others understood purity for the first time and pledged to keep themselves pure.  Also encouraging was evidence of past camp decisions that are still guiding the lives of some of these young people, some of whom have no help outside of the local church and camp.

There are some that decry the entire idea of camp, asserting that decisions made there are temporary.  While it is certainly possible to make a decision that does not last, it is also true that lives are changed forever as a result of one person hearing the Word of God in a camp setting.  Just as children made decisions to do right in Bible times, so young people today are hearing God's Word and are choosing to do what it says.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our ministry.  The time of extended meetings is over for a couple of weeks, the scheduling calling for isolated Sundays instead.  Our next full meeting is not until July 10-13, 2016.  May God bless you all and give you all a fruit for your labor as you serve Him in your area of His harvest.