Last Full Day of Jr Camp

Today (Saturday) is the last full day of Junior Camp. The kids all go home tomorrow around 10:00 AM. But it has been an excellent week of camp. We’ve had a smaller group of campers and a smaller staff, but the week has been really sweet. The campers in all four cabins have been a delight. We have had very few disciplinary issues and just lots of freedom to have fun! There has been a ton of playing, a ton of fun, a ton of games. And so many smiles.

As expected, Leanne is doing awesome as a cabin leader. She actually ended up being a solo cabin leader (she does have someone staying in the cabin with her and the girls at night), and she’s been taking care of business all week long. Her campers love her, and she loves them, as well! They are so blessed to be in her cabin all week. After the week is over, I will have her share a bit about her experience in her own words, so I won’t tell you more than to say it is going well! And our family will be really excited to have her back in our “cabin” with us.

Mabel and Estelle are both doing awesome this week, as well. They are serving as Junior Work Crew all week, and they are doing a good job. They’re up early every day to help get the tables set for breakfast, and then they are helping get tables set for lunch and dinner, as well. And they also hold a very important power: they are responsible for restocking all paper goods in the lodge – paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper. They’ve been working hard in their roles, but they’ve also had plenty of time for fun.

Before coming to Rock Nest, Mabel and Estelle participated in a CEF Training to learn how to paint faces and share the gospel at the same time. Yesterday they finally had a chance to use that training during free time to reinforce what is being shared in chapel. It was fun for me to watch them take on the challenge, as they are interacting with campers who are their same age. So they are among their peers, even as they are in a bit of a hybrid role of half-staff and half-campers.

Because of Leanne’s role as a cabin leader, my role has been a bit more limited, which has been a challenge for me. Rosie needs downtime each day, and can’t go full force from morning to night. So we have stayed home in the mornings, and then come to engage in camp in time for chapel at 11:30. My main role has been as the secondary photographer, and then at night I’ve made the slideshows that we show in chapel each morning. If you’d like to get a good look at the fun that has happened all week at camp, you can find the videos here. There will be one more prepared for tomorrow morning, and it will be added to the folder sometime late tonight.

Although the camps for young kids are nearly finished for the summer, next weekend is Family Camp (Aug 1-3) . Between Sunday afternoon and next Friday afternoon, though, we will have some downtime as a family, which we are all looking forward to enjoying together. For Family Camp, I am scheduled to teach a couple times (Sat Night & Sun Morn), with a focus on strengthening families. I don’t know yet where my jumping off point will be from the Scriptures, but I’m asking the Lord to help set me in the right direction as I prepare.

Immigration Status: Made it to the Weekend!

Once again, we have come to the weekend. And my assumption is that, like what happens in the US, most government work shuts down on the weekend. Assuming that to be true, I will have made it to the 28th! So I won’t be sent home in the middle of camp. Of course, now I have taken on the responsibility of speaking at Family Camp, so it would sure be helpful to be able to stay in the country until at least Aug 4. So I suppose we aren’t done praying yet:)!

Prayer Needs

• Pray that we might finish well in this last day of camp.
• Pray for a spiritually productive conversation as we debrief tomorrow afternoon as a camp staff, looking back on the month of ministry.
• Pray that the Lord would give me clarity on what to teach, and that He would help me put those teachings together well for Family Camp Weekend. Pray also for Doug Anderson and Daniel Koster, who are each also doing one of the teaching times.
• Pray for productive conversations after camp for all of us who are a part of the Rock Nest team (Us, Daniel and Geneva Koster, and Vance Christophersen). There are always improvements to make, areas of growth to pursue, and opportunities to reflect on the good work the Lord did over the last month. Pray that we might encourage one another in those conversations.

Conclusion

As I’m writing, I’m sitting here at a table inside the lodge, right in front of a big window that overlooks the lake. There are kids swimming in the lake and others riding the sky tram. My three kids are… somewhere having fun, I am sure. And Leanne is on her break time, sitting at a table to my left. Instead of breaking, she’s taking the next hour to write a note to each of her campers. An opportunity to express how much she has enjoyed each of them, and to remind them of God’s great love for each one of them. We are so grateful for all your efforts in prayer on our behalf, and on behalf of the children at camp. What a blessing to know that we have such an amazing team who are with us in this work. As always, thanks for praying!

Ryan and Leanne Donovan