The Awkward Start

We welcomed 29 Teen Campers (age 13-15) to Rock Nest Ranch this afternoon. The drop off is always the most awkward part of the week. The campers slowly trickle in, and while some come with friends, there are plenty of campers who don’t know anyone yet. And the staff doesn’t know all the campers, either. In fact, most of the staff is made up of high school students, as well, so it’s a big mashup of young people who don’t have the most adept social skills. But little by little, over games of carpet ball, rides on the skytram, or time spent in a volleyball circle, relationships with the campers and the staff start to form.

Shortly after arrival, we all go inside for supper, where we are seated around tables. One of RNR’s values is that we serve meals family style. This provides opportunity for conversation, for making connections, and helping both campers and staff feel comfortable with one another. After the meal, the cabin assignments are announced. We have a handful of other activities, and then by 9:30, the campers are all heading to their cabins, where they will begin to form bonds with the other campers in their cabins, and with the cabin leaders. It starts awkward, because at the start, we all barely know each other. But by next Sunday morning, when the campers get picked up, we expect there will be all sorts of bonds formed between the campers and the staff. And we hope and pray that through those relationships, this will be a week of joy, fun, acceptance, love, and grace in Jesus’ name.

For the next 6 days, our aim will be to speak and explain the gospel clearly, and to demonstrate this good news through the way we love and enjoy the campers. Tomorrow morning I get to speak in a chapel session, and one of the main things I will be highlighting is the character of God, which He declares about Himself in Exodus 34:6-7. What a privilege it is to share about how the God who made the universe, as well as everything and everyone in that universe, is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, forgiving, and also just. And as it says in John 1:12, “But to all who did receive him, he gave the right to be children of God.” We are praying that this week some would truly receive Him and learn to start walking with the One who made them!

The Week Ahead

Although I will have 2 or 3 opportunities to speak in chapel, that isn’t my primary role. My main role is as the Work Crew Leader. I will be managing 16 young high school students, who are broken up into four different teams, in an effort to accomplish various tasks at camp that need to be accomplished. But our hope isn’t just that the Work Crew will get a bunch of jobs accomplished in order to have a neat and tidy camp. Our hope, far beyond the work, is that this is a transformative week for these young people. We are praying and endeavoring that they will encounter the Lord as they work and struggle and are challenged in new and significant ways. Please pray that the Lord would do good work in these young work crew members. That this would be much more than just a week of dishes, sweeping, and mopping. Pray that it would be a week of real spiritual growth.

Cabin Leaders

Not all who receive our emails are from my home church, Evergreen Bible Church, but many are, so I wanted to share that we have 5 older high school students from Evergreen who are serving as cabin leaders this week. Those are Kristin Archer, Hannah Milliner, Stefen Lake, Kyle Avery, and Jonathan Ahrendt. Each of these young men and women are taking on a tall task. It is physically, emotionally, and spiritually challenging. it is probably the most taxing job at the camp. Please pray for them. We also have a young college student, Anna Camp, serving as the Camp Nurse. Pray for her, as well, as she helps keep med schedules organized, manages small injuries, and gets to be a compassionate caregiver for the whole camp this week. Each of these young people have been here two or three times before, and I am so thankful to have them serving with us here again this summer! I am excited for the work God is going to do in them and through them this week, as well. Pray for them, and for the other three who aren’t from Evergreen who are serving as cabin leaders (Erilyn, David, Fiona). This group of eight will have 23 hours a day to love and care for the campers and to shine the light of Jesus to them. That’s a mighty big job, with incredible opportunities for them to be challenged and to grow.

God’s Funny Provision

You may recall that last year we had a significant challenge with mosquitos, especially inside our house. Well, the good news is that, at least so far, mosquitos in the house have been no real problem at all. In fact, I believe this is a direct answer to many people praying. How has God answered that prayer? He sent a woodpecker! A loud, busybody woodpecker. And he is an early bird! He usually gets started between 4:30-5:30 AM. For me, this is a good trade off, but I’m a little nervous for Leanne, when she arrives, because she’s not typically quite as good as I am at just rolling back over and falling back asleep. So I’m not sure what the Lord might be willing to send that would help with both the mosquito issue AND the new woodpecker issue:).

On Sunday, Kristen, Anna, Hannah, and Stefen visited a nearby church with me (pic at the top is from the start of our drive to church). Afterward I took them on a little adventure to Hazelton, which is about an hour and a half west of Rock Nest. One of the things we did was to walk across the Hagwilget Suspension Bridge. It’s a fun walk high above the river below, with some incredible views. Unfortunately, the clouds didn’t allow us to view much of the beautiful mountain in the background.

Prayer Needs

• Overall, our Cabin Leaders this week are pretty young for leading 13-15 year old campers. Pray that they would be filled with God’s Holy Spirit and empowered by Him to love their campers well! There are two girl cabins and two boys cabins, and the cabin leaders work in teams of two: Kristen and Erilyn, Hannah and Fiona, Kyle and David, and Jonathan and Stefen.
• Pray for good discipleship work to happen in the lives of the Work Crew. That team is made up almost entirely of the students from Sunset Bible Church. Pray that these high schoolers would experience God’s life-transforming work!
• Pray for Mabel and Estelle. They left yesterday for a week of Middle School Camp with the Evergreen Youth Group and a bunch of other Clark County Youth Groups. Pray that this time away from both Leanne and I would be a good week of faith development for them, before they all join me in serving at Rock Nest Ranch in early July.

Pic above from when Leanne dropped Mabel and Estelle off for the Middle School Camp bus.

Conclusion

I wish I could share so many pictures of campers and camp life, but I have to be careful of any images I share so publicly. But please know that work we have the opportunity to do this week is incredible and important gospel work. Thank you for praying behind this effort!

Ryan and Leanne Donovan