God's Sense of Humor

The summer is flying by. This group of kids will be gone by the end of the week and 2B will begin on Sunday.

Last night, we went on our second camp out for this session. We went to a place called Joshua's Hollow. It was my first time at this camp site. It is one of the shortest hikes that you can take. There is a good size creek to play in and a small covered shelter. We made it there pretty early and got enough wood gathered together to cook dinner. At 5pm we started to hear thunder so we decided to cook dinner early. Just as we got the first batch on the fire, it poured rain and started to thunder and lightening. This lasted till about 7pm. The other cabins in our tribe that were at other campsites had already hiked back to camp. We were told to wait it out since we had a shelter. The rain went away by 7:30 and we built the fire back up from wet wood, which was interesting, and were able to get the meals cooked.

The weather was fine for the rest of the camp out.

2:30AM the next morning: I wake up because I heard something drop to the ground. I reach over to the pocket in my hammock and the bear mace is not there. I look around for it and finally see that it has fallen to the ground. I get one of the kids to pick it up and hand it to me. No big deal... When I go to put it back in the pouch, I notice that the safety clip has been flipped up. Not good... This is easy to fix though, in theory... All I had to do, per the directions, was just flip it back down and it's fixed. As I flip it down, a stream of bear mace shoot out into the air. Here's a little bit of background about bear mace.

Bear mace is like a high powered version of pepper spray. If sprayed directly into humans eyes it can cause serious damage. It if it gets on your skin or eyes indirectly then rinsing with soap and water does the trick. It does burn a little though. Bear mace is also a one time use. It's not like wasp/hornet spray where you can choose how much you spray. It's a one time shot that lasts about 5 seconds. It is used to spray in the face of a bear if they are getting ready to attack. It has the same effect that a normal can of pepper spray would have on a person. However, once sprayed, you must evacuate the campsite. Bear mace attracts bears, believe it or not... So, even if you spray it to get rid of a bear you still must leave. Once sprayed, you have about 30 min before bears start showing up.


Back to the story, the spray went off at 2:35am. By 2:55am we were hiking back up the trail. The response time to get everyone packed up and moved out was incredible. A few kids had come in contact with the spray, so we had them take a shower when the got back. The last person got back to the cabin by 3:30am. By 4am, everyone was in the cabin asleep. It was a long night to say the least, but at least everyone made it back safely.

It's kind of ironic, during the rain, while we were under the pavilion, I said a short prayer asking God to provide for us and get us through the night. Sometimes God has a funny sense of humor when answering prayers and doesn't always answer them in the way you want him to. Imagine that...

A beautiful thing...

Camp is awesome!!! This will definitely be a summer to remember. We have a great group of kids this session. We have a full cabin, 10 of them. Three extra kids makes a big difference, but a good one.

This past Monday we went on our first camp out and guess what we ran into again... Hornets... Short Story...
So, we are hiking to a place called Buck Flats. This is a hike that we have already done several times this session in our tribe. Other tribes have also gone on this hike several times. We have 69 kids that are going on this hike. We are in the first part of the hike, I am about 2/3 of the way in the back of the line. I am walking with a couple of kids as we go up and all of the sudden I hear a kid screaming really loudly up ahead. I take off running ahead to find a kid coming running towards me with hornets attached to him. Even though I am not a fan of stinging things myself, I do my best to get these hornets off the kid. After that, I try to get the kid calmed down, he has been stung several times, but luckily he isn't allergic. A few more kids come up behind us. I have them wait with me until more counselors arrive. Pretty soon a couple of more counselors make it up. We get the medical kid and give the kid some medicine. I then send two counselors ahead to see if they can find the nest. The come back and say that it's all clear. We then decide to walk in one group the rest of the way. We put a couple of counselors in front, the kids in the middle and then I round up the back. We then head up the the rest of the way. We get back into the woods on the trail and it's not but 3min later, the kids in front of me turn around screaming and running, so we run back to where we started. Somehow we got tangled up in the nest again. We re-group, send a couple of counselors ahead to check it out again. This time they found it. Hanging right over the trail in a branch was a hornets nest about the size of 2 basketballs. It was huge and we had made them mad. We created a trail around it and were able to get the kids safely that time through.

The crazy part is that we have all hiked that trail several times this past summer. In fact, the nest is so close to the trail that our heads have passed right by it every time. I guess, unfortunately this time one of the kids ran into it.


This Sunday night I will speaking in front of the whole camp at Vespers. Vespers is like a devotional time in the evening on Sunday right before Council Ring. I will be talking about a passage in the John 21: 1-14. This passage talks about finding Jesus in the most common places. Many campers at camp, including myself when I was a kid at Camp, feel that they feel "closer to Jesus" while at Camp. When we leave camp, we find ourselves wanting to change things in our lives but sometimes we fall short of doing so when we return back home. We sometimes feel that we have this "real life" and camp is different. The truth is that the feelings and the closeness that we experience at camp is something that we can experience at home in our daily lives. At camp, we are constantly surrounded by christian friends that we can talk to and be ourselves around. These kids are surrounded by christian men that they can look up to and talk to when ever they need to. When they go back home, they may not have all of this love and acceptance that they get at camp, but that doesn't mean that God is any less there. As I prepare to speak on Sunday, I ask that you will be in prayer for me that God will allow me to speak his words that night.

There is only 4 weeks left at camp this summer. It is going to go by all too quickly. Please pray that God will allow us to seize every moment with these kids, give us the strength to press on when we get tired and to give us spiritual strength to improve our own lives.

Halfway there...

The summer is halfway over. Session 1B has just wrapped up. We only have two more full sessions left and then the 1 week starter camp. It’s hard to believe that things are going by so quickly. This past session we had a great group of kids who were ready to talk and open up. It was awesome to be able to have those one-on- one conversation with kids that young. One kid in particular at camp, had some life changing experiences and did a complete 180 from where he was when he first came to camp.

Last Tuesday, we went on our second camp out for that session. We went to the Catawaba camp site. From there we were able to hike down to the Catawaba falls. This is one of my favorite campsites to go to. It is really a cool place to be. The campsite is situated in a valley, which does mean it gets darker a littler earlier than normal. But after you get to the site, you can hike down to the falls. The falls are about 200ft high. There is a little bit of room to climb on them before it gets too dangerous. The kids had a blast playing in the water and see all that there was to see. I have included a few pictures in this post so you can see how awesome it is.

Unfortunately, the hike back up to the campsite after our visit to the falls was not so successful. We were almost to the campsite, I was in the back of the line, and we had about 15 kids with us. All of the sudden, I hear kids screaming in front of me and they take off running. I look up and see this huge swarm of about 15-20 hornets fly out of the ground. All but two of the kids take off running towards the campsite. Two of them come running back towards me with hornets attached to them, stinging them. As you may already know, I absolutely hate anything that stings, with a passion. So I take off running backwards as well. We finally stop to assess the situation. We get the kids shirt’s off and kill the hornets that were on them. Then we sit there for a bit and let everyone calm down. In the end, we had 4-5 kids that were stung several times. We gave them all Benadryl when we got back and they were fine.

Here’s the coolest part of the hike. The next day we set off to hike back. To say the least, there are a few nervous people as we prepare to hike back up, afraid that we will run into another nest, me included. We actually do run into another nest on the way back…. The kids had all walked over it, I was in the very back, No one got stung though, I had them run and we got away in time. Here’s the cool part though…. As we are hiking back, every single scenario is running through my mind, what if we run into another nest, what if this happens, what if that happens, how we will handle it. I was scared out of my mind to say the least, but I couldn’t show it. The kids couldn’t see how scared I was, that wouldn’t have helped the situation. About 20 min into the hike I realized something, I was trying to do this on my own, I wasn’t asking God for help, I wasn’t asking for his guidance. Right there on the hike up, I prayed and asked God to take all these fears from me. I couldn’t do this on my own; I needed his help and strength. The Jeremy camp song “Trust in You” kept ringing in my head and I thought about the words to that song on the hike up. A few minutes later, all my fears were gone. I felt completely different. It was amazing. God works in many different ways, sometimes he answers prayers directly, and this was one of those times.

For this next session, session 2A, we will have a full cabin of 10 kids. I already know that some of these kids are coming in with heavy burdens on their hearts so I will ask that you keep them in your prayers as they begin camp next week. I would like to leave you with one final thought from a morning watch last session. To be fully known with God means that we have to be willing to admit that “we are nothing but he is everything.” This is something that we were really focusing on in our cabin the past couple of weeks. We all have burdens in our lives. We have to be willing to give all of those up to God, no matter what they are, no matter how difficult it is, we have to give it all up to him, because he is the only one who can give us true peace and rest.

Hard Work... Greater Rewards

Well... we are almost a week into the second session of the summer, Session 1B. We have another great group of kids in the cabin this time. We have 7 kids, with a couple of them from Alabama. This session has been going by slowly, but that is a good thing. This session has been stressful, mentally. But it has also been very rewarding.

There have been several opportunities to reach out to the kids in my cabin. I ask that you keep each of them in your prayers as several of them are dealing with some difficult things. While these are only 10-11 yr old boys, they are dealing with some pretty adult stuff. Stuff that you wouldn't normally expect until the teen years.

One of my kids believes in God, accepts that he be forgiven for his sins, no matter what he does, but is struggling greatly with the guilt for his past sins. Another kid, who seemed to have it all together on the outside, completely broke down last night after camp fire. He began to question whether he really had faith in God. The list goes on, but as you can see, God is present at camp this session, more than ever.

It has been amazing having these conversation with these kids every night. I don't think I have gone a night this session where I haven't been sitting down with one of them and talking to them about Jesus and how amazing he is. This is what camp is all about. Building these relationships with these kids and telling them about this awesome guy named Jesus.


During the Session the staff get's one day off, either Thursday or Friday. Friday is my day off during a session. That means, for those two days we only have half of the staff at camp. On Thursday, I took the big chair. Our Tribal Leader had his day off and I took over his responsibilities as well as my cabin staff duties. At Camp each tribe has a Tribal Leader. The TL is in charge of the whole tribe. So yesterday, I took care of my kids as well as being in charge of the whole tribe. This involved some extra work on my part for the day, but the majority of the day went smoothly. The greatest compliment that I received yesterday was from the Asst. Program Director and he told me that I would make a good TL and should apply for the position next year.

We have a less than a week left with these kids. There is a lot of work to be done. I think this next week these kids will open up even more. I am excited to see what the week will hold.


On a personal note, I have found myself developing some good spiritual habits. I find myself praying more, going to the bible for guidance and feeling overall more spiritual sound. There is still a lot of work to be done and I am continuously praying that God will continue to strengthen me for what ever comes my way.

Session 1A...

Well, We have made it through the first session of the summer. The bar has been set high. We had an awesome group of kids this first session and it will be hard to beat for the remainder of the summer.

This past Tuesday we went on our second camp out of the session. The campsite that we went to was on the top of a mountain. There was a lookout spot at the campsite where you could go and sit and look over into the valley and see all the mountains. It was a truly spectacular site to see. We took the kids up there for the devotion that night and we sat there and watched the sun set and then laid there and watched the stars. It was an amazing experience for everyone.

Today we said goodbye to the kids and we have about 1 1/2 days to rest and get ready for another session. For this coming session we will have 7 kids in our cabin. I would like to leave you with some words from Camp...

"God, give us hills to climb, and the strength to climb them"

And that's camp....

It's hard to believe that we will be saying goodbye to this first group of kids at the end of the week. I have had the pleasure of having a great group of kids this session. Last night we had council ring and then tap outs for the Little Chief Test. We also did promotions for our cabin as well.

Yesterday afternoon, I put my First Aid Training into action. It's one thing to read and learn about it, it's a completely different thing to actually have to react. On the way back from the Nibble Nook, where we get Ice Cream on Sunday's after worship, a kid collapsed and passed out. He was actually a kid that was in my cabin last year. He was hypoglycemic. He was only out for about 5-10 seconds and then he regained consciousness. It was certainly a learning experience.

Today we will be taking the tribe on a field trip in the afternoon. We will be going Linvelle Caverns and then to Fudruckers. Tomorrow night we will go on another camp out and we will be making packets meals for dinner.

Fully Known

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." 1Corinthians 13:12

The theme for camp this year is "Fully Known". This summer we will be talking about being fully known in ourselves as well as being fully known in God. The versus above is our theme versus that we will focus on for the summer. Week 1 of kids is just about to be over. I have an awesome group of kids this session. I could not have asked for a better group. The weather has been fair this past week. There have been a few rainy days and hot days but overall, it's been good.

I really appreciate the care packages and letters that have been sent. It means a lot. I also appreciate all the prayers that you have made for myself as well as the campers this summer. As many of you know, Father's day is this weekend. I ask that you pray a special prayer for one of my campers. One of my kids lost his father not but 6 months ago. I don't know what to expect this weekend but I ask that you keep him especially in your prayers this weekend.


Finally, as promised, the above is a picture of me with my really short hair....

The Kids Have Arrived....

Well, the day has come, the point in the summer that we have all be training and praying for, the kids are here!!! It now feels like camp has really begun. For this first session, 1A, I think I have a great group of kids in my cabin, 9 of them.

Tonight we are going to be going on our first camp out. Also, I had my hair cut the other day and got it cut really, really short. I will try to get a picture to show you but just as an FYI, it's really, really, short. Please continue to pray as we get going this summer.

Shawnee Tribe!!!

There have been many exciting things going on at camp the past few days. We have been doing beautification every day, which pretty much means cleaning up around camp and making it look nice for when the campers arrive. Yesterday morning we found out what cabins we would be in for the summer and who our co-counselor is. I will be in the Shawnee tribe again, (10-11 yr. olds) and I will also be in Cabin 7 again.

Last night we went on our first camp-out of the summer with our tribe. It was a really nice camp-out. Above are pictures from the camp-out. We went to the Ridgeview Campsite which is basically just straight above camp. The next few days will be more cleaning around camp, training sessions, and meetings. The kids will be here on Sunday and then camp will truly begin!!!

Staff Week is here....

The last few days at camp have been pretty easy. Just mostly hanging out with old friends and making new ones. Wednesday night I challenged my CPR certification since it had expired and I passed the test, so now I am certified again. Since I passed the challenge I didn't have to take the whole course over again, which was a relief.

Since then, I have been mostly hanging out, going into town some with friends. There have been several games of 4 square and frisbee golf to be played in preparation for when the kids arrive. At 6:15pm today staff week will officially begin. We will kick it off with a staff dinner, then more training and work will begin tomorrow. The next week will be filled with beautification around camp, this is basically fixing camp and cleaning things up and then also several different training sessions.

It won't be long until the kids get here. There has been a little bit of rain here and there and it has been surprisingly warm. Hopefully it will cool down soon. All for now.

Day 1: Mount Mitchell and the Blue Ridge Mountains

One of the first things I like to do when I get to camp is drive up to through the Blue Ridge Mountains. So that's what I did this morning. I got on the Parkway and drove up to Mount Mitchell. On the way up to the peak there is a restaurant where I was able to stop and have breakfast as I looked down into the mountains. After that you drive up a couple of more miles and you get to the parking lot where you walk about 1/2 mile or so to the top. On the way down from the top, I took a side trail that went for about a mile and took me around the mountain and down through the ridge. It was a nice short hike to get me ready this summer. Here are some pics from the day adventures. Enjoy!!!

Well... I made it...

It feels great to be at camp. The trip up here was rather short and uneventful. I was able to make it in a bout 5 1/2 hours. There was a little rain here and there but nothing too bad. All the roads were also open, which always helps. Once I pulled up and stepped out of the car at camp, I was immediately talked into playing a round of Frisbee golf. That's camp staffers for you... priorities...

I will have pretty much the whole day tomorrow to just hang around camp or go explore Asheville if I want to. Thursday evening I will do CPR Recert and then should have all of Friday to hang out.

It's nice to be up here in the quiet and stillness for a bit before everyone arrives. Now, let the summer begin.