As I left from Inman, KS on Wednesday June 15, a lot of things were on my mind about what was going to happen this summer down in the good ole camp of Ponca. I knew that God was at work there, but little did I know how much work He was doing.
My internship went quite well down there. We left Whitewater, Kansas around 6:30am on June 16th, and we began our leadership training. The leadership team, consisting of about 12 of us, had to do several days in training in first aid, CPR, and the works. I got about half-way through the first aid, and then I fainted (still don't know why) so I became the test dummy during the training. But
other than all that commotion, our training went quite well.
The Saturday before the campers arrived, the team had to clean everything, including mowing, trimming, stocking shelves, and the sort. This was an ALL DAY WORK (notice it's in all caps, that's cause it was very strenuous). Campers arrived that Sunday afternoon, about 2pm. The age group of the campers varied from just graduated, to going into sophomore year of high school. The camp can usually hold about 85 kids: we had 84. Praise the LORD!
My job for the first week, (and including the second week as well) was to lead worship. I was put in charge of organizing songs, getting people to help out with chapel, and getting the computer ready to worship God through songs. It was really spiritually filling to see the Holy Spirit move through out the chapel times, and seeing kids in high school pour their hearts out to God. It was also encouraging to hear the kids sing the chorus to the song "Jesus Paid It All" while they were doing their daily chores for the day (also known as KP Duties).
The Lord was very good to not only me, but to the rest of the leadership team and most importantly the kids' lives. A lot of kids rededicated their lives during the course of the week, which was really powerful to see! A theme verse that ran through my mind through out the week comes out of Matthew 7:24-27, which talks about building our lives on the solid rock, which is Jesus Christ. It was (and is) our job as the PBC Staff to help the kids to "know Christ personally, and to make Him known".
After my first two weeks of worship leading, I was put in charge as a head counselor for one week, and a co-counselor the next. For the first part of both weeks, it was really hard to try and connect with the boys in my cabin, but once things got settled in, and they started to realize that I was the one in power, not them, they began to open their hearts and share their lives.
During my second week of counseling, (which happened to be my fourth week down in Arkansas) I had the privilege of leading one of my campers to Christ! Praise the LORD! Two of my other campers got saved and baptized! Once again, praise the LORD!
The fifth week down in Arkansas was probably the hardest. At this time in the summer, I began to feel very attacked by the devil. He obviously didn’t want us there, and there are many different stories to tell about that. I was worship leader again that week, and I started to feel worn out. Spiritually and mentally, I was doing better than ever, I could feel the LORD giving me strength to carry on, but my body was a different story. Physically, I couldn’t handle to be down there anymore, and I was unable to finish out my time at camp. Due to health concerns, I had to leave Ponca Bible Camp early.
I was absolutely devastated, and I was so angry at myself for not being able to finish. But what I didn’t know, is what the LORD wanted from me. He wanted me to come home early so that I could pray: pray for the camp, pray for the counselors, and pray for myself. He wanted me to communicate with Him more, and I feel that’s why He wanted me to come home. I still don’t know exactly why I had to come home early, but I feel that was a big part of it.
I would like to thank all of you who helped me with support in all sorts of ways, it really means a lot to me. I enjoyed my time investing into kid’s lives down in the heart of the Ozark Mountains of Ponca Bible Camp. I continue to pray for the camp every day, and because I was down there, I grew spiritually. I feel a lot stronger than when I left, which will help equip me as I go back to Tabor, or into the world. Investing into God’s kingdom will never steer you wrong, even when you think it does. Once again, I thank you so much.
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