On the way home

Friday was the last day of Junior Boys' week at Bancroft.  Although there are four more weeks of day camp to come, Laura and I only planned to stay for June so we started for home yesterday.  We're spending the day in Roanoke, VA today and we plan to drive home later today.

Camp was a wonderful time for me!  I really enjoyed sharing with the kids about missions and helping out around the camp, as well as getting to know the campers and other staff.  I'm definitely going to miss life at Bancroft!

Look for more posts about camp (hopefully with pictures) in the days to come.

Please continue to pray for Bancroft... that God will work in the campers' hearts, and that He will give the counselors and staff energy and wisdom every day!

Papua New Guinea Video

Have you ever heard of GodTube?  It's a website almost identical to the wildly popular YouTube video sharing site, except for the fact that its mission is to "share the message and love of Christ."

There are some great videos on GodTube, specifically some relating to Papua New Guinea and Bible Translation.  Check out the video below - it shows people from different areas of PNG and gives just a taste of the great Bible translation needs there.  

Liked the video?  You can find many more Papua New Guinea and Bible Translation videos by searching on GodTube's main page.  You might start by searching for the Folopa people or Wycliffe Bible Translators.

I'm Back!

Just a quick note this morning to say:  I had a wonderful weekend of travel and now I'm safely back in Tennessee.

Thank you for your prayers... not only did I have a great weekend with my friends, but I had no trouble with the long drive.  I didn't have any trouble staying alert and the hours seemed to fly by!

This last week of overnight camp is for boys ages 8 through 12.  Please keep the campers, counselors, and staff in your prayers this week.

Other Bancroft Bloggers

Junior girls' week here at Bancroft has gone really well!  But unfortunately I don't have time to write much about it now.  (Hopefully I'll post an update after I recover from my weekend road trip.)

Thankfully I'm not the only one blogging about Bancroft Bible Camp this summer!  While you're waiting for me to write about junior girls' week, you can check out the blogs of two other Bancroft staffers:  

• Ryan is a college student from Ohio who is a counselor here this summer.  Make sure to read his post about the counselor hunt!

• Martin and Silke are missionaries from Germany to Alaska who are living in the US now to learn English and American culture.  They, along with their adorable son Finn, have been here at Bancroft this summer.  And just now Finn ran by my door wearing a special hat (made of a bucket and some swimmies), so I took his picture...
  
  
  
  
  

Road Trip!

Last week I wrote about road trips and this week I'm going on one!  

Like most people, I don't like being in the car for a long time, but when there are good friends waiting at the other end, it's worth it.  I have a long way to drive this weekend, but I'll get to see some of my closest friends, so it'll be worth every minute!

Tomorrow morning I'm driving north to Harrisonburg, VA for the wedding of a close friend David and his fiancée Lenora.  After the reception, I'm going to keep driving north all the way to World's End State Park in Pennsylvania where my college roommates and I are getting together for a weekend of camping.

I'd appreciate your prayers alertness and safety as I drive a long way alone.

Pray for Shyan

Kids say the funniest things.   But they also say some profound things and ask some important questions.  

One of the day campers here this week, a 6 year old girl named Shyan, has been doing just that.  She wants to know "Why did God make us?" and told me "I don't want to die."

Shyan and her family moved to this area from California last year and found out about Bancroft Bible Camp on the internet.  Her parents have signed her up to attend day camp all summer. What a great opportunity and responsibility we have to teach her and help her grow in her understanding of God!

Please pray for Shyan to hear and understand the gospel message.  Even at a young age, she has big questions about life and about God.  I've had opportunities the past two days to talk to Shyan while waiting for her dad to pick her up in the afternoons.  Please pray that I and others will continue to have opportunities to share the gospel with her and that God will work in her heart that she might come to know Him.

Something Old, Something New

Something New

In its 71 years of camping ministry, Bancroft Bible Camp has never done anything like this before... something new and exciting is happening here! 

For the first time ever, day camp and overnight camp are being held at the same time.  We had a number of day campers arrive this morning and we're expecting about forty 8 to 12 year old girls to arrive this afternoon for a week of overnight camp.  

Something Old

But, some things are just the same as they've always been...  The camp is still committed to providing solid Biblical teaching and encouraging spiritual growth.  Even though the camp has added new and exciting activities like a zip-line and a mud pit, Christ is still the focus at camp.  

Pray

Please pray for the staff and counselors during this first ever week of day camp and overnight camp at the same time.  Pray for wisdom as to how we can tweak the schedule to make camp even better.  Also pray for the campers that God will work in their lives to transform them into a clearer image of himself.  

Fully Supported!

Road trips are fun!  But not always.

As I was thinking about raising my support this spring, I decided to start by visiting churches close to home.  Even though I like road trips, I don't want to spend all of my future furlough time on the road.  When I'm home, I'd like to really be home - to spend time with family and friends, reconnect to my home church, and just relax.  

Last fall, I started asking God if He could raise all of my support from my home area.  I've continued to talk to Him about this, and yesterday came His final answer...  

A third church, Kingsley Community Church, has committed to support me regularly financially and prayer.  And their support has put me over the 100% mark!  Praise the Lord for their partnership in ministry with me!   God has blessed me with three supporting churches and 27 individuals or families who support me regularly... isn't He good!?

A fourth church will be voting to support me in July.  I'll keep you updated as to how God works in that situation. 

An End and Another Beginning

This summer I'll experience many beginnings and ends as campers come and go each week.  Last time I wrote about a beginning, but this time I'll start with...

AN END

Teen camp ended last Friday night.  It was a great week filled with activities and fun, but more importantly solid Biblical teaching.  In twice-daily chapels, the campers learned about the life of David and about what it means to live by faith.  I was encouraged by attending the chapel services and, as many teens testified at the Thursday night campfire, God used His word to change their lives.

I had a good time teaching the teens about missions too.  Each afternoon we spent some time looking at different aspects of the science of language (linguistics) and what it actually takes to translate the Bible.  I walked the teens through short lessons I had prepared on the topics of phonetics, phonology, grammar, and translation to help them understand what Bible translators actually do.  Interacting with the teens during these lessons was fun, and from the feedback I heard, they enjoyed them!

Presenting the linguistic lesson about grammar

Aside from talking about linguistics, I presented the need for Bible translation around the world and challenged the teens to think about what part they could play in Bible translation.  On Thursday, I used an illustration to show how many people doing all different kinds of jobs it takes to translate the Scriptures.  Below you can see the 10 volunteers who helped me out by representing (from L to R): a Bible translator, an IT guy, a financial supporter, a prayer supporter, a language surveyor, a pilot, a nurse, a teacher, a carpenter, and a Bibleless person.  

Campers illustrate all of the people needed for the Bible translation task

After having this weekend to rest from the busyness and excitement of teen week, it's time for...

ANOTHER BEGINNING

Tomorrow morning, the first week of day camp starts.  Pray that God will work in the lives of these young ones.  Also pray for the counselors and staff to have wisdom and strength.

First Day of Teen Camp

Greetings once again from Bancroft Bible Camp!

This afternoon over 35 teenagers arrived at camp, and the first week of camp officially began!  Even though we're only a few hours into teen week, good things have been happening.  We had a favorite food of teens - pizza - for dinner, and then the campers played some games and formed their teams for the week.  During the chapel service Uncle Keith shared the first of his messages about David and reminded the teens that while man looks on the outward appearance God looks at the hearts.

Tomorrow after lunch will be my first presentation to the teens.  Please pray that I'll communicate clearly to them, that they'll be attentive, and that God will work in their hearts to call some into missions.  

The theme song for the summer is "I'll Depend on God."  I pray that I'll be able to truly say these words every day and that all the teens will be able to as well.  (The words are to the tune of "Bringing In the Sheaves.")

I'll depend on God to help me through each day.

I will read His Word and then I will obey.

I'll depend on God to use me as His servant.

I will be a witness for Him everyday.

Chorus

I'll depend on God; I'll depend on God.

He will surely help me as I trust and pray.

I'll depend on God; I'll depend on God.

He will surely use me each and every day.