I like knowing God the best...by Jared Hageman

Touchdown Beavers! Hawks win! Goodbye baseball! These phrases make me think of my favorite sports teams and some of the great moments I’ve had following them. These teams might provide entertainment sometimes, but I like knowing God the best! This summer, I have had a front row seat to what God is doing in so many lives.

I have seen God work in an impressive amount of campers’ lives this summer. Some of them trusted in Him for salvation for the first time! What value does a college football upset have compared to a person being saved from the penalty and power of their sin?

Many campers came to camp already believing in Christ and it was awesome to see them learn more about Him and have a better relationship with Him. Many were challenged to put Him first in their lives, to spend time in His Word, and to share His love with others.

Even as a staff member, I learned a ton and was encouraged in my walk with God. One of the greatest lessons I learned this summer was about how awesome God is. I used to sing the line “Forever, author of salvation” (in Mighty to Save) as a general statement. I always thought about how God sent His Son to die for our sin. Now, I sing that line thinking about the fact that God authors salvation in every life. God didn’t just write part of the salvation story, He wrote every individual chapter!

I have struggled in writing this, simply because it isn’t possible to put into words just how awesome God is and how much work He did at camp this summer. All I can say is that every other aspect of my life looks quite trivial after this summer. Sure, I’m still looking forward to all the fun events on my calendar, but I like knowing God the best because only His work has eternal value!

Jared Hageman
Camp Counselor
Cabin 14 * Summer 2009

do work! - Jason Quey

As the summer comes to a close, I’m amazed at the work God has done through the staff at Gilead. One thing that I knew coming into this summer that would be different than the previous summers I’ve worked at Camp Gilead was that I’d be working a lot less directly with the campers. What I began to realize, was that my role in leading campers to Christ or other spiritual decisions this summer would be totally different – my role was to help the counselors to effectively reach out to their campers. With 94 kids receiving Christ as their personal Savior and 87 dedications, I feel honored to be a part of this life-altering summer.

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.”

Jason Quey
Program Staff

megan's girls...

This has been a summer of friendships, leadership, laughter, trials, tears, hugs, challenges, sleep deprivation…

The list could go on but I will spare you all! I was placed as girl’s head counselor this summer and couldn’t have asked for a more stretching position. I was taught how to love and encourage others through the rough times, while at the same time I worked with God on some of my own personal challenges…talk about multitasking! My girls are beautiful woman of God and it was a privilege to see their growth.

Elizabeth – has a very independent and stubborn heart. She gave 110% to her campers and did not let others sway her ministry.
Laurren – was able to pull through some hard weeks of junior campers only to discover she has a knack for children and service.
Emily – stepped in as a counselor during the last week of campers and blew us all out of the waters. Thank you for all of your hard work, even if you didn’t know what you were doing at times!
Ali – has a tender and quiet heart, which is such a blessing to this team. She is a very dedicated individual with a strong passion to serve others.
Aimee P – grew a lot as a leader! I watched her crawl to the finish line with a smile on her face. Her love is infectious!
Amy C - She took the time to get to know her campers and built a lot of strong friendships. She has a very genuine and caring heart…and I am blessed to have been her leader!
Melissa – has a vivacious and loud drive for ministry! She connected with her campers on such a unique level and it was fun to see her outgoing personality used as a ministry tool.
Lindley – came the farthest and grew the most. Her passion for Camp Gilead began in Georgia and I am excited she was a part of our team. She not only brought the south to Washington but she brought a breath of fresh air to the staff.
Elisabeth – is not only an amazing counselor but an incredible friend. She loves to be around others and has a special way with the campers. Each week you could see the adoration in her camper’s eyes!
Teanna – is another tender-hearted counselor who really sought after God’s own heart this summer. It was encouraging to see her strive for growth.
Ashley – is always full of fun and laughter; willing to jump in wherever needed! I watched her persevere through tough stuff this summer and it was a blessing to see!

I saw growth in myself as a leader and as a loyal friend. Christ squeezed my heart so tight that I had to lose it, in order to gain it. Matthew 16:25 now makes sense: "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

Megan Stephens
Camp Gilead Program Staff

around the campfire

Last night as we sat around the Victory Circle one last time we were totally blessed by the campers sharing their decisions to walk closer with Jesus, to read their Bible more, to listen and obey their parents, to stop saying foolish things ... and on they went.

There were so many campers standing waiting to share a spiritual decision that we eventually had to cut them off and encourage them to share their decision with their counselor.

And now they go home...

For a camp counselor this can be a bittersweet time. The time that has been invested is great and many times the rewards of that work come surprisingly quick while at camp. But as the lives of the young campers are opened up, many times it is realized that the support at home for their newly found faith in Jesus is not exactly at the greatest of levels.

For others - they will be returning to homes of great encouragement and spiritual wisdom.

I remember those Saturdays as a young camper...going "down from the mountain" feeling like there was ... no place like camp...no place like camp... And truly there is no place like camp. But - camp is not the real world and all of us at some point have to leave this place of spiritual security and walk back down the mountain to what we call the real world.

Kimberly Mallory
Camp Gilead Program Director
www.campgilead.org

numb thumbs...from Day Camp Director Erika Heins

I’ve found that, as program staff, my job involves more behind-the-scenes work than actual one-on-one interaction with campers. I’ll admit that sometimes I’m glad to be sorting T-shirts and putting together power points while the counselors run all over camp with a flock of kindergarteners behind them. Sometimes it’s not so much fun, like when I cut out almost a hundred little paper birds and fish for crafts.

But although the different work can be both a relief and a burden, it can also be a distraction. It’s easy to begin thinking that getting all the coloring pages copied and the puppet stage set up are matters of life and death. But they really aren’t. The true matter of life and death is whether or not these little children have a chance to choose Jesus as their Savior.

I got a fresh reminder of this just after chapel today. In previous days, we had talked about sin and how Adam and Eve had been punished for it, and about how God promised to send a Savior. Today the entire chapel lesson was about how God had kept His promise by Jesus’ death and resurrection. After singing a couple of slower songs about Jesus, I told the campers to stay behind with their counselors if they had any questions. I led the campers who didn’t need to stay over to crafts at the pavilion.

As I helped the campers glue birds and fish onto their creation posters, one by one six girl counselors came up to me with smiles all over their faces. “Lily just got saved!” “I just saved Ainsley!” Several of them had never led anyone to Christ before—but if their glowing faces told me anything, they’ll be wanting to do it again.

As campers finished their crafts and ran out into the field to play Red Rover (never mind how many bumps and bruises it delivers! They always want to play it), I stayed behind to pick up the leftover birds and fish and scoop the crayons back into the box. Those campers had taken the first step in a breathtaking journey. And those counselors had discovered the wonder of sharing their faith. I couldn’t stop smiling.

So that’s why I cut out birds and fish until my thumb went numb.

Erika Heins
Day Camp Director

from aimee parkinson - counselor

This week has been so much COOLER so far, compared to last week! It's the last week of resident campers for the summer. God has been working in amazing ways all summer.

Last night Pastor Troy Harvey gave the message of salvation in chapel. Many campers made decisions for Christ. For example, I had a camper come out after chapel. She grew up going to AWANA but had never made the deicison to follow Christ for herself. Last night she chose to have a relationship with God for the first time. She was so excited that she had a hard time getting ready for bed, because she was so excited to have God living in her heart. During devos, she shared the decision she had made after chapel and it was amazing to see the other campers hug her and be excited for her. As we closed our devos in prayer, one of the girls asked if she could pray. It was so cool to listen as she prayed for Kayla - the girl who got saved - and her decision to ask Christ in her heart.

God is working and each day I am reminded that I could not have done it on my own. Only through God can we do amazing things. God gets all the praise and glory for what He has done this summer!

Aimee Parkinson
Counselor Cabin 3

can it be???

How does this happen?

We just began our last week of youth camp!

Our staff welcomed 180+ resident campers and 40+ day campers this morning!

They came in this morning...excited and ready for a week of memory making and fun!

Pastor Troy Harvey from Olympia WA is our speaker this week and we are looking forward to some exciting chapels and singing some brand new songs centered around Creation and our Creator!

More to come...

Kimberly Mallory
Camp Gilead Program Director
www.campgilead.org