Dependence - Jessica Cooper

Victory Circle Post for June 23, 2013

 

Hey ya’ll!  I was a counselor last year and have returned to be the high school staff leader! I am so excited to see what God has in store for this summer! It has been a crazy week for me. I arrived on Tuesday barely knowing what it meant to be a program staffer let alone the leader of the high school staff and was eagerly anticipating meeting my fellow coworkers and starting the planning process. I don’t know how it all works but I definitely feel more prepared for what’s to come.

Lately I feel like God has been teaching me to fully depend on Him and rely on His strength. Well every time I think I have it down he slaps me with a reality check that I am not in control, he is, that I can’t do anything on my own, only by his power can I live freely, and that he is sovereign and good in all things. I entered this last week feeling pretty confident that I was going to get everything done, know exactly what I was supposed to do, and have the entire summer all planned out. Ha, nope. I sure don’t feel it yet, but can see that everything will come full circle and work out. There is a reason Camp Gilead is the best kids camp in the NW – a great program director and staff who know what they’re doing. I just feel so blessed to play a small part in this great ministry. So please pray for me as I embark on another great summer at Gilead, that I would fully depend on the Lord, go to Him often, and that he would use me in the lives of all those I am working with. God is so amazing, Amen?

Jessica Cooper

Girls High School Staff Leader

Camp: On the Bucket List - Megan Haskins

We arrived on Tuesday; the fire inside of me had been ignited but was small, being kept alive with just a single flame. The past 6 months had been a crazy journey: getting the idea of working at camp, laughing at the idea of working at camp, discussing the possibility of working at camp, and having life’s events fall into place making it TOO easy to work at camp.

 

Camp Gilead is a special place to my husband, Craig Haskins, and I. We met as 15-year-olds, working on High School Staff in 2002.  The day we got married was the day we decided to put “working at camp” on our bucket list.  Here we are…married…on program staff…and checking it off our list!

I wasn’t sure what to expect, for it had been 4 years since we had last worked out here on program staff. Would we know anyone? Would anyone know us? How much had the program changed? Are we MEDIEVAL enough to be on staff? Would I be able to relate to the staff that is 6-7 years younger than myself? What does that look like?

Despite reservations, we packed up our car and road tripped it from Spokane! The fire inside of me has been fanned this past week as we have planned, prepared, and prayed over the summer staff and campers. It included a ton of re-learning, stretching (mentally and physical), adapting, and acclimating to full-time ministry. I have such a heart for service and can’t wait to grow and watch growth occur in those around me!

James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Let the summer begin!

Megan (Stephens) Haskins - Girls Head Counselor

How the First Century Church relates to Camp Gilead! - Ali Williams

This weekend at church, I was struck in a new way by what a special place Camp Gilead is. The pastor talked about the first-century church described in the book of Acts 2. The Bible describes the early believers as “devoted to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer,” and says that they lived together, shared with each other and with those in need, and ate together often. The pastor pointed out that these healthy, positive features of the church were both causes and results of the believers’ strong relationships with each other and the Holy Spirit.

My sister lamented the fact that none of the churches she has attended actually practice much of that. As she said, they’re often “sit-and-get” places, where you simply walk in, sit down, listen to a sermon, and leave. You can belong to a church and attend it regularly without actually having a relationship with anyone there.

As I listened to that, I thought about my past summers at Gilead. This special place, filled with the special people whom God has chosen to bring here, is the closest thing to the early church that I’ve experienced. At Program Staff Training this last week at Gilead, we seven program staff spent almost our time together: we served the meals together, ate together, did the dishes together, planned for the summer together, worked on projects together, prayed together, went on some adventures together, and all roomed within about a few hundred feet of each other. Though some of us were strangers to each other when we arrived on Tuesday, we quickly built relationships and strengthened them throughout the week. We began to create the strong bonds that will carry us through the summer. And when the rest of the staff arrive soon, I know that they will do the same; as we all learn, work, and live together over the next eight weeks, and as our relationships strengthen and deepen, by the grace of God, we’ll embody the spirit of the early church.

 

Ali Williams

Assistant Cook/Program Staff

Back for more ... Andrew Anderson

 

Program Staff Training…

This is my second year on program staff serving as the guys High School Staff leader, so I had a general idea of what to expect driving in to camp this past Tuesday morning. I knew I was in for a lot of work, but I was going to have a great time doing it, and this past week didn’t disappoint. We’ve spent many hours talking, planning, and organizing the program for this summer and in the process I’ve grown very close to my fellow program staff. What’s great about this year is I’ve had the opportunity to work with all the program staffers before and have come into this week with existing friendships.

This group is certainly a very creative and fun group to be around and I am excited to see how God is going to use us this summer. If you’ve noticed some of the pictures on the Camp’s Facebook lately, we’ve had a lot of fun going to different locations to take in the scenery and culture of our theme, as well as record some fun video stuff. It's great working with such a creative group where we can bounce ideas off each other, laugh about stuff and then quickly iron out thoughts and ideas. This team has great leadership skills and has the ability to see the “big picture." Now, bring in the staff and let’s get to work! (:

Andrew Anderson

Guys High School Staff Leader

The FIRST ... 2013

SUMMER!!!  This morning is our FIRST morning of staff training!  A few staff arrived last week for program staff training and we spent the week planning, preparing and praying for the rest of the staff that will arrive today. 

We will welcome our staff to embark on an adventure and experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.  This, for some, will be a turning point in their lives.  It will be "that summer" that everything changed.  And we are at the CUSP of that!  It's such an exciting morning! 

This summer, for some, will be the summer that they met their best friend.

This summer, for some, will be the summer that they met with God.

This summer, for some, will be the summer that they got to lead someone to the LORD for the first time.

This summer, for some, will be the summer that God stretched and challenged them in a whole new way.

This summer, for some, will be a summer of many first time experiences.

This summer, for some, will be the summer that they became an adult.

This summer, for ALL, will be memorable & impacting. 

We pray that this summer, for ALL, will honor God. 

Won't you join us on this journey of summer camp?  Hope to see you out here...as a camper...as a parent...as staff!  If you can't make it out this summer - would you pray for those that will be here?

This "Victory Circle Blog" will be a sharing of experiences, thoughts and remembrances of our summer.  If you've been to Gilead before, you know that the Victory Circle is where we have our weekly campfire nights.  There have been many, many amazing times around the campfire, sharing what God has done, what God is doing and what each hope to accomplish as they leave camp. 

Join us as we "gather around the campfire" here and share those same things ...

To God be the glory!

Kimberly Mallory
Program Director

Morning Fog - by Tyler Wells

This summer was my first year working on staff at Camp Gilead.  Words cannot describe how much of a blessing the last eight weeks have been.   I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with such a great team, and the chance to see the Lord work in so many ways. 

Before I started working at Camp Gilead, I had a fairly negative perception of fog.  It keeps you from seeing what you want to see, and usually when it’s foggy it’s cold and damp outside.  Being at Camp Gilead has changed that for me.  Despite the negative effects of fog, over the years, the staff has noticed a pattern.  In Carnation, fog in the morning is a good thing.  It means the sun is going to come out and burn the fog away and leave us with a beautiful and sunny afternoon.  For some reason, that’s just what always happens…every time!  Looking back on the summer, it was interesting how excited we all would get when we saw fog in the morning.   

There were times when my circumstances seemed a little foggy throughout the different weeks of camp.  God brought challenges my way and there were times that I couldn’t see what was going on.  Through those challenges, God taught me that I really need to rely on His strength and the encouragement of my amazing coworkers to stand firm, even when things started to get foggy.  It was through some of the foggiest moments that the Lord was shining His radiant light through to reach the hearts of my campers.  Getting through those difficult or foggy times, and being able to look back and see all the ways God was working all along is so encouraging to me. 

I am learning that just as we rejoice in the morning fog that leads to a sunny afternoon, we should also rejoice in our trials, which lead to being able to see God work through them and cause noticeable growth in our lives and the lives of others.   

 

Tyler Wells

Counselor – Cabin 14

Encouraging - by Kayla Emme

Sometimes at night before bed I will ask my girls to sum up the entire day in one word.  Well, the word I'd use to sum up all of last week would be "encouraging." 

So many things have been said and done this past week that just uplifted my soul.  Laughter and smiles are two of my most favorite things in the world and the Lord blessed me last week with the most smiley, giggly cabin.  I don't think I went one day without at least one of my girls hugging me with a huge smile on their face!

Singing in chapel is probably one of the most encouraging parts of the day.  Just hearing all the voices sing praise to our great God is so inspiring.  Every once in a while there will be a chorus where only the campers sing and when that happens a surge of pure joy and adoration just overwhelms me.  "Shout to the Lord all the earth let us sing, power and majesty praise to the King.  Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your Name!"  Knowing that God is there and hears our prayers and praises is an incomparable feeling.

But Friday night in the Victory Circle ... that is the pinnacle of inspiration and encouragement at Camp Gilead.  Week after week I see new faces fill those concrete slabs and gaze with tear-filled eyes into the fire and week after week I'm comforted and blessed by listening to such young voices make promises to God that will forever change their life.  Many times kids come to camp with these big burdens or heartbreaking stories and it seems as if there is not joy or happiness in the world for the upcoming generations.  But when a child of God stands in that circle and calls on God for victory in their life, a new hope is born!

So, although usually a week sum up is supposed to be only a word, I have to add a bonus word!

"Hopeful"

Through all the encouraging and inspiring things that have happened this week, I'm able to look at God's works and have hope for the next generation of heroes of the faith!

Kayla Emme
Camp Gilead Counselor