Last week, my sweet husband and I spent the week in a small, humble, room on the 100+ -year-old campgrounds that belongs to our district of the Wesleyan Church. More than 100-yeasr-old! In 100 years on our campgrounds, think of
♥The number of persons called into ministry!!
♥The number of lives committed and re-committed to Christ!!
♥The number of children who heard the message of salvation for the first time!!
♥The number of sins forgiven!!
♥The number of burdens laid on the altar!!
♥The number of relationships healed and restore!!
♥The number of persons healed!!
God has always been faithful to work in mighty big, mighty powerful, and mighty surprising ways on Fairmount Campgrounds!
Since Family Camp 2011, I have been anxiously awaiting experiencing Family Camp with my husband. Family Camp has been a part of my life for around twenty years, and is an experience that my husband has heard much about. He had no idea what to expect, but he very much enjoyed experiencing the Christian Community like he never had before.
Some of my favorite moments included:
♥Lying in bed, beside my husband, listening to an hour-long crazy, loud storm. A muddy campground isn’t necessarily the ideal, but we needed the rain and how powerful the storm was! I loved it!
♥Swimming at Kokomo Beach with my fun-loving husband and eleven crazy children that I love! When I arrived, my husband had 8-10 children lined up on the side of the pool and they were all jumping in one at-a-time in “wave” fashion. It was quite the show! We jumped, splashed, raced, dunked, and did lots of other crazy things in the pool. Riding in a 15-passenger van with my husband, two friends, and 11 children was no less than very entertaining.
♥Cuddling little bodies in the nursery. For at least the fifth year, I was hired again by the nursery directors to run the two- and three-year-olds class in the evenings. Some evenings were harder than others (getting decent volunteers was like pulling teeth!) and some were more fun than others, but every night I enjoyed cuddling Tea, Isaiah, Micah, Hannah, Garrett, and others.
♥Singing praises to Jesus under a tent in the rain. On Tuesday morning, another loud storm rolled across our campgrounds. Just as we started our worship time – 30 bodies gathered under a tent, behind the barn – the rain fell hard. It soon became too much of a “distraction” and a danger to the instruments and sound equipment, so we were ushered inside the children’s barn for the remainder of service.
♥Walking hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm with my husband around the campgrounds during the “cool” part of the day. The beauty of being on vacation was no agenda! We walked leisurely, stopping at various campsites and cabins, and moving at our own pace – slow!
♥Laughs around the campfires. Many of my friends are still getting to know my husband; those he is comfortable with have seen a side that he so often protects – the very funny side! Some of my best Family Camp memories have been late nights around the campfire. Although there were fewer fires, and fewer late nights this year, memories were made!
♥Chats with Christian brothers and sisters. No book, sermon, study, nor devotional can replace transparent, heart-felt, digging into deep subject matter conversations with sincere brothers and sisters in Christ.
On Sunday evening, the last Family Camp service of 2012, the speaker requested that all children's workers come to the tabernacle and bring our children on the stage following his direction. Because I had been in pre-K nursery, I hadn't heard the Message, but his point seem to be to implore parents and church leaders to stand up for the children, to protect their rights, and to increase their own faith that they may be an example and a rock for the children. It was a powerful moment; one that I was glad I could participate in.
The previous morning, I was able to help serve Communion at the family service. Looking back, I am so glad that I was asked to help, as it was a very powerful and formative experience. How humbling it was as I repeated to each person
♥The number of persons called into ministry!!
♥The number of lives committed and re-committed to Christ!!
♥The number of children who heard the message of salvation for the first time!!
♥The number of sins forgiven!!
♥The number of burdens laid on the altar!!
♥The number of relationships healed and restore!!
♥The number of persons healed!!
God has always been faithful to work in mighty big, mighty powerful, and mighty surprising ways on Fairmount Campgrounds!
Since Family Camp 2011, I have been anxiously awaiting experiencing Family Camp with my husband. Family Camp has been a part of my life for around twenty years, and is an experience that my husband has heard much about. He had no idea what to expect, but he very much enjoyed experiencing the Christian Community like he never had before.
Some of my favorite moments included:
♥Lying in bed, beside my husband, listening to an hour-long crazy, loud storm. A muddy campground isn’t necessarily the ideal, but we needed the rain and how powerful the storm was! I loved it!
♥Swimming at Kokomo Beach with my fun-loving husband and eleven crazy children that I love! When I arrived, my husband had 8-10 children lined up on the side of the pool and they were all jumping in one at-a-time in “wave” fashion. It was quite the show! We jumped, splashed, raced, dunked, and did lots of other crazy things in the pool. Riding in a 15-passenger van with my husband, two friends, and 11 children was no less than very entertaining.
♥Cuddling little bodies in the nursery. For at least the fifth year, I was hired again by the nursery directors to run the two- and three-year-olds class in the evenings. Some evenings were harder than others (getting decent volunteers was like pulling teeth!) and some were more fun than others, but every night I enjoyed cuddling Tea, Isaiah, Micah, Hannah, Garrett, and others.
♥Singing praises to Jesus under a tent in the rain. On Tuesday morning, another loud storm rolled across our campgrounds. Just as we started our worship time – 30 bodies gathered under a tent, behind the barn – the rain fell hard. It soon became too much of a “distraction” and a danger to the instruments and sound equipment, so we were ushered inside the children’s barn for the remainder of service.
♥Walking hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm with my husband around the campgrounds during the “cool” part of the day. The beauty of being on vacation was no agenda! We walked leisurely, stopping at various campsites and cabins, and moving at our own pace – slow!
♥Laughs around the campfires. Many of my friends are still getting to know my husband; those he is comfortable with have seen a side that he so often protects – the very funny side! Some of my best Family Camp memories have been late nights around the campfire. Although there were fewer fires, and fewer late nights this year, memories were made!
♥Chats with Christian brothers and sisters. No book, sermon, study, nor devotional can replace transparent, heart-felt, digging into deep subject matter conversations with sincere brothers and sisters in Christ.
"This is His body and His blood,
which were given for you..."
realizing: He lovingly died for each one - each one of His children, for each of their souls. Humbling, yet empowering, as I offered the Bread and the Juice; symbols of The Sacrifice, of amazing grace, of His broken body, which saved my broken spirit.
realizing: He lovingly died for each one - each one of His children, for each of their souls. Humbling, yet empowering, as I offered the Bread and the Juice; symbols of The Sacrifice, of amazing grace, of His broken body, which saved my broken spirit.
Love, Love, Love,
Jewel
Jewel
1 comment:
Did you get to see Kyle there the last Sunday night?
It isn't a barn - - - it's the Wesleyan Women's Tabernacle or Rev. Bardsley used to call it the Wesley Service Center - - - I prefer the WWI Tabernacle.
It was never a barn of any kind.
I don't know of another campground ANYWHERE that has three tabernacles, it is one of the blessings of Fairmount.
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