Student Life Camp 2010 Thursday

Today is the last day of camp for us and it has been a great week. Darren Whitehead talked about the world's perception of the Church and God's perception of the Church last night. We are the Bride of Christ, and we should proudly portray that beautiful image. This morning he spoke about the tongue being like a fire able to cause enormous destruction. We're all twinkies today wearing our blue "epic" shirts, and we took some pictures on the beach as you can see. There is a lot of oil on the shore today, much more than we've seen all week. It's also much fresher, for lack of a better word. It's not mixed with sand like it has been, but instead is thick and dark blobs. There are also noticably more boats out in the water with skimmers and boom, as well as several helicopters flying over. In the midst of an unforgettable week it's been crazy to see this disaster continuing to unfold. Pray for the gulf coast! God is alive and well in this place, and Student Life has a presence down here for several weeks out of the summer.

I've been so blessed by our adult leaders and students this week. Because of this trip at least seven students stepped into an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is soooo worth any inconvenience we might encounter, and far more beautiful than any beach setting in the world. We begin the long journey back home tomorrow afternoon, and I'm anxious to see these students continue to live out what God has done this week. We have one more afternoon and evening to go, and I hear some seafood calling my name. Be blessed!

Tuesday afternoon brought lots of rain and a little bit of sunshine. Tuesday night brought showers of blessings. Seven of our students responded to the invitation - some of them trusted Christ for the very first time. This is why we do these things - this is what it is all about. David Nasser shared a personal story about traveling to the wrong city, and told us that the only thing worse than being lost, is to be lost and not even realize it. I think some of our students had been struggling with that judging by the conversations we had afterwards. One of our young ladies could not contain her excitement after she responded to the message. Her response was contagious, and I found myself being blown away and tears welled up as I watched her share what God had done in her life with the group.

Today (Wednesday) has been a beautiful day. Darren Whitehead joined us this morning and talked about how our culture dictates our dreams. He talked about culture has shaped our dreams and aspirations that we don't even know what to ask God for. If we could have anything we want it is usually something we think will bring happiness, security, and prosperity. We've let the world dictate what we should pursue. Our students then got to spend some time shopping a little bit before lunch and some time on the beach. We had a team play dodgeball, some of the guys tried (and mostly failed...ha ha) to skim board, and swimming. As I type this the students are in their small groups doing their bible study for the day and Sean is grilling some chicken for us. It's going to be a great night. God has truly blessed this camp and this week and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. More to come tomorrow.

Student Life Camp Orange Beach 2010 Tuesday

We arrived here in Orange Beach yesterday afternoon after two long days of travel. Our group did an exceptional job on the road - I was very proud of them. That being said, we were all very anxious to get here and are happy to be settled in for the week. We are staying in four separate condos all on the fifth floor and each with a gulf front view. The beach is beautiful and our students are enjoying it already. The water in Orange Beach is closed due to a swimming advisory in place by the state of Alabama, but just a few miles down the road in Gulf Shores the water is open so we'll probably head down there at least one afternoon.

David Nasser and Darren Whitehead are the camp pastors for the week. David spoke last night and is speaking today then Darren will take over from that point. David challenged us last night from Isaiah 6. He said that perhaps God has brought us here to ruin our lives. That's a scary thought for students and parents who are probably already a bit leary of sending their child to the gulf coast in the midst the greatest environmental disaster of all time. David encouraged us to think about our response to God and in light of being in His presence, what needs to change in our lives. Perhaps we need to be ruined so that we can become what God desires for us to be. I'm excited to see how that plays out this week for our students. God planned for each of us to be in Orange Beach this week long before BP ever drilled a well in the gulf. I know it's going to be a great week and that the best is yet to come. More beach pics and news to come later.