Dear all,

Hello from near Glendon, AB, at my sister's house. We'll be here for another few days before heading back to Three Hills, and VBS next week.

Thank you SO much for your prayers while we were at camp - we really felt them! Mike did a good job with his evening talks/sermons, with at least one of the staff amazed that 70+ teenagers would sit quietly and listen to him as he sat on a stool at the front of the chapel and gave his talks in a quiet voice; although near the end of the week the schedule went later and later so it was hard to keep the kids alert at 10:30pm! The Bible Quizzes helped - competing as cabins. And the morning chapels went well as well - we had more than enough material to fill in the time, between talking about Cameroon (not only our own ministry, but other teams in Cameroon), linguistics, the Biblical basis for missions, some object lessons, etc. Each day we had a "quote for the day" from the book, "Cure for the Common Life" by Max Lucado, which fit right in with our theme for the week, "Who Am I?" (a created being, a sinful being, a loved being, a wanted being, a provided-for being, and a responsible being). So all in all it worked out well, especially as the Bible lessons taught by others during the day lined up with some of our topics - God's planning! We feel like we didn't get to know very many of the campers, and only a few of the counselors, but hopefully something stuck in some people's hearts; they certainly heard the truth several times over during the week, from us, the counselors, and other staff. We enjoyed the director, Brian, and his wife, Rosella, who was at this same camp probably as a camper way back when I was a counselor. And the camp nurse, Sue, was a friend of ours, as were Tim and Jan (Jan was Christy's counselor, and Tim taught Bible lessons).

Kenneth and Laura learned a bit about "staff kid" life at camp, which meant hanging around, and being able to be involved in some activities (Kenneth was able to participate a lot in archery, and was quite good at it!) but not everything. There were quite a few other staff kids around, but they had been there other weeks and it took a bit for Kenneth and Laura to "break in", but by the end, they were spending some time together with the group. Some of the staff made an extra effort to include them, and Kenneth especially will remember the speedboat rides - one of his "want-to-do" things from when he was in Cameroon (along with riding in a train) :) Of course, as we showed some "Cameroon pictures", Laura commented once again that she wished we could go back to Cameroon soon....

Christy and Jenny, on the other hand, had the "full meal deal" at camp - both were able to attend as campers, in different cabins, and had a great time. Both were in archery and crafts, Christy was in outdoor survival (learning to build fires, etc.), and Jenny got to go in horsemanship! Both of them got to go tubing (behind a speed boat), participate in "wide games" like prisoner's base, etc. A very good first-time camp experience :).

Camp ended on Sunday after lunch, so after helping with some clean-up (it was the last week of the summer camp  season), we came here to my sister's (Ruth's). Besides the good company :), we've been able to soak the camp grime off in their whirlpool tub and wash our week's worth of sandy, dirty clothes. This afternoon, we all went over to some friends' house (Philip & Linda's) for a fun time of talking & eating pizza together; they had been at camp on Sunday to pick up their daughter, so it's been nice to spend more than just an hour or so with them this time around!! For the next few days, we're looking at the possibility of picking Saskatoons (berries) and playing mini-golf, with some email work and VBS lesson prep thrown in :).

Keep praying for Jenny. She had a really good week at camp - most people didn't know anything was "wrong" with her, and she learned how to make the extra effort to keep up with the schedule and fit in as well as she could even though she was at least a year younger than the youngest regular campers. But though those who haven't seen her for a while are amazed at how much she has improved since December/January, it would still be REALLY nice to have her finished with this stuff - just when you're thinking how well she's doing, something will crop up to remind you that it's not finished yet!

Pray for the campers and counselors/staff who heard our talks, both regarding "Who Am I" as well as missions/Cameroon, that they would allow God to work in their lives. Pray also for us as we "recover" from camp, although we had a lot of rest compared to the other staff; Mike and Christy are probably coming down with colds, etc. Pray for prep for VBS in Three Hills, and for prepared hearts for the kids who come - the 10th - 14th, 9am-noon. And continue to pray for house renovations, that they would be able to start soon! We continue to praise God for people who encourage and help us, including my parents, who were able to send Kenneth's forgotten suitcase to us via Greyhound Bus!! (he didn't mind wearing the same clothes for almost 3 days though :) ).

Thanks!!!