Day 3 - Tubular

Once again, before I start with some of the fun stories I have ANOTHER announcement!

We have a new brother in Christ!!!

This week we have had 5 students come forward professing their faith in Jesus Christ for the first time in their lives. Praise God again and again and again!

Last night a large group of our students had the courage to confess hard sins to one another. We as a youth group have decided to create and accountability network for encouragement and strength.

It's amazing to see the depth and maturity of their decisions. Their goal is to make this a one week thing that dies when they go back to the "real world".

As you can see from the photos our students have no problem finding sometihng fun to do.

Zippity Doo Dah

Here is a video of our girls going down the zip line. Check it out!

Day 2 - haircuts and even more awesome-ness

Good morning everyone,

Once again we have some awesome news. After an amazing worship service, Pastor Jay spoke about being a part of God's family. We had another young lady really respond to this message and accepted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. So with this camp experience we have had 5 students added to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We also had a little fun with hair today...

Our mission offering is going toward India. Last night we were able to Skype with an orphanage in India that was created to help stop the murder of female babies. We learned that when the people of India have a girl, many of them are not able to pay the dowry for them to be married. They avoid this shame by boiling or poisoning their child. Our offering goes to help provide food, education, medicine, and most importantly the Gospel.

Some of our guys were given a challenge for India. If they were to get a mohawk haircut (with parent permission), there would be a donation of $20 given to India. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves.

We have more photos to check out. Just click on the slideshow in the top right corner.

I hope you all are having a wonderful day.

Day 1 - Our even more awesome afternoon/evening

Good morning!

I have to start with saying this...

Last night we had 4 of our students make decisions to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior!!! Praise God!

Our camp pastor Jay spoke a very powerful message on how God is our ultimate Father. He focused on how He is both a good and a great God who loves, provides, and saves.

Our students are very excited to see how God is moving in their lives. Continue praying that they continue to seek God.

In other news, our students had a blast doing their POI's/activities. You can see pictures of them on zip lines, climbing towers, tubing, playing basketball, and more.

We have multiple people taking pictures so you may need to re-check some of the photos because we have photos from the first day that we just got loaded today.

I'll keep you guys posted with pics and stories.

Day 1 - Our Awesome Morning

Good morning everyone,

Last night we had an amazing night of worship. It's an awesome sight to see 500+ students singing praises to our Lord. We met the Camp Pastor Jay Ridenour. He's from Boston and its very easy to see how well the students are already connecting with him.

I've loaded a few photos we have taken so far. At the end of the week we are going to load all of the camp photos to web album for you to download.

Okay, now to the good stuff...

We eat breakfast at 8 am. Any parent knows that 8 am during summer break is hard if not impossible to have your child up and eating breakfast. However, this morning the males were awake,showered, and ready to go by 7 am. (A couple went running at 5:30!). The girls were up and about at 7:15.

The students have enjoyed camp so much already that they were outside early in the morning before everyone else was awake or ready playing cornhole and tossing a frisbee. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!

It just reminded me how amazing and surprising our students can be. They are getting plenty of rest (they went to bed at 11:15!) and are still able to enjoy the wonderful activities at camp.

This morning I was given the "blessing" (if you want to call it that) of being the YMOD (Youth Minister of the Day). Our kids were so excited to see me get attacked by some of the staff. They also are enjoying this bright orange vest I have to wear everywhere I go.

Well, I hope you are enjoying your week like we are because it has only been a couple of hours and our students are having a blast!

I'll continue to keep you all posted!

Camp Day 1 - We're Here!!!!!!!

Hey Everyone,

After 5 hours in church vans and a couple of potty breaks we have finally made it to Jonathan Creek. The kids were super pumped and ready for an awesome week. Continue to pray for us that 1. We stay healthy and safe and 2. Lives will be changed this week.

Today is Miss Leah Painter's birthday and the staff had a wonderful surprise for her. During dinner they got a Mexican hat and poncho and decorated Leah for her birthday song.

Did I mention it was in front of 200 campers? They sang and then made her do a mexican hat dance.

I do have an important point for anybody that needs to get in contact with me. My phone service is not doing so well down here so if you need to get a hold of me call me on my sister Emily's phone (I have it) at 859-750-1700. I am so sorry about the change but I would feel more comfortable having a phone that has a more dependable service to it.

So to sum up... van rides + 5 hours trip + prayer + mexican hat dance + wacky photos = awesome 1st day of camp.

I'll talk to you tomorrow!

For Parents - 3-2-1 Contact

The first day you may be celebrating having an empty nest for the week. By day 2 you see an empty bed and you start to miss your kids. Instead of driving 5 hours to see your child there are a couple of options that may benefit you.

1. Check this website for daily updates. I will be putting pictures, stories, and other daily information.

2. Send your child some mail or packages. Here is the address:
Jonathan Creek Camp
ATTN: Your child's name, Oak Ridge Baptist
3043 Beal Road
Hardin, Ky 42048

3. View the camps blog. On here you can see photos, read about daily events, and even e-mail your child. Just visit here http://http://www.crossingscamps.org/atcamp/jonathan-creek/index.php

Despite what they may say, your kids do enjoy hearing from you.

Only 2 more days....