It's Here!!!

Well summer is fully upon us in every way except the temperature. Our summer staff have all arrived, we have finished three fontier village camps, and have hosted numerous guest groups on our main campus. It definately feels like summer... other than the fact that the temperature has not risen above eighty for the past several weeks.

With all the craziness that goes into this time of year, the support of those who partner with us in ministry is more crucial than ever. We have already had 15 kids come to salvation at Frontier Village this year and we are blessed to once again to partner with the Word of Truth Ministries, who conduct bible study correspondence programs with all these kids to continue their discipleship and growth once they leave camp.

We recently received a letter from Kathy O'brien, the director of this ministry telling us about a camper from last year who has faithfully been doing their bible correspondence program this past year. Kathy writes:

"She had been invited to come to camp by a friend and didn't really know what to expect... Her favorite part of camp was chapel times. She wrote me, "I learned so much about God and Jesus and all that. The best thing I learned was that God loves me. Imagine God loving me when so many people in my life don't even like me. I talked with my conselor a lot about why God would love me and I cried a lot just thinking how wonderful it was that God loved me. At the end of the week I didn't want to go home. I was having too much fun and learning so much. But on Friday I asked Jesus to be my Savior... Then I was told about a way I could learn more about God after I left camp. I wrote to you and you have been kind enough to send me Bible lessons in the mail. I have learned so much about God. Now I love him back. Jesus is wonderful to know too and to know that He died for me and took the punishment for my sin. He is such a good guy. Thank you for helping me learn all these things and more"...By the way, she is saving up her babysitting money and doing little jobs around the house to earn money to be at camp this summer."

It is such a blessing for us to partner with this ministry to provide continued teaching for our campers once they return home. Please pray for this ministry and for the campers who will come to know Christ this summer.

The Next Billy Graham?

You never know who you might meet at Prescott Pines Camp. The rumpled kid with shoelaces untied and missing a sock (where do all those socks lost at camp go?), galloping past you to be the first in line at the dining hall, might just be the next Billy Graham.

We love to hear stories about camp, and today we heard a fantastic one. This week a group of volunteers from Trinity Baptist in Mesa came up to camp to help us out with some landscaping work. Pastor Vince was working outside the chapel, when he started talking to a 11-year old boy named Jay who was up at camp with Faith Community Church. After asking the normal questions about fun activities at camp and school, Pastor Vince asked Jay if he had made anything at camp, and what had he learned.

Not realizing that Vince was a pastor, Jay proceeded to witness to him. During the week, the campers had learned about witnessing, and were given the million-dollar bill tract to help them remember. Jay went over the ten commandments with Vince, establishing that he was indeed a sinner, and told him Jesus was the only way to get to heaven. Wanting to see how much Jay had learned, Pastor Vince asked him if he could be good and make a large donation to a church instead. Jay honestly replied that money really didn't mean much, and the only way is Jesus. They ended the conversation with Jay telling Vince that he should go home and read his bible.

These kids coming up to camp each week, will be the leaders of the Church... ten... twenty... thirty years from now. It's amazing to be a part of God's work here on earth.

Laura