Hello!!
Week four was a very good week. Thank you all for your prayers both for me, and for us as collegiate staff. Our working together as a team improved greatly this past week.
Here's something to celebrate: 28 new believers!!!!!!!!!! God does some mighty work, doesn't He??
The orange team was the "Orange Ops", our mascot was dressed in orange with twigs and such taped to him. We battled it out at the B.L.A.S.T. games against "Golden Corral", "Bluebonic Plague", and "Green Gangrene". Diseases are popular this year!
God had work for me in the encouraging room only once, this time the decision was for salvation!!! Besides the girl I talked to, three other girls who were in my family group accepted Christ. What a HUGE honor and privilege it is to have been part of something so much greater and grander than myself! It's really cool how God can use those who are willing to give it all over to Him. That's a lesson I've been learning since I got here. God is the one at work here, though. Only He can change hearts and lives and draw people to Himself. And what an amazing experience it has been thusfar to watch Him do it! I'm really excited because there are still two weeks left of camp; I can't WAIT to see what He has planned next!
This week I had Blob duty. Basically what that entails is me sitting on the dock, making sure that the kids are following the rules so they stay safe. It's a one-person job, so not the most exciting thing in the world, but still good. It was cool to get to know some of the students just a little bit better. One big plus about it? I got so much tanner this week! :)
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Prayer requests for the week ahead:
1. Pray that we would continue to work together as a team, and continue to get better at doing it. Just because we did some things right this last week, doesn't mean that we don't have more to learn about it. Pray that we would all keep that in mind, and that we would all be open to learning and growing more.
2. Pray for the students who don't know God personally yet. Pray that God would make them uncomfortable until they realize it's Jesus they need, and He's the only One who can fill the void in their lives.
3. Continue to pray for physical endurance, strength, and awake-ness (Ok, so that's not a word, but you know what I mean). I feel that week after week, my body just gets more and more worn down. Pray that the food we eat would give us the energy we need, and that the sleep we get would be restful.
4. All other prayer requests are still in effect as well.
*Shout out to my CBC youth that are coming this week!!!!! I'm so excited to see what God has for you all!!!! (Aaaaaaaannd I'm excited to see you! :D)*
As always, I am so so so grateful for your prayers!!! Goodbye for now, and until next weekend!! :)
Lots of love!
Carly <3
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Super Summer 2010--reflection from week 3 and prayer requests for week 4
Hello again!
Wow. God is Good! I can absolutely never say that enough!! He keeps showing me and showing me little glimpses of what that means, and it SO rocks. :)
So week three...SO much to say, both good and challenging. (But challenging is good too, right?) Let's start with some ways that God worked:
At LEAST 27 students accepted Jesus!!!!!!!!!! Pray for these students as they now have to go back into their lives and live that out. There were over 130 decisions total, including things like re-dedication, wanting to be baptized, special prayer requests, assurance of salvation, being called into vocational ministry...etc. Keep these students in your prayers as well, that whatever their decision, God would give them the strength to carry on and to do His will.
This week we were "Orange Bowl". Our mascot was a football player. You should have seen everyone doing the silent cheer...it was really funny to watch. We were up against the "Blueberries", "Team Shrek", and (this is the best one!) the "Golden Tickets". By the way, the orange team had its first overall victory this last week! (Not that it matters, but it's kinda cool:) )
This week I had KP duty for every meal. It was kinda cool to be able to meet every single student and sponsor in the whole camp (which totaled over 400 people), and giving them all high-fives. I also got to work at the high ropes course! That was a lot of fun too!
God had three different students for me to talk to in the encouraging room this week. The first one was a young and adorable girl who shared some struggles with me about her home life. Praise God that He was able to speak through me to her about some ways she can improve the way she reacts to situations at home. The second was a girl who needed to know if when she had accepted Christ that it had really counted. Through scripture, God was able to help her see that He's always there, even if we can't sense Him, and that she really was a follower of Him. The third was a young man who decided to come back to talk with someone about how he felt God calling him to share Jesus with his friends when he got back home. Not an easy task at all, but it was neat to be able to remind him that God goes with him in those times. Just like our theme verse! "God said, 'My presence will go with you, I'll see the journey to the end.' Moses said, 'If Your presence doesn't take the lead here, call this trip off right now.' " The Holy Spirit gives us the words to speak in those situations! I am so privileged to be used by the Almighty for His glory and Kingdom. God is SO Good!
I know I usually do two blogs, one to reflect on the previous week, one for prayer requests, but this weekend was especially busy. Part of the reason is because I got a visit from some very special people! We went to First Southern Baptist Abeliene, where Shawnee sang a special, and Nathan had the opportunity to preach! Both of my fellow collegiate staffers did a wonderful job! God used them in a very special way that morning!
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So for week four, here are some specific things you can be praying over...
1. Pray that God would bind Satan and kick him OUT of this place. Satan has been able to get footholds in and amongst us for far too long. He has no place here, but I know that my God is Greater and Mightier than he is, and He will work no matter what.
2. Pray for unity for us as a collegiate staff. This is something we've really been struggling with since the beginning, but I feel that we're finally getting close to being able to say that we're working as a team.
3. Pray for us as c. staff that we would give God all of ourselves, and more because He supplies us more than ourselves so that we can turn around and let it flow out into others' lives.
4. My prayer and reminder for myself this week (and probably the rest of the time here) comes from 2 Corinthians 9:5b-8, 10-15. I'm also working on memorizing this passage so that I can better carry it with me.
5. All other prayer requests from previous posts still apply, so feel absolutely free to go back and read them!
Thank you so much for all the prayer you have done thusfar, and all that you will continue to do. God is teaching me about the power of prayer while I'm here. We prayer walk a lot, and we've talked about how great times of revival have started with prayer. So don't think you're not helping!!!!
I have to go, but again and again, thank you!
Until next weekend!
Lots and lots of love in Him,
Carly <3
Wow. God is Good! I can absolutely never say that enough!! He keeps showing me and showing me little glimpses of what that means, and it SO rocks. :)
So week three...SO much to say, both good and challenging. (But challenging is good too, right?) Let's start with some ways that God worked:
At LEAST 27 students accepted Jesus!!!!!!!!!! Pray for these students as they now have to go back into their lives and live that out. There were over 130 decisions total, including things like re-dedication, wanting to be baptized, special prayer requests, assurance of salvation, being called into vocational ministry...etc. Keep these students in your prayers as well, that whatever their decision, God would give them the strength to carry on and to do His will.
This week we were "Orange Bowl". Our mascot was a football player. You should have seen everyone doing the silent cheer...it was really funny to watch. We were up against the "Blueberries", "Team Shrek", and (this is the best one!) the "Golden Tickets". By the way, the orange team had its first overall victory this last week! (Not that it matters, but it's kinda cool:) )
This week I had KP duty for every meal. It was kinda cool to be able to meet every single student and sponsor in the whole camp (which totaled over 400 people), and giving them all high-fives. I also got to work at the high ropes course! That was a lot of fun too!
God had three different students for me to talk to in the encouraging room this week. The first one was a young and adorable girl who shared some struggles with me about her home life. Praise God that He was able to speak through me to her about some ways she can improve the way she reacts to situations at home. The second was a girl who needed to know if when she had accepted Christ that it had really counted. Through scripture, God was able to help her see that He's always there, even if we can't sense Him, and that she really was a follower of Him. The third was a young man who decided to come back to talk with someone about how he felt God calling him to share Jesus with his friends when he got back home. Not an easy task at all, but it was neat to be able to remind him that God goes with him in those times. Just like our theme verse! "God said, 'My presence will go with you, I'll see the journey to the end.' Moses said, 'If Your presence doesn't take the lead here, call this trip off right now.' " The Holy Spirit gives us the words to speak in those situations! I am so privileged to be used by the Almighty for His glory and Kingdom. God is SO Good!
I know I usually do two blogs, one to reflect on the previous week, one for prayer requests, but this weekend was especially busy. Part of the reason is because I got a visit from some very special people! We went to First Southern Baptist Abeliene, where Shawnee sang a special, and Nathan had the opportunity to preach! Both of my fellow collegiate staffers did a wonderful job! God used them in a very special way that morning!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So for week four, here are some specific things you can be praying over...
1. Pray that God would bind Satan and kick him OUT of this place. Satan has been able to get footholds in and amongst us for far too long. He has no place here, but I know that my God is Greater and Mightier than he is, and He will work no matter what.
2. Pray for unity for us as a collegiate staff. This is something we've really been struggling with since the beginning, but I feel that we're finally getting close to being able to say that we're working as a team.
3. Pray for us as c. staff that we would give God all of ourselves, and more because He supplies us more than ourselves so that we can turn around and let it flow out into others' lives.
4. My prayer and reminder for myself this week (and probably the rest of the time here) comes from 2 Corinthians 9:5b-8, 10-15. I'm also working on memorizing this passage so that I can better carry it with me.
5. All other prayer requests from previous posts still apply, so feel absolutely free to go back and read them!
Thank you so much for all the prayer you have done thusfar, and all that you will continue to do. God is teaching me about the power of prayer while I'm here. We prayer walk a lot, and we've talked about how great times of revival have started with prayer. So don't think you're not helping!!!!
I have to go, but again and again, thank you!
Until next weekend!
Lots and lots of love in Him,
Carly <3
Monday, July 12, 2010
Prayer requests for week three
Hello again! I hope you're still doing well!
Just a few ways you can be praying this week:
1. Pray for all the collegiate staff for physical health, strength, energy and endurance. It's very easy for Satan to grab onto our attitudes when we're tired. Pray for health, and pray that while we sleep and eat, we would be getting the rest and energy we need.
2. Pray that while we're here, we would learn what it means to work together as a team, all focused on the same goal, and that is Jesus Christ.
3. Please pray for my heart, that while I'm here, it would be here too--in the fullest way possible. I'm not much use to the Kingdom at all when I'm being selfish! Please pray that God would continue to capture my heart in new ways that only He can do, and that while I'm here, my attention would be on the tasks that are in front of me.
4. Continue to pray for the hearts of the students that come here, that God would transform them to love Him more.
All other prayer requests still apply from this last week as well. Thank you so so so so so so so much!! God is up to some pretty amazing things!
I'll post again on Friday or Saturday! And until then, I would love to see letters of how you're doing!
Tons of love!!
<3 Carly <3
Just a few ways you can be praying this week:
1. Pray for all the collegiate staff for physical health, strength, energy and endurance. It's very easy for Satan to grab onto our attitudes when we're tired. Pray for health, and pray that while we sleep and eat, we would be getting the rest and energy we need.
2. Pray that while we're here, we would learn what it means to work together as a team, all focused on the same goal, and that is Jesus Christ.
3. Please pray for my heart, that while I'm here, it would be here too--in the fullest way possible. I'm not much use to the Kingdom at all when I'm being selfish! Please pray that God would continue to capture my heart in new ways that only He can do, and that while I'm here, my attention would be on the tasks that are in front of me.
4. Continue to pray for the hearts of the students that come here, that God would transform them to love Him more.
All other prayer requests still apply from this last week as well. Thank you so so so so so so so much!! God is up to some pretty amazing things!
I'll post again on Friday or Saturday! And until then, I would love to see letters of how you're doing!
Tons of love!!
<3 Carly <3
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Super Summer 2010--reflection from week 2
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Hello everyone!! Thanks for keeping up with how I'm doing! I hope you're doing well!
It's extremely weird how different this week was from last week! The entire atmosphere was really different. I wish I knew how many campers accepted Christ, but we weren't told. I heard of at least three, but I'm sure there were more, as well as a lot of other types of decisions. But even if only one life was changed because of what God has us doing here, it would be worth it. But even if we don't know how God is working, or can't see it, that sure doesn't mean He isn't doing incredible things! One thing I've learned about God is that He is a Purposeful God. Every single student (and sponsor) were here together this past week for a reason. God won't waste those things, but instead He'll use them to change hearts and lives, and for His glory.
This week, the orange team was "God the Builders". Before you ask what that has to do with the color orange, just think construction vest. Now can you picture it? Okay, good :) We battled it out in the B.L.A.S.T. games against the "Goldfish" (gold), the "Blue Beluga Whales" (blue), and "Lime Disease" (lime green), whose mascot was a giant green tick. Extremely creative, but gross all the same. :)
So every week, our afternoon jobs (for us as collegiate staff) rotate. Last week, I was out at the tower, this week Nathan and I were out at the lake helping kids with paddle boats and canoes. While it might not be the mosty exciting job (unless of course you have three different canoe tips in the span of about 45 minutes :) ), I really enjoyed the relaxed pace of it. God definitely blessed us with some incredible temperatures this week! There was a lot of cloud-cover, and the humidity wasn't bad at all! What a blessing that was, all in itself! That may sound simple, but going on little sleep is hard enough on our bodies without the help of immense heat.
While I was out there on Thursday afternoon, some girls from my family group came and wanted to get into a canoe. One of them originally wasn't going to get in with her friends, so she was sitting in the grass on the hill watching as her friends got their life-jackets on. It was really cool that God presented the opportunity to sit down with her for a few minutes and ask what God had been teaching her during the week. She said that she really liked some of the things that the camp pastor (Chad Poe) had said about our comfort. He had preached about whether or not out comfort was more important than God's calling for us. I could instantly relate to what she was sharing with me. This crazy task that God has called me to this summer gets really hard at times, but just like my girl had been challenged by that, I began to be, too. And I can honestly say that it's only by my Savior's strength I can do what He has for me to do. He once told me, "I will never give you a task to do without the means to do it." I know that by His Grace, He'll help me continue to do His work while I'm here. God is so Good.
For those of you who don't know, we have what's called the "encouraging room" here. When the pastor gives an invitation for response at the end of worship, the encouraging room is for us as staff and sponsors to talk with students, and it's also where a good majority of the decisions are made. It wasn't in God's plan for me to go back with anyone during week 1, but on Thursday night, one of the girls from my family group came back. she came looking specifically for me (COOL!!!), and we went back to the encouraging room together. I was so encouraged by this young girl's heart for the Lord! She has only been a believer for a year; she accepted Christ the previous year at Super Summer. She's only just finished the 8th grade, and she's the only one in her family that knows Jesus. She just needed someone who would listen and who could encourage her. I am blessed to have been that person! She shared about some of the struggles that she has about living out her faith, and asked advice about some things (one of which included a boy because she wanted to be careful to make good, Godly decisions about it). God used her to touch my heart greatly, and I was challenged by her as well. There were things that she's good at that I'm still in need of working on. But when we were finished talking and after I had given her a hug, she brought such joy to my heart when she looked me in the eyes and gave an incredibly sincere "thank you". I told her that she was "SO welcome", and that's what I was indeed there for. We're facebook friends already, so now I can keep in contact with her, ask her how things are going, and encourage her on in the faith. God is so incredibly Good.
After reading and discussing the first chapter of Ephesians last Sunday night, we were each challenged to take a phrase or sentence to focus on this week. After getting a small glimpse last week of how God works everything together and wanting to learn more about it, I chose to focus on His attribute of being the "Great Orchestrator". I saw more evidence of that this week, as I was able to talk to one of my girls at the lake, and because God put the other girl in my family group so that when she came forward, He could use us both in each other's lives. God is so incredibly, and wonderfully Good!
So that's just an update on how this past week has gone. Look for another post tomorrow, it'll have some specific ways that you can be praying. Thank you so so so much for your prayers! They help more than you (or I) know!! Keep lovin' on God--He's the only One who can fill us, and the only One who can love us perfectly. :)
TONS of love!!
<3 Carly <3
Hello everyone!! Thanks for keeping up with how I'm doing! I hope you're doing well!
It's extremely weird how different this week was from last week! The entire atmosphere was really different. I wish I knew how many campers accepted Christ, but we weren't told. I heard of at least three, but I'm sure there were more, as well as a lot of other types of decisions. But even if only one life was changed because of what God has us doing here, it would be worth it. But even if we don't know how God is working, or can't see it, that sure doesn't mean He isn't doing incredible things! One thing I've learned about God is that He is a Purposeful God. Every single student (and sponsor) were here together this past week for a reason. God won't waste those things, but instead He'll use them to change hearts and lives, and for His glory.
This week, the orange team was "God the Builders". Before you ask what that has to do with the color orange, just think construction vest. Now can you picture it? Okay, good :) We battled it out in the B.L.A.S.T. games against the "Goldfish" (gold), the "Blue Beluga Whales" (blue), and "Lime Disease" (lime green), whose mascot was a giant green tick. Extremely creative, but gross all the same. :)
So every week, our afternoon jobs (for us as collegiate staff) rotate. Last week, I was out at the tower, this week Nathan and I were out at the lake helping kids with paddle boats and canoes. While it might not be the mosty exciting job (unless of course you have three different canoe tips in the span of about 45 minutes :) ), I really enjoyed the relaxed pace of it. God definitely blessed us with some incredible temperatures this week! There was a lot of cloud-cover, and the humidity wasn't bad at all! What a blessing that was, all in itself! That may sound simple, but going on little sleep is hard enough on our bodies without the help of immense heat.
While I was out there on Thursday afternoon, some girls from my family group came and wanted to get into a canoe. One of them originally wasn't going to get in with her friends, so she was sitting in the grass on the hill watching as her friends got their life-jackets on. It was really cool that God presented the opportunity to sit down with her for a few minutes and ask what God had been teaching her during the week. She said that she really liked some of the things that the camp pastor (Chad Poe) had said about our comfort. He had preached about whether or not out comfort was more important than God's calling for us. I could instantly relate to what she was sharing with me. This crazy task that God has called me to this summer gets really hard at times, but just like my girl had been challenged by that, I began to be, too. And I can honestly say that it's only by my Savior's strength I can do what He has for me to do. He once told me, "I will never give you a task to do without the means to do it." I know that by His Grace, He'll help me continue to do His work while I'm here. God is so Good.
For those of you who don't know, we have what's called the "encouraging room" here. When the pastor gives an invitation for response at the end of worship, the encouraging room is for us as staff and sponsors to talk with students, and it's also where a good majority of the decisions are made. It wasn't in God's plan for me to go back with anyone during week 1, but on Thursday night, one of the girls from my family group came back. she came looking specifically for me (COOL!!!), and we went back to the encouraging room together. I was so encouraged by this young girl's heart for the Lord! She has only been a believer for a year; she accepted Christ the previous year at Super Summer. She's only just finished the 8th grade, and she's the only one in her family that knows Jesus. She just needed someone who would listen and who could encourage her. I am blessed to have been that person! She shared about some of the struggles that she has about living out her faith, and asked advice about some things (one of which included a boy because she wanted to be careful to make good, Godly decisions about it). God used her to touch my heart greatly, and I was challenged by her as well. There were things that she's good at that I'm still in need of working on. But when we were finished talking and after I had given her a hug, she brought such joy to my heart when she looked me in the eyes and gave an incredibly sincere "thank you". I told her that she was "SO welcome", and that's what I was indeed there for. We're facebook friends already, so now I can keep in contact with her, ask her how things are going, and encourage her on in the faith. God is so incredibly Good.
After reading and discussing the first chapter of Ephesians last Sunday night, we were each challenged to take a phrase or sentence to focus on this week. After getting a small glimpse last week of how God works everything together and wanting to learn more about it, I chose to focus on His attribute of being the "Great Orchestrator". I saw more evidence of that this week, as I was able to talk to one of my girls at the lake, and because God put the other girl in my family group so that when she came forward, He could use us both in each other's lives. God is so incredibly, and wonderfully Good!
So that's just an update on how this past week has gone. Look for another post tomorrow, it'll have some specific ways that you can be praying. Thank you so so so much for your prayers! They help more than you (or I) know!! Keep lovin' on God--He's the only One who can fill us, and the only One who can love us perfectly. :)
TONS of love!!
<3 Carly <3
Monday, July 5, 2010
Prayer requests for week two
Hello everyone!
I just thought I would give some specific things you could pray for this week.
1. Please pray for our physical health, strength, endurance, and energy. On little sleep and lots of heat, our job isn't easy!
2. Pray for our emotional energy and endurance as well. We spend so much of it pouring into others, we need to make sure we're getting filled up as well.
3. Pray for spiritual discernment, that we would let the Holy Spirit be our guiding Force when we need to make decisions.
4. God has been showing me what it means to live outside of my comfort, pray that I would not only do that, but that I would delight in it because I know that God is using me to impact the Kingdom for His glory! What an honor to be chosen!!
Here are some things that God has been teaching me:
1.God has been teaching me what it truly means to pick up my cross every day, and die to self. There are a lot of difficult things about this task He has called me to. I have a new understanding of what living for Him and not myself means. Truly, what I want does not matter in the slightest. I have a whole new meaning to the phrase "reckless abandon". By His power, that is how I choose to live!
2.Also, I've now seen firsthand that living sold out for Him is not for the faint-hearted. God calls us to things that are far greater than our capabilities...but not above His. Only by His strength are we able to what He wills of us.
So, you should write me a letter... :)
Webster Conference Center
C/o Carly Donaldson
2601 North Ohio
Salina, KS 67401
There, I've even made it easy for ya! Thank you so so so so so much for your prayers!! They are much needed and appreciated! Pray that above all else, God would move in the lives of everyone here (students, sponsors, staff) in ways that only He can, that His will would be done, and lastly that He would receive all of the glory!!
Lots of love!!
Carly <3
I just thought I would give some specific things you could pray for this week.
1. Please pray for our physical health, strength, endurance, and energy. On little sleep and lots of heat, our job isn't easy!
2. Pray for our emotional energy and endurance as well. We spend so much of it pouring into others, we need to make sure we're getting filled up as well.
3. Pray for spiritual discernment, that we would let the Holy Spirit be our guiding Force when we need to make decisions.
4. God has been showing me what it means to live outside of my comfort, pray that I would not only do that, but that I would delight in it because I know that God is using me to impact the Kingdom for His glory! What an honor to be chosen!!
Here are some things that God has been teaching me:
1.God has been teaching me what it truly means to pick up my cross every day, and die to self. There are a lot of difficult things about this task He has called me to. I have a new understanding of what living for Him and not myself means. Truly, what I want does not matter in the slightest. I have a whole new meaning to the phrase "reckless abandon". By His power, that is how I choose to live!
2.Also, I've now seen firsthand that living sold out for Him is not for the faint-hearted. God calls us to things that are far greater than our capabilities...but not above His. Only by His strength are we able to what He wills of us.
So, you should write me a letter... :)
Webster Conference Center
C/o Carly Donaldson
2601 North Ohio
Salina, KS 67401
There, I've even made it easy for ya! Thank you so so so so so much for your prayers!! They are much needed and appreciated! Pray that above all else, God would move in the lives of everyone here (students, sponsors, staff) in ways that only He can, that His will would be done, and lastly that He would receive all of the glory!!
Lots of love!!
Carly <3
Friday, July 2, 2010
Super Summer 2010--refleciton from week 1
Friday, July 2, 2010
Wow! What an incredible first week! God is too good for words; that being said, you might want to take a bathroom break, grab something to drink, maybe a snack or something--I have quite a bit to say about what He is doing. God has been working this week in some pretty amazing ways! I can't wait to share!!
Ok, I don't even know where to start! Well, how about with the fact that we have 11 new brothers and sisters in Christ!!!!!!!! And just because this week of camp is over, that doesn't mean that God is done with them.
So there are a few things they're doing differently this year, one of which is "family groups". Each collegiate staff member has a group of 25-30(ish) students who they get to know a little bit better, and get to teach them from the Word. The Y.E.S. members (youth evangelism staff) have outdone themselves with this idea! It's such a great way to make the whole camp experience more personal. After learning their names (NOT EASY, I had 28 in my group. Anything more than like...5 is difficult), you see them everywhere--meal lines, challenge course, lake, etc. You can high-five them and ask how they're doing with God. It really lets them know that there's someone who genuinely cares about them. And it's great for us because we have specific kids we can pray for all week. And when one of your kids makes a decision, you can celebrate with them and encourage them because you already have that relationship base with them.
So there was this student in my family group who touched my heart this week. He has very little range of motion anywhere in his body. He's 14 years old, and his favorite cereal is Fruity Pebbles. He is constrained to a wheelchair. He was so excited to be on the orange team (The Orange Cream Dream Team) during B.L.A.S.T. games this week. He was able to participate in everything we played, by way of his sponsor who pushed him around in his chair around the obstacles and even through the sand into the lake when we were out there. He was one of the loudest ones to cheer during the games, and loved every second of it. And so did I. He was such an incredible inspiration to me this week. Pray for him. Pray that God would make Himself famous because of one boy with a disability. God has already shown me so much through him. Pray that God would bless him, his family, and his wonderful sponsor who wanted no credit whatsoever for doing everything that he did.
There was this other girl in my family group who stuck with me all week. Every time she saw me, she would glue herself to my side. She rededicated her life this week. Only God can change hearts and lives. And that's exactly what He's in the business of doing.
So we all have specific jobs that change every week while we're here. This week, I was checking paperwork out at the climbing tower and zip line. I was excited about that job until Tuesday came. I was having a lot of trouble keeping the different groups organized, and the heat was most definitely not helping my attitude. I may not have shown it, but I was not being a cheerful giver. It was a very stressful afternoon. There was one very bright light during my Tuesday afternoon, though. There was a small group of middle school students, brought for the very first time to Super Summer by a young married husband and wife. What a gift from God they were that afternoon! They were so incredibly patient with me, and with the fact that we were running so far behind schedule. They were encouraging and had very Christ-like attitudes. God sent them at the very right time. There isn't a need of ours that is hidden or mysterious to Him. He knows exactly what we need--much better than we do, for sure! So thank you, Macksville Church, and thank You, LORD for sending them my way.
Thursday, I was excited to head out to the tower, get my job done with for the week, and not do it again. But me being there ended up being the absolute biggest blessing I could've never dreamed of. After it all happened, I knew exactly why God had put me out there this week. Some kids and a few sponsors came out, without being signed up for a time slot. One of those kids was sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed by the same faithful sponsor who had acted as caregiver all week. I see them approach the wonderful Y.E.S. member who was in charge. I see her go over and get a harness, and take it back to the little gathering of people. You guessed it. They were sending my friend up in the air. For the particular element they wanted him to be able to do, five people are hooked to a rope, and one person is hooked at the other end. The five run one way, the one runs the other, sending the one person up in the air. It's called "Ready to Fly".
After they had gotten a harness on him, they hooked him up to the rope that was going to take him into the air. His sponsor took him in his wheelchair and ran with him. The five runners went the other direction, and we all heard, "Wooooo hooooooooo!!" as he flew. What a beautiful sight to see! This gave me a whole new meaning to Philippians 4:13. I was the one asked to take all the pictures. God had me there so that He could bless me in a way I never would have thought possible, and more importantly to bring glory to His wonderful name. It took everything within me not to swell up with tears.
In the slideshow the next morning (this morning), after all the pictures of the B.L.A.S.T. games were done, there was a slide that said, "Do you think it's impossible to fly?" As pictures of my dear friend started rolling by, everyone started cheering for the beauty of what had happened. Funny enough, the runners for him were the same awesome bunch that I had seen back on Tuesday. The two groups had never met before this week, but when asked if they could be runners for my friend, the response was this: "We would LOVE to. We are [his] biggest fans!" And he flew that day. And God is so Good. I still can't believe that He allowed me to witness it all. It's funny how God has something in mind for you, and you're a little resistant to go where He wants you. And then He changes your perspective by showing you just a little piece of Who He is.
God is at work in so many ways. Ways that we have absolutely no knowledge of whatsoever. But He has invited us to be a part of it all. He has called us to be hands and feet, and to do His work. And I don't know about you, but I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO honored and privileged to get to be a very small part in it.
Exodus 33:14-15 is our theme verse this summer. Will you join God where He's at work?
He's promised it'll be hard, but He's also promised that it will be worth it. I encourage you to go out and make His Name famous.
Lots of Love!!
Carly <3
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