LAKE FORESTR A N C H

SuMMERREFLECTIoNs

2014

CONTENTSSUMMER REFLECTIONS 2014

03 SUMMER HIGHLIGHT FROM RICH

04 RICH’S REFLECTION

05 NICK’S REFLECTION

06 STAFF REFLECTIONS

24 MISSION CAMP MACON REFLECTIONS

26 ADULT LEADERS REFLECTIONS

28 LAKE FOREST RANCH NEWS

29 SUMMER 2015 CAMP SCHEDULE

30 GIVING TO LFR AND CLASSIFIEDS

31 PHOTO REFLECTIONS

l f r2014

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIRMANJ.L. MORRIS

VICE CHAIRMANSTEVE MORRIS

SECRETARYBECKY COWAN

RICHARD BARGE KATHY CASE

RANDY MORRISRICK SHURTZ

CONTACT US BY PHONECAMP LINE - 662.726.5052FAX LINE - 662.726.4388

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORRICH MALONE

rich@lakeforestranch.com

ASSISTANT DIRECTORNICK HALL

nick@lakeforestranch.com

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATORSANDY MALONE

sandy@lakeforestranch.com

FACILITIES MANAGERJEFF TROYER

jeff@lakeforestranch.com

ASSISTANT FACILITIES MANAGERCHAD CHAPMAN

chad@lakeforestranch.com

HOUSEKEEPING DIRECTOR

CANDI NOLTCRNOLT@YAHOO.COM

FOOD SERVICE LINDA MORRIS

sllsmorris@comcast.net

BLAKE MORRIS

sirblake2001@hotmail.com

CAMP INTERN

CALLIE DAWKINS

callie@lakeforestranch.com

LAKE FOREST RANCH STAFF

3

SUMMERHIGHLIGHTS

i love being a counselor! - by katherine dunawayThe following words from one of our dear counselors this summer beautifully sum up what we have heard from men and women who have served as counselors at LFR for years. If that is you, see if you can relate to Katherine’s words.

I love being a counselor! I was called to be a counselor and I love it! I love it with every fiber in my body. I love late night talks and laughter. I love sitting at a table during meals with campers and facilitating games and being a team leader. I love being brought to the end of myself to see that it’s only the beginning of knowing God. I love being in a place where I quickly see myself needing God and where He always provides. I love lack of sleep and cabin time and rainy day procedure. I love hard frustrating girls who very much want nothing to do with me because it shows me there is always something deeper, and I love the vessel the Lord uses to uncover it. I love being broken and being “forced” to rely on the body to help me. I love crazy cabins where no one listens, and sweet ones I connect with so well, and everywhere in between. I love “East to West” service and skit night, and water basketball even when it’s stinkin’ cold. I love cabin clean-up and table cheers at mealtime. I love being constantly amazed by God through my campers. I love having 5 in my cabin and I love having 11 and needing an extra bed. I love running around like crazy, and answering the same question over and over, and cleaning up spilled drinks. I love gray team and cabin 8. I love getting to be a big sister and a friend and sometimes a punching bag because some girls just don’t have anyone else who would love them after treating me like they did. I love letting God love them through me. I love pine cone duty and grace.

“east to west” – This summer, on the third night of each camp session, our campers, staff and adult leaders got to experience a very meaningful worship event that we called, “East to West.” In Psalm 103:12 David wrote these prophetic words about the good news that was to come through the Messiah, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” It was a beautiful sight to behold campers, often with tears in their eyes, hurling their dark rocks (representing their sin) into the lake often remembering (and in many cases trusting for the first time) that He has taken those sins away forever. The splashing of the dark rock in the lake never to be seen again was moving. As you read this year’s “Summer Reflections” magazine, you will find several stories of our Savior’s beautiful work in the hearts of staff members, campers and adult leaders as they were all reminded just how far the east is from the west and why that is a really big deal when it is referring to the removal of our sin problem and the beginning of our new life in Jesus Christ.

new creation report – “If any man be in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.” So many of the stories that you will be reading in this edition of “Summer Reflections” tell of the wonderful transformations that took place in the lives of a great many campers at LFR during summer 2014. Our counselors followed up on over 65% of the 1900 campers this summer. Each of them was mailed follow-up letters and materials, after their camp weeks ended, to help them in their growth with Christ. Of those followed up, 244 were first time salvation decisions to receive Christ as Savior. Awesome! One counselor told us that during a camp session this summer all seven of his campers were saved during the week. We know that you will enjoy reading some of the stories about life change that happened at LFR in answer to the prayers of all of us. Prepare to have your cup filled to overflowing with joy! And thanks for carrying the load with us this summer through awesome intercessory prayer!

I love cabin devotions and dance parties. I love walking girls at unreasonable hours to the nurse for something that really isn’t a big deal. I love waking them up in the morning and telling them I love them at night. I love the times everything goes as planned and the times everything gets turned upside down. I love the one-on-ones, even when I allow them to stress me out. I love the times girls accept Christ with me and I love it when they do that with someone else, and the times when they don’t and I never see a result because I trust them with God, the provider of growth and the one who is doing all the work anyway. I love wet beds and dryer runs when everyone’s towels are soaked. I love laughter because of overwhelming joy and tears due to extreme emptiness and brokenness. I love it when the Lord gives me answers (for myself and my girls), and I love having no answers. I love Pow Wow, and Kids Praise and Recharge worship. I love clingy girls and ones who avoid me like the plague. I love the work the Lord has done in and through me this summer.

See more from Katherine on page 12.

4

In Romans 1:16 Paul says these exciting words, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” The gospel, or good news, of Christ was the message for our Bible study this summer. You may say, “isn’t that the message at LFR every summer?” YES; good point! However, the difference this summer was that we also taught kids how to share the good news with others. In doing so, many children discovered that they had never truly understood the gospel and once they heard the good news from the Word of God, faith and transformation came. The Bible study was entitled, “Write IT on a Rock.” Several simple I-T acronyms along with 6 different color rocks were used to explain the gospel message. Here’s a “grown up” version of that - The gold rock = I Treasure (what we treasure most and long for most can only be found in Jesus Christ – we were created to only be satisfied by Him). The dark rock = I Turned away (“all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way.” This “turning away” is called sin and it separates us from the great treasure). The red rock = I Trust (when we trust in Jesus, Who died to pay the debt for our sin, He takes our sin away “as far as the east is from the west.”). The white rock = I Trade (not only does Jesus takes away our sin when we place our trust in Him, but He also gives us His eternal and righteous life through His Holy Spirit indwelling us and making us a new creation in Him – this becomes our new identity when we trust in Jesus.). The last two rocks are our response to this good news. They are the precious rock and the purple rock, and they stand for I Thank and I Tell. Two of the best evidences of having received forgiveness of sin and eternal life are immense gratitude and a passion for telling others about this good news.

We first introduced “Write IT on a Rock” six years ago, but when we brought it back this year, there was a bit of a change with a greater emphasis on the white rock. As mentioned, the white rock in our Bible study represented the righteous, holy, pure and sinless life of Jesus Christ that we receive when we place our faith in Christ to save us and to take away our sin. When Jesus took our sin, He gave us His perfect, holy and righteous life to reside on the inside of us. His perfect life that we receive at the moment we are saved is called eternal life. It is not only a life that lasts forever, but it is His life that is filled with His glory right NOW! The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “For all have

sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But thanks be to God – you and I don’t have to remain in that condition of always falling short of His glory because of this awesome truth - “Christ in you, (is) the hope of glory.” Col. 1:27. Jesus has put His glory back into man through faith in Him! He took away our sin and He gave us His glory-filled life on the inside of us; that is Good News! (2 Cor. 5:21)

We got to witness the glory of Jesus being displayed time and time again this summer through our LFR summer staff. I am very happy that you, through this little magazine, will get a peek into our glorious summer 2014.

By the way, if you haven’t already read the book, The Saving Life of Christ by Major Ian Thomas, let me encourage you to get a copy of this amazing little book and let God, through Major Thomas, remind you of the glory that can be revealed through the life of any man or woman who is saved, surrendered and who is living daily by faith in Jesus Christ. Yes, the Christian life is not only about a changed life, but most clearly stated – it is about an exchanged life – my death for His life; my sin for His glory. Amen!

write it on a rock

RICH MALONEEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

5

NICK HALLASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Our first summer at Lake Forest was more than we had imagined. Our prayer at the beginning of the summer was that God would allow my wife and I to minister together as we found our unique roles at Lake Forest Ranch. He did this and more. We were so encouraged by a wonderful summer staff that loved on us and on our children. We quickly built relationships and found ourselves in a sweet Christ-centered community that reinforced God’s calling us to be here.

My primary role this summer was to observe. I was learning so much at once. As soon as I learned one schedule, it would change and I’d have to start from scratch. There were terms, abbreviations, and gestures that only LFR staff would know, like Page 8, FOB, JRD, ATC, Frat Snapping, and The Annual Bobby D’Alessandro Memorial LFR Golf Open. I know Bobby, and he’s alive. That’s why it was so confusing, but fun at the same time.

I was also learning the summer Bible study and how it was being taught to campers. One of the ways that God reaffirmed our being here was the realization that we were not manipulating kids to respond to the Gospel. They heard the whole Gospel in a simple, clear way. By “whole Gospel,” I mean that they heard that Jesus didn’t only offer salvation from Hell, but that he offered us Himself - His life dwelling in us as we trade away the darkness of our sin. This “Jesus life” is abundant, joyful, and free. HE works in us and through us in spite of weakness to direct our decisions, our words, our actions, and our thoughts as we surrender to His indwelling life. This truth was communicated to kids in a way that allowed them to respond without coercion, and so many did!

As I reflected on the children and youth who surrendered to Jesus and made the “trade” this summer, it was abundantly clear that my family and I are supposed to be here. There were also encouraging moments with our summer staff that would remind me of why LFR exists and how so much is accomplished every summer. Staff would often come to the end of themselves, and that is when Jesus would show up in them. After lack of sleep or sickness, counselors would feel as though they had nothing to give a camper, yet our Father would create opportunities for meaningful conversation. The staff would have nothing to give, but the Spirit of our Lord would take over and work in spite of them. It was a reminder that this work is not our own, but His.

God affirmed so much through our first summer at LFR. He showed me why this place is so special. The community here was sweet and real. The Gospel bore fruit among campers as well as among staff as they experienced the Christ-life in very tangible ways. The Gospel also bore fruit in my own family as my children heard the Good News each week and experienced rich fellowship as “camp kids.” We look forward to many more summers at Lake Forest Ranch!

6

STAFF REFLECTIONS

MK PEAVYsenior counselor | brandon, ms

What does my identity in Christ look like? It’s something that everyone in the world longs to know. Who am I? And more importantly, who am I in Christ? The Bible lays out many clear answers, like in Romans eight when Paul tells us that we are adopted sons and daughters of the King. We are royalty, and we now cry out to Him saying, “Abba Father.”

A few years ago God took me on a journey of discovering what that looked like, and I thought that I had learned everything there was to know about my identity in Him. But this summer God revealed another layer of that truth by asking another question. “What is Christ’s identity in YOU?” Even before I arrived at LFR this summer God had placed a certain scripture in my mind and heart. It was Colossians 1:26-27, “…the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” I had been pondering this verse, and my mind was being overwhelmed by the fact that the greatest mystery of all time is Christ in me. Of all the things in the world to know, that is the greatest mystery.

Every summer at LFR we memorize a passage of scripture as a staff. We had thrown around a few good ones as we were deciding what to learn this year and none really seemed to fit. A week or so went by and I had forgotten all about it, but then one day Mr. Rich announced that God had shown Him what our scripture was going to be. He announced that it was going to be Colossians 1:15-29. God knew how to get my attention and showed me that He still had more to teach me. I began reading over Colossians and really trying to seek the Lord about what He meant by saying, “What is Christ’s identity in YOU?”

I had a camper who was around eight years old and when called on to pray, she would begin to tell God how good He is. She would thank Him for how big He is and that He holds the whole world in His hand. She would thank Him for knowing everything in our hearts and that He sent His son to die on the cross for us. When this little girl began to pray it wasn’t a “Dear God, thank you for today. Thank you for camp. Help us all to have fun today.

Amen” kind of prayer. She would lose herself in the way she talked to God and she would have no doubt in her mind that He was in control and that He was right there with us. Many people pray as though they have to say nice things to God and “butter Him up” in order for Him to answer their prayers, but what I realized is that we have Christ in us! He already knows us, and we don’t have to say the right words in order for Him to like us. If Christ lives in me then I have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, so why should I pray silly prayers like, “God would you please do this” ,or, “if you want to, then heal my friend.” Instead, I began to actually believe that what I prayed would actually happen. I began to pray that specific people who came to camp would leave different than when they came, and that people who were sick would actually be healed. God revealing to me this new truth was only the beginning of what He wanted to show me.

During another week of camp, I sat down with a seven year-old camper and had our one-on–one time. She had not really seemed to be responding all week to what we were saying in Bible study, so honestly my expectations of our one-on-one was to talk about her pets the whole time. When we sat down and began talking, I asked her what God had been teaching her recently. Her response amazed me. She said that God had been showing her a lot about Solomon recently and how he was so wise. She continued by getting her Bible out and showing me her favorite story about when Solomon used wisdom with the two mothers and the baby. In that moment God began to show me that there is no junior Holy Spirit. There is just as much Christ in this little girl as there is Christ in me. He can still speak to you in big ways even when you’re seven. Our one-on-one ended with me asking her if she would pray over me. She looked puzzled, but did it anyway.

God wrapped up his teaching of Christ in me through one of our speakers we had this summer. During Pow Wow, the speaker played a clip from the movie, “The Lion King.” I had seen this movie many times and, in fact, it’s this very movie that God used to show me about my identity in Him a few years prior, but as I watched it this time I realized something I had never seen before. Simba looks into the river searching for his father’s reflection when all he sees is his own. Then Rafiki says for him to look harder and all of a sudden it’s Mufasa staring back at him. Rafiki’s response is simply this, “He lives inside of you!” and God so sweetly said to me, “Christ in YOU, the hope of glory.”

7

KAYLIE HIGHTcounselor | olive branch, ms

Around January of this year, I began to make the song, “Oceans,” my prayer. Specifically the part that says, “Spirit lead where my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wonder, and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior.” When I began making that my prayer, I had no clue what that meant for my life. I did not imagine God placing me at Lake Forest Ranch this summer, especially as a counselor.

At the very beginning of my time here I really fought feelings of being unworthy. However, a third of the way into the summer, God really revealed the true meaning of child-like faith to me through what we call the Sunshine Club. Having in my cabin the youngest campers who were not older than eight made me a little nervous at first, but God knew exactly what He was doing. Working with Sunshine Club for Kids Camps B and C was a handful and stressful at times, but the moments when the girls would say something really cute or sweet it made everything so worth it.

The first time God showed me the true meaning of child-like faith was during Kids Camp B when one of my six year-olds accepted Jesus into her heart. This little girl came from a tough background, and so I was nervous about our one-on-one time, because I wasn’t sure what she would say. Our one-on-one time started by talking about some rough things she had experienced, and then out of nowhere she looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Miss Kaylie, I want Jesus in my heart.” I walked her through how to do that, what that meant, and she prayed the sweetest prayer I’ve ever heard. She had soaked up every word of everything I had said about Jesus. When we finished, I picked up a dark rock from the gravel road and told her that the rock represented her past. I told her to squeeze all her hurt, pain, and problems into the rock. She started to squeeze really hard, and then I told her to throw the rock as far into the lake as she could, because it would be gone forever. After she threw it into the lake, she looked up at me with the biggest smile on her face with tears still streaming down. She ran around for the next day going up to random staff members, adult leaders, and basically anyone who would listen to tell them what happened. She understood what Jesus had done and embraced it. That is child-like faith; believing in Jesus and asking Him to live in you. Watching this little six year-old girl fall in love with Jesus more than I’ve seen in many men and women was such a blessing. Through this, God really showed me that it really doesn’t matter if I can’t be that super Christian, because God doesn’t need super Christians. All God desires is people to fall head over heels in love with Him just because of who He is and what He has done for them.

8

REBECCA MILNERcounselor | clinton, ms

My first camp was incredible. I was able to see five of my girls come to know Jesus for the first time. Some of these girls had never before heard the Gospel. I had other girls who had known of Jesus their whole lives, but had never asked Him to be their Lord and Savior. It was beyond humbling to witness these girls meet their Savior for the very first time. The first camp ended with me feeling pretty good about my role at LFR as a counselor. However, because I had witnessed many of my campers come to know Christ, I began to feel as if I was responsible for their spiritual growth. I thought that there was something I could say or do that would bring them to know Christ sooner. I started placing a burden on myself that was not mine in the first place.

Later in the summer I had a cabin full of preteens. Though I loved every moment of the preteen camp, it was very different from the six and seven year-olds I had gotten used to. Girls were crying because they could not sleep next to their three best friends, and things were already becoming catty. I knew this camp was going to be a polar opposite experience from the rest. I was becoming more and more discouraged, because I was not seeing any spiritual growth in the girls, or so I thought.

When I think about an example of God’s love and provision that I saw this summer, I immediately think of one of my girls from that preteen camp. This camper and I did not have an exceptional camper-counselor relationship. I actually thought that I annoyed her most of the time, but when I thought back on that camp, I realized that she was always around me. For our one-on-one, we went paddle boating. As I do with all of my campers, I asked her about her relationship with Jesus. I asked what He was teaching her, when she asked Him to be her Savior, and if she had any questions regarding her faith. She claimed that she was a believer and had good responses to all of my questions and statements. Eventually we talked about school, hobbies, siblings, and friends. Right when I thought that she was done talking, she asked me “Becca, how do you become a Christian?” I then talked with her about the steps of salvation and how significant was the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. She began asking even more questions about the Christian faith and walk. I started to see how intellectual she was and began to believe that there was a lot more to her than she led people to believe. We did not have any deep conversations or really any interaction after our one-on-one. She did ask me on the second night of camp, “Miss Becca, am I ever going to see you again?” I told her that we would probably bump into each other at some point in the future, but if we did not then we would see each other in heaven because we were sisters in Christ.

On the very last night of camp, I told the girls to go to the cabin and start packing. All of the activities and events were finished, so I assumed in my heart that the Lord did everything He wanted to do in my cabin. As I helped the girls pack, that one camper gave me the biggest hug and did not let go for a little while. Then she asked me again, “Miss Becca, am I ever going to see you again?” I told her the same thing that I had said the first time she asked. She immediately started sobbing while she was hugging me. I took her outside on the porch-swing to talk. I knew there was something else going on that had nothing to do with me. Outside, she kept sobbing and saying that she didn’t want me to leave. She was still hugging me refusing to let loose. I was so broken hearted. She eventually asked if I would pray for her. So I began thanking God for her and that we were sisters in Christ. After many minutes of prayer she looked up at me in distress and said, “Miss Becca, I don’t have Jesus in my heart. Miss Becca, I need Jesus in my heart. Please help me put Jesus in my heart.” After she accepted Christ, I looked at her and saw a whole new young lady. She was no longer distressed and worried. I asked her if she wanted to throw her rock, which represented her sin, into the lake. She smiled so big and agreed.

Once we were on the pier, I asked her what her “sin” rock represented. She stated with full confidence that the rock represented the old girl who was sad, who sinned, and with whom God could not have a relationship. I then told her to throw that rock into the lake as far as she could. She threw it with so much excitement that she forgot to let go. Her rock landed under the pier right below her feet. After laughing for a few minutes at her own excitement, she gave me another huge hug and instead of sobbing and saying, “Please don’t leave me Miss Becca,” she was saying, “Thank you so much Miss Becca, now I have Jesus!” I saw her transform as the Holy Spirit saved her life. She was glowing with contentment for the rest of the night and even as she left in the morning.

Watching that camper’s process leading up to her salvation taught me something that I desperately needed to understand. My God is responsible for each and every one of His children and He knows how to lead them. He wanted to use me to bring others to know Him. However, HE is the one to truly bring them to Himself. I did not have to be the perfect counselor, table leader, Bible study teacher, or even Christian in order to see my girls come to meet Jesus. God had been knocking on that camper’s heart long before she had gotten to camp, and He could not wait for her to meet Him at Lake Forest Ranch. He called me to be obedient. I was to love these girls as Christ loves them and to trust Him in every situation He placed before me. I was not spiritually responsible for my campers. That was the Father’s job. I was called to be a servant, and He would take care of those He loves.

9

MEGAN SHOAFcounselor | jonesborough, tn

The Holy Spirit began working right at the beginning of Kids Camp C. Papa Rich was giving his normal pre-camp speech in preparation of the almost two hundred kids standing right outside the doors. I’ll never forget him saying that the reason God brought us here for the summer might be for something that would happen in this very camp. For some reason that stuck in my mind, but I dismissed it and did not really believe anything amazing would happen.

Fast forward to the last full day of that camp. My cabin was for seven and eight year-old girls who were not in the Sunshine Club, because it had filled up, so I was pretty stressed since I basically had a Sunshine Club cabin, but with no extra leader. That last morning I was tired and stressed from lack of sleep, and I really did not want to answer any more of the million questions that my sweet campers asked me every hour. Almost nothing that morning went right, and God brought me to a place of complete brokenness after Bible study. I walked to facilitate an activities class and just prayed and recognized my brokenness and worthlessness without Jesus. I simply talked to God and told Him how I did not want to do anything else—I didn’t know what else to do.

After leading activities class, I was looking forward to a much-needed break until I walked up and one of my campers was upset and looking for her swim bag. In order for her to swim that next half, she had to have earplugs that were in her swim bag. We looked all over camp, but to no avail.

Finally, I caved into that little voice inside me whispering that I should have a one-on-one with her while the rest of my Bible study group swam. She had been challenging all week, because of a hearing problem that left both of us repeating things that we had said multiple times. I went into the one-on-one completely drained, and defeated, and with expectations for nothing to happen.

The camper and I grabbed a snack and sat on the porch outside the dining hall. For the first few minutes we chatted about her life and things she liked to do, but as we started talking about the Bible study, she didn’t really respond. I felt like we were going nowhere, but out of the blue she asked what heaven would be like. So we talked about that and about how sin prevents us from getting to heaven. After a couple of minutes, I asked if she knew who would be going to heaven, and she said, “Everyone.” I explained that only the people who had accepted Jesus would be able to receive His gift of eternal life. Then I asked if she had ever done that, and she answered that she had not. So, I nervously asked if that was something she would like to do right then. She said that she did, so she prayed right there and accepted Christ! Afterward, I asked her how she felt and in just one word she told me, “new.” That one word dispersed any doubts I had about whether or not she had truly accepted Christ. I knew for a fact that she had.

It was beyond encouraging seeing how God chose to use me in spite of, or maybe because of, my complete brokenness and desperation for Him. In probably my most flawed and imperfect state, God did something beautiful, and I will forever cherish that moment.

Oh by the way, the lost swim bag that started the entire interaction was found right after lunch. God simply amazed me.

1 0

KATIE YANCEcounselor | belle grade, fl

Sometimes I think the campers changed my life more than any difference I could make for them. Every week a new group of girls entered my life and blessed my heart more than words could give justice. It can be extremely hard to be open with a complete stranger, and sometimes that was the biggest obstacle my campers encountered. Regardless, God worked in mighty ways and those walls came down in the one-on-one time I got to spend with His daughters.

During our last student camp, my campers were very hesitant to open up and share. It was hard for me to understand that it was not under my control. God had to work in their hearts before they could open up to me. One night after our worship service, two of my girls were just broken. They were very emotional and received comfort from me, but they would not get specific in why they were so upset. All they said was that they needed to change and to stop doing bad things. I prayed with them that night and encouraged them to be bold, but I didn’t feel like it was finished. God knew what He was doing, and during our “East to West” service both girls came up to me and revealed all that was going on. They told me that they didn’t want to be the same; they wanted God to take control of their sin and take it out of their grasp. While I prayed for each of them, I had them squeeze everything they had into the rock, which represented their old self, and their sin. We then threw it far into the lake. As the rock sunk to the bottom, I turned and the relief and newness that was displayed on their faces was the most beautiful transformation I had ever seen!

HEATHER SCHWIPPScounselor | greensburg, in

One student camp during the summer made a big impact on me. I went into it knowing I had 6 campers. Thinking to myself, I only have six campers this week and four full days! I’ll be done with one-on-ones by day two and have time to nap. This is going to be an easier week for me. How wrong I was.

Three of my campers had serious medical concerns. That first night one of my campers needed her medicine, which had been left in her church van. By that time, her adult leaders had gone into town, and I had no idea where they were. Needless to say my camper was a bit concerned about her medicine being gone, as was I. I didn’t know how she’d react without her medicine. The night went on as usual; the girls signed up for afternoon recreation, and my camper waited with me in the dinning hall. As we waited, we started talking about life in general. All of a sudden the topic switched to guys as the guy counselors returned from water basketball, and she just started sharing about some past experiences. Simply put, she had been through a lot. Pow Wow that night had impacted not just her, but me as well. We talked about how sometimes we saw ourselves as dark and messy. We believed that because we had some marks and stains, God couldn’t love us. And yet the cross covered those marks and stains. We talked about how much God loves us, and how the sin and hurt is in the past. I was able to share my story and how I could relate and understand some of what she was going through. It was nothing I did. I just had a listening ear and a bowl of goldfish as we waited on medicine.

The next morning, she said she needed to talk to me right before breakfast. She said she had been praying all night and felt that even though she thought she was a Christian, her life hadn’t changed. Before, she had just said an empty prayer, but at that point she wanted to commit her life to Christ. She wanted to ask Him into her life and for Him to change her life. She wanted to live for Him. She wanted her life to have an obvious difference and show evidence of what He had done. It turned out that this day was Father’s Day. What a sweet gift from our Heavenly Father. And her life did change. She learned that it is okay to be yourself, and that God calls us beautiful. He finishes what He starts and has a great plan for our lives. It was evident every week, but especially that week to see the work God did in the lives of the students. Many were no longer who they once were. They became radiant, beautiful children of the High King.

1 1

It was so incredible how God used my disappointment with my girls not coming to pray with me as part of His plan for that night. God truly has a purpose and plan for our lives even though we might not be able to see it right now. Being able to directly see how God used all the staff members for His glory this summer has been something that I will never forget. This summer has been filled with a coalescence of every emotion in existence from pain, sadness, and defeat to joy and hope. I have seen what a true community looks like, and, more importantly, I have had experiences directed by God that have given me hope. Hope for a better world. Hope for salvation for others. Hope in a Savior.

RACHEL STANHOPEcounselor | mosspoint, ms

Working as a counselor at Lake Forest Ranch this summer has not left me with a plethora of incredible memories, rather it has left me with a plethora of experiences incomparable to any other job in the entire world. A good memory is something from our past that we reflect upon and declare is good, but a fabulous experience is something from our past that truly changes and positively impacts our lives forever. My experiences with campers and other staff members throughout this summer have taught me more than I could have ever anticipated. As a counselor, I started out the summer with the idea that I was the teacher and my campers were the students. In reality, I quickly learned that God was the teacher. God used situations in order to teach not only my campers, but to teach me as well.

As I think back upon moments from this summer in which God taught my campers and me a lesson, I continually think of a certain day during the first student camp. The day started out with my campers in much pleasure watching me drink a breakfast pitcher full of old juice, milky cereal, and left over coffee, but the day ended with one of my campers in complete amazement of how God works. Towards the end of the afternoon, right before dinner, a camper from my cabin told me that one of the other girls was sick. The sick camper was experiencing complete agony in her abdomen. Within a few minutes all the other campers in the cabin were at dinner, and I found myself eating dinner in my cabin with the sick camper and her adult leader. The camper began to eat, and we talked to her and made her giggle. Once the food had settled into her stomach she quickly felt better, and we asked her if she had eaten much that day. She told us that she had only eaten some bread at lunch because she didn’t like the food from breakfast or the pasta at lunch. The adult leader was able to make an incredible analogy regarding the camper’s illness. My camper had not eaten much throughout the day, so she began to feel dehydrated and ill by the evening. Too often we only spend a little bit of time with God each day and by the end of the day we are spiritually starving, so we become vulnerable to desires of our flesh. In order to prevent ourselves from becoming physically ill we eat a little all throughout the day. Therefore, in order to prevent ourselves from becoming spiritually weak we need to spend time with Christ several times a day, not just once a day. My camper and I were able to learn about our constant need for time with Christ from an unfortunate situation, and we saw that God could teach us lessons for His glory even from a bad situation.

Another example in which God amazed my campers and me relates back to the second student camp. At every camp we have an LFR After Dark Service. This year it was called “East to West”, where the campers have an opportunity to pray with their counselors. This certain night was my favorite for every camp, because God’s presence was always clearly felt by all the campers and staff members. At the second student camp, though, only one of my campers came to pray with me, and throughout the entire service I was a bit disappointed. Another counselor and I laid on the grass and looked up at the stars in the sky while other counselors prayed with their campers. As I looked up at the sky, I was able to see so many stars and was so overwhelmed by the beauty of God’s creation. I instantly thought, “Okay, this is too incredible of a sight. My campers are definitely coming out on the dock to see this awesome sky.” After “East to West”, I told my campers to prepare themselves to go out on a surprise adventure. By this time everyone was inside his or her cabins, so no one was outside in the dark. While we were walking to the dock one of the girls said to me, “Rachel, I saw you at the ‘East to West’ service, but I kept getting this feeling that we shouldn’t go pray with you.” At that moment we realized that if my campers had gone and prayed with me that night then I never would have seen the stars and decided to take them to the dock that night.

1 2

FAITH SPANNcounselor | starkville, ms

The Lord has shown me countless promises and truths about who He is this summer as a first-time counselor at Lake Forest Ranch. The height of what the Father revealed to me this summer was during Mission Camp Macon. While preparing for Mission Camp, other senior staff members who had experienced it kept telling me to “be flexible” and “just go with it,” but I did not truly know what that meant until the first day of camp after all of the student missionaries arrived. We spent the first day of Mission Camp training all of the students in order to prepare them to minister to the kids that would be participating. I was assigned as a Kids Camp director at Saint Marks Church of Holiness – which meant I was over-seeing eight student missionaries that would be teaching the children at the church. I spent the whole first day of training feeling anxious and worried for what was to come. I was not sure if my student missionaries could handle the responsibility that was required of taking care of twenty children and teaching them about Jesus through a Bible study, craft time, music and recreation. In my flesh, I doubted that my student missionaries were going to accomplish the work that God had promised for this week. After some prayer before bed that night, the Lord gave me a peaceful confidence about what was to come the next morning – although I would have never guessed what He was going to show me.

The next morning we drove to the church, prayed in the parking lot, and entered into the doors of Saint Mark’s. As I sat back and observed my student missionaries that first morning, the Father revealed to me a small, yet beautiful picture of the body of Christ. I saw some of them joyfully playing with the children who were already at the church, others were organizing registration forms and preparing for the kids who were about to enter into the doors, and the remaining few were already sharing the Gospel with the curious children. I stood in awe, marveling at God’s faithfulness in spite of my disbelief. He not only took away my anxiety, but also sweetly showed me the different parts of the church body. It made me realize how wonderful it is that the Father crafted each of His sons and daughters so that we are able to love well and love differently. Through seeing all of these wonderful characteristics of the Father through my student missionaries, He filled my soul up to the brim with wonder and thanksgiving at His all-encompassing love and faithfulness.

KATHERINE DUNAWAYcounselor | cordova, tn

I was sitting in my cabin with some girls the first night of a camp during a break before water basketball. I noticed one sniffling and going into the bathroom. The other girls left the cabin, so I went to talk to her. I asked if she was upset because she couldn’t call her parents to say goodnight, and she said, “Kind of.” We had a little small talk, but she didn’t tell me much. When she came out to grab her swimsuit, she said something about her “idiotic pride” getting in the way. Whoa! An eleven year-old just blew me away. We sat and she told me about how she struggled with pride and throwing herself pity parties, like she did that night when she didn’t get the activities she wanted. I had the opportunity to share with her something I had been reading in James chapter five, where it talks about confessing your sins to one another and praying for each other so that you would be healed. I was able to pray for her and she prayed for me. It was so simple, innocent, and beautiful. I told her I was struggling with not waiting on God and she prayed, “God thank you for putting me in Katherine’s cabin, and thank you for having her ask me how I’m doing. Please help her wait on you and not have spiritual ADHD and grow her closer to you. Thank you and in Jesus name, Amen.” It was so sweet and I was blown away at what He was doing in each of us. This little girl and her faith were so encouraging! I’m excited to see how God answers our prayers, and I know He is healing us from our struggles. Praise the Lord!

1 3

BETHANY GRIFFINsenior counselor | nashville, tn

Every summer at Lake Forest is so different and full of life in it’s own way. Reflecting on my third and most likely last summer at LFR, I find it so bittersweet and difficult to put into words. More than anything this summer, in particular, I have seen the Spirit at work. Constantly. Consistently. And continually beyond anything I could have asked for or done. I always thought I knew what trust was until this summer, but our Father is so sweet to write circumstances around our lives that enable us to experience a trust in Him that is deeper and fuller than anything we’ve tasted before.

During Kids Camp C, I met a dear, sweet, eleven year-old girl who showed me the power of the Spirit when she prayed for me during our one-on-one. She prayed for my future and my family in specific ways that were so directly related to what I needed. And God sweetly reminded me that He puts His life in His children. There is no such thing as a “baby portion” of the Spirit that He gives to a “baby Christian,” but we have ALL of Him.

During Student Camp 2, I had a cabin full of ten fourteen to sixteen year-olds who grew to love each other more than any cabin I had ever had. The way they loved and looked out for each other throughout the week was inspiring. There was one girl in the cabin who did not have a relationship with the Lord. She was beautiful, sweet, and on the cheer team at her school. Everyone knew who she was. We hadn’t had our one-on-one time together before “East to West”, but I had hung out with her and the other girls in the cabin quite a lot.

She came up to me during “East to West” with tears running down her face and said, “This isn’t who I want to be anymore. Get rid of it.” I got to see her pray to her Heavenly Father for the first time and hear the splash of her rock as it hit the lake and sunk to the bottom, never to be found again. And for the rest of the camp, I always loved even walking past her, because a joy as real and deep as that can’t help but be infectious.

Finally, during Kids Camp G, I walked into my cabin after working ropes during the afternoon to find one of my campers on her bed along with the rest of the nine and ten year-olds in my cabin gathered around her with their Bibles open. At first I wasn’t sure if the girl was ok, but as soon as I saw her bright smile and beaming joy, I knew. Almost in unison the girls around her said, “Miss Bethany, Gracie just got saved!” And we sat around her bed in our cabin in the middle of a hot, July afternoon and praised our Papa for His goodness. Sometimes the most unglamorous and seemingly insignificant moments are the ones when our perfect God surprises us with His presence the most.

This summer has been one of belief. One of believing the power of the Spirit of Almighty God rests in all of His children and me as well. One of believing that the God I serve is who He says He is, and one of believing that His love really is better than life itself. “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.” –Psalm 63:3

1 4

ERIC ANDERSONsenior counselor | waveland, ms

This was my second summer at LFR. I thought that, for the most part, I knew what to expect: brutal late-night pillow fights, campers on caffeine-highs, and the occasional wet bed. Best of all, I expected that, like last summer, in the tough times, God would do incredible things in my cabin, and that He’d regularly blow me away with fresh revelations of Himself. Camp was fun, it was hard, and God did incredible things in my cabin. What was lacking, however, was my heart learning and being affected by Him.

I struggled massively with things I didn’t expect. I’ve heard it said that, regarding the Gospel, many people know all the words, but they’ve forgotten the song. That described me perfectly. Except in rare moments, teaching Bible study was done mostly from my head, rather than my heart. God did incredible things in my cabin — I saw so many campers come to Christ! — but, like in so many other things, I wasn’t able to experience any joy. It got to the point where I expected to be regularly disappointed during worship and reading my Bible.

Sadly, that’s how the vast majority of the summer went by. The last week of camp, a fellow staffer gave me a letter. Amongst many encouraging things, the writer said that she felt strongly a word I needed to focus on that week was “grace.” “Yes, for your campers and those around you,” she wrote, “but I pray God would allow you to have grace for yourself.” At the end of the letter, she left room for me to write down all the things I needed. Once I started writing, the list kept going and going, until, eventually, the whole page was filled. “Grace to be joyful,” “grace to place my identity in Christ,” “grace to love, grace to worship” were some of the many things I wrote. I began to pray, pleading with God to give me grace. My prayer felt pretty hopeless. I begged God to give me grace in all these things, but I felt that He wasn’t answering.

The day went on mostly like that. Like the persistent widow in Luke 18, however, I begged God continually for His grace. I was desperate! Like He promised, He didn’t delay long in answering. That last week of camp was easily the best of the summer. Not that the camp itself was better; it was more like I was better. God brought me to a place where I was constantly needing to ask Him for everything, whether it was teaching my campers from my heart, loving them when they were behaving poorly, or just to have the physical strength to keep up with my boys, and He answered!

Late one night, I presented the Gospel to my boys. They asked a few questions, but, for the most part, they were exhausted and just wanted to get to bed. I wasn’t much different. However, it felt like, for whatever reason, sending them to bed at that point would have been wrong. So, after making a request of God for the grace to continue, I asked if any of my boys wanted to respond to the Gospel. Much to my surprise, one of the quietest, seemingly least-interested kids, Lawson, raised his hand. After sending the other boys off to bed, Lawson and I went to my front porch to talk. I asked him a couple of questions, and after confirming that he wanted to accept Christ, I said, “Go for it!” Lawson immediately ran into my cabin. I didn’t know what to think, so I just sat stunned on my porch, wondering if I’d said something wrong. Then Lawson came back out, with a massive grin on his face. It turned out that he ran into my cabin, not away from me, but rather to kneel beside my bed to pray. There he accepted Christ and became a completely new person. This quiet kid couldn’t stop hugging me for the rest of the night!

That was one of several times that God brought one of my kids from death to life. What was different, however, was that, for the first time all summer, I felt absolute, all-consuming joy, inexpressible and filled with glory! I’d asked God to let me experience Him, and He answered! I couldn’t stop smiling. Finally falling asleep that night, one verse came to mind: “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” — John 16:24.

1 5

QUINTEN BRASHERcounselor | adamsville, tn

Being a first year counselor, I wasn’t prepared for what God was going to do through the campers that walked through the green door of Cabin 13. The thought that kept going through my mind was, “How am I supposed to be a leader to these campers when I was a camper myself just last year?” Then I was reminded of what God says in Joshua 1:9 to not be “…frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” So the summer began…

All throughout the summer I would hear fellow counselors tell stories of their campers and hear Mr. Rich say “These sound like summer reflections….” I began to wonder if I would ever have a camp where an obvious summer reflection would be revealed to me. After 10 camps, I became very discouraged. But then one day God spoke to me a truth while I was searching for reflection material: it’s a SUMMER reflection. I began to search through my mind at what I learned throughout this entire summer.

During the very first camp, I had a camper who showed me what it truly means to have child-like faith. The theme of this year’s camp was “Write IT on a Rock,” and the campers were allowed to throw a “dark rock” that symbolized their sin into the lake. One of my campers, who had already accepted Christ, came to me. After talking and praying with him, we both stood up to throw his rock into the lake. Right before he was about to release his sin rock, he dropped his rock on the ground. I was without a flashlight and the tiki torch did not give enough light, so his rock couldn’t be found. I jokingly asked him, “What did you lose your rock for?” His answer has stuck with me for two months; he said, “I just wanted to get rid of it so fast!” The urgency of the Gospel is something that we lose as we grow older. This young boy knew that Jesus is who He said He is and could forgive him of all his sins.

Two weeks later, I was reminded that God could use the most random questions to share the Gospel. During a one-on-one, I felt led to ask a camper if he could ask God one question what it would be. I was surprised when he asked, “Why do moths fly into the lights?” After thinking for a moment, I replied, “The moths are attracted to the light. But will the moth ever break through the glass to reach the source of the light no matter how hard it tries?” He shook his head, and I compared the moth’s efforts to humans’ and how we could never get to Heaven by our own effort. That camper asked to receive Christ that week and he told me that he didn’t want to be a moth anymore.

My prayer before camp began was that God would change the lives of the campers I encountered and my life as well, and He definitely did. Lake Forest Ranch was the dwelling place for Jesus Christ this summer, because “…where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.”

MATT SYKEScounselor | columbus, ms

Everyone seems to have that one camp that always stands out over the summer. For me that camp was the last camp we had during the first half. I went into this camp just praying to God that it would be over quick, so I could go off to mid-summer break to relax and rest. I honestly was not fully present at that camp. That gave room for God to come in and just take over. I felt like I did not have any control over what was going on. During that camp, I truly saw God flex His muscles during our LFR After Dark service, “East to West”. That day I felt sick and by the time evening Pow Wow came around, I could barely stand. I had thoughts to let someone else take my spot during “East to West”, but God knew where I needed to be in order for His plan to work to perfection. During the service, one of my campers approached me and all of a sudden I just got filled with energy. I believe that it was God through me to talking to this little boy who at first thought that God did not want him in His kingdom. After God used me to speak to him, he decided he couldn’t live on his own anymore and asked Jesus to come live inside him. So he began to pray, and surrender his life to Christ. After he did that, he took his rock that represented his sin and threw it into the lake. He threw it so hard that he almost fell in. After he did that he turned to me and asked if I had put my arm around him while he was praying. I was in shock and told him that I hadn’t. I knew that had been the presence of God. That night completely changed that little boy, and it was refreshing to see that I didn’t have to do anything on my own. That seemed to be the story of this summer for me. Letting God increase by letting myself decrease. (HE>i)

1 6

NATHAN SIMSsenior counselor | hattiesburg, ms

The week I am about to write about was probably the best week of my life. God not only did great things in the lives of my campers, but He spoke to me so clearly that I could not have ignored it even if I tried.

Before the start of Student Camp 2, I knew that at least nine campers I had in my cabin last year would be at camp that week. When I ended up with seven of those in my cabin and five other campers that I had in my cabin last year in the cabin next door, I was beyond excited. Little did I know how powerfully God would work in the lives of those campers and in mine. Up to this point, I had not had any campers from my cabin pray for salvation, repentance, or any other “significant” decision. I was beginning to become a little discouraged. That feeling of discouragement was completely erased when I saw the relationships that developed in my cabin after the first two days of camp. While none of those campers had made a decision or felt a calling yet, God was moving mightily in each of their hearts. They were encouraging each other, promising to keep each other accountable, confessing struggles to one another, and just altogether being what the body of Christ was meant to be. This made me see that even if God did not provide any salvations, callings, or anything like that in my cabin, He was still working. I prayed to God and told Him that I was sorry for my selfishness in being discouraged that my campers did not seem to be impacted as much as I would like. I also told Him that I was completely satisfied and that I trusted Him with the lives of my campers. That is when He really began to work.

In the next two nights of camp, two campers in my cabin prayed to receive Christ. Both of these guys were thought to be Christians by everyone, including me. God revealed to them that they needed Him in their hearts and when they prayed to receive Christ, both physically felt the Holy Spirit enter them and they felt new.

It was absolutely incredible! I also had another camper repent of the sin he had been living in and refocus his heart on seeking God. Seeing God impact these three boys encouraged me beyond what I can put into words, and I cannot thank Him enough for changing their lives and giving me two new brothers in Christ!

I also heard from God that week. On the last two nights of camp, I very clearly felt God speak to me. I absolutely love sports. I have been on a competitive sports team since I was five, and I currently play ultimate Frisbee for The University of Southern Mississippi. During this camp, God told me that I would not be playing ultimate Frisbee or any other sport this upcoming year. This came as a shock to me, but I am completely open to God’s will, especially after the way He moved in my cabin during this camp. Then, the following night, He began to speak to me about how I could use the time that would be freed up by not playing ultimate Frisbee to disciple the students in the youth group for which I am an intern. He gave me specific ways I could invest in the lives of those students as well as a vision for what my student ministry should look like when I am a student pastor one day (He revealed that calling to me a few years ago). It is so crazy how God is faithful to clearly show us the path for our lives in His timing! I am so excited to see how He will work it all out this fall semester.

At the end of this camp, I literally cried because of how much God impacted my life and the lives of my campers. He built relationships between us that will extend far beyond camp, and they are my brothers for life. My desire for the rest of my life is to trust God’s timing and His will even when results do not seem to be coming. I will be listening for His voice to continue to reveal to me His plan for my life. I cannot wait to see what that is, because as I have experienced this week, there is nothing greater than being in the will of God and watching Him work.

1 7

MYLES FARIESsenior counselor | madison, ms

My first year at Lake Forest Ranch was life changing, which is why I was not surprised when my second year as being a counselor had similar impacts. By the second youth camp, I had already experienced many a salvation, several tear-jerking moments, and tons of laughs.

During the second youth camp, I found myself with two seventeen year olds that I had last year. Along with them were several other guys from their church that I had never met. Whether veteran campers from the same church or new campers that had never been there before, I found myself overwhelmed with the thought that I was to lead these awesome guys when I was not much older than them. The oldest one in the cabin was nineteen, and I just turned twenty at the beginning of the summer. My immediate thought was that these guys would not look up to me or respect me at all. God had other plans.

I had diversity in this cabin. From a shy, quiet guy who sat on his bed for the first couple of nights, to a loud “Gladiator” during our epic pillow matches, my guys were a great variety. But through these differences, I found a similarity between all of them: a hunger for the Lord. During Bible studies, there was a focus that I did not expect. During cabin time, there was a community of conversation and interaction that shocked me. But the biggest surprise to me occurred during “East to West”. I had one of my guys come up to me asking me to pray for him and his girlfriend. How many teenage guys actually ask for prayer regarding relationships with girls? This moment alone would have left me dumbfounded, but God still decided to show up. I had another guy from my cabin hug me with tears streaming down his face, because he was truly humbled at the presence of God’s love in his life. He declared that he didn’t deserve such love from our heavenly Father, yet God used me to tell him that he has been made worthy of such love because of Christ’s death. And if that wasn’t enough of God’s amazing work, a third student camper approached me.

Before this, he had opened up to me about how we shared similar testimonies and how God had used me to help him with a lot of things in his life. Now during “East to West”, he opened up about how he could possibly have a brain tumor. With emotions and hurt for him, I cried so heavily that I could not even speak. I prayed for healing and comfort for him.

As I approached my cabin, another student greeted me. He was the “Gladiator” of the cabin. Without words, we both made eye contact and embraced with the biggest hug I have ever had. We both wept in this moment, which I would later find out to be life changing for him. He told me of how God was speaking to him through me without me ever saying a word. He declared many struggles in his life to be dead, because of the powerful life of Jesus inside of him. Following that, I sat down next to the shy guy in the cabin. He began to open up about how he was never a shy person, but the world made him that way because he was always afraid to let lose and be himself. After talking and praying with him, he was so thankful. That same night, all of the students from my cabin were out on the porch. I prayed over all of them, and the Lord put words on my heart to declare truth over each of them. We would finish that night out in the big field watching the stars and speaking of the great glory of God.

I loved seeing how much God worked in and through these guys in my cabin. He did amazing things for His glory during this camp. These campers would go home to start a ministry that allows struggling guys to be open with each other. I would have never thought that God would have used me to lead guys to start a ministry. If God didn’t show up enough during the camp, He continued to show up afterwards. The guy who thought he might have had a brain tumor later told me of how the first MRI he had showed a 90% possibility of a tumor. After camp, he went back to the doctor for another MRI, which showed absolutely nothing. There wasn’t even a lump or bump on his head! Through this one group of guys, God showed me His faithfulness in ways that I have never seen before. Through His healing, His conviction, His bringing together a diverse group of guys, and His use of me, I will never forget this particular camp.

1 8

AARON PENDERGRASScounselor | medina, tn

During the third kid’s camp of the summer, I had the incredible opportunity to work with the Sunshine Club, which is the age group of children that varies between six and eight year-olds. I was very fascinated with this age group, because one thing I had been praying for the Lord to show me before I came to LFR was to know what “child-like faith” was. One particular camper in my cabin had grown close to me, and I really connected with him and his life as we began to do our one-on-one time together. His parents had recently been through a divorce, which was an event in my life that I too had experienced. As he shared, he began to cry, which made me cry with him as well. I prayed over him, comforted him, and assured him of the promises of God’s Word and the truth that we can trust Him. Then he leaned his head on my chest and I thought about when John had leaned his head against Jesus at the Last Supper. As I experienced these specific campers’ love for me no matter what I did and their desire to follow me around everywhere, I realized that my relationship needed to be to that level of intimacy with Jesus. Just to realize the joy that John felt when he was in the presence of our Lord and Savior, and not only that, but he heard his heartbeat. This is such an intimate picture of love that I cannot begin to even fathom. This was one of the many life-changing things that happened to me at LFR.

NATHAN BROOMcounselor | ocean spring, ms

We were into the third camp of the summer and I was getting very discouraged, because no one in my cabin had placed his faith in Christ yet. I was really beating myself up. I felt like I was doing everything wrong, my one-on-ones were going terribly, and I was the worst counselor ever. I knew that I couldn’t save these kids, but nevertheless I was still beating myself up. And that’s right when the Lord moved in some big ways in my cabin. It was the last full day, and I had four one-on-ones left. I was not really looking forward to them, because I thought they were going so badly. I began to pray that the Lord would speak through me, that He would just break them of their sin, and point them to Him. I still had all these discouraging thoughts running through my head. So I began the first one of that day, I made some random small talk and then just dropped the bomb on him. I asked if he had ever placed his faith in Jesus before; he said no but that he wanted to! Then the Lord used me to lead my camper to Himself. I was just pumped to be used by the Lord in such a great way. The cool thing is that it got even better. Each of the three other kids I met with placed their faith in Christ!

The Lord showed me and taught me two very important things through this. First, I needed to be content with the ways that He was using me. I might not always get to be the one that leads someone to Christ, but I needed to find joy in being a part of someone’s spiritual journey even if it is the very beginning of it or after they have become a Christian. Secondly, the Lord taught me through this that I needed to have faith that God would be strong through my weakness, no matter how great that weakness was. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” It was so amazing to see the Lord work through all the things that I was dealing with. He taught me that amidst my struggles, my eyes need to stay fixed on Him, because He is enough!

1 9

BRANDON MOORERcounselor | cleveland, ms

I had the great opportunity to lead one of my campers to Christ during Kids Camp A. During the whole time the kids were here, I felt like I was the worst counselor ever; I was stumbling through the Bible study, my cabin devotionals weren’t going the way I had planned, and I just felt like I wasn’t connecting with the guys in my cabin. But, oh how I was wrong! During the campfire testimony time for the kids, one of my campers said that God had been knocking on his heart the whole time he had been at camp and even on the way to LFR. He said that he had so much fun and that he learned a lot about the Gospel. Just hearing this one camper say what he experienced even when I felt like I was fumbling through everything gives such testimony to the fact that when we are weak, Christ is strong through us. In my weakness, Christ worked through me and changed this kid’s life. There are no words to explain how amazed and humbled I am at the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

CALEB GARNERworkstaff / counselor | cleveland, ms

God blew my mind during the first full day of Kids Camp C. While setting up for breakfast, Steve Winger, the camp speaker told me that the Lord told him to pray for me that morning because I had told him the day before how stressed I was. He then told me that after praying for me, he looked in the LFR Prayer Calendar to see for whom to pray and it just so happened that my name was listed for that day! During Bible study, the Lord gave me an awesome metaphor to sin—my backpack. Here’s how it went: when empty, my bag is as light as a feather. Eventually, when sin and burdens are added, it gets too heavy for me alone, and I need somebody stronger than myself to carry it—that’s where Jesus comes in!

Then, during the 1st half of free time, I was sitting in the dining hall talking to another counselor about being stressed out, because I had so many one-on-ones to do and not a lot of time. She basically told me that God was going to provide the opportunities. So I prayed over my list of campers, asking God to show me who He wanted me to talk with first. So I told God that I was going to walk out of the dining hall on blind faith and that the first guy from my cabin I saw would be the one He wanted me to hang out with first. I decided to go into the snack shop to hang out for a few minutes before leaving, and the first face that I saw was not the people behind the counter, not the ones buying something, but one of my campers! I immediately knew that had to have been the Lord’s doing. So we had our one-on-one time where he shared a lot of what had been burdening him and the Lord led me to share some of my burdens as well as an encouragement. I then asked him what he liked about the Bible study and he told me that he really enjoyed the rocks that we used as visual aids, because he collects rocks as a hobby! Again, I was in awe of the Lord! Blessed be the Name of the Lord—our Great Provider!

2 0

CHARLOTTE LEARworkstaff / counselor | hattiesburg, ms

My experience at Lake Forest Ranch was beautiful. First, I want to explain my desire God has given me for prayer. The thought of prayer has set a fire in my heart this summer. Getting to talk to God whenever I want to gets me so excited. I have really begun to know what impact prayer has on our Christian walks. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 states, “Pray without ceasing.” These three words are continuing to make my heart want God more. How are we to know God without talking to Him? The love of Christ for me has magnified and is magnifying each day I wake up. Our minds will never grasp how much He loves us. Psalms 103:11-12 is so inspiring. It states, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the East is from the West so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” We will not understand how much that is until we stand in front of God on judgment day. Someone once said that when you go south you will eventually go north, but if you go west you will never go east. Every day that blows my mind. Even though I was the one mocking and spitting on Jesus that day at Calvary, Christ died for me. The God of the universe loved me enough to die. Wow! Prayer has the power to heal. My past sins have been forgiven and I am no longer under condemnation but have life more abundant. The beauty of the cross seems to be more beautiful every time I think about it. Sin has been defeated and death has been conquered.

Second, I was the Workstaff Counselor and I had the opportunity to serve the body of Christ. Although days were hard and tiring, there was a spark in my heart to serve. I experienced true love for God’s people. James 2:8 says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Through the years I have always loved others more than myself, but I have learned that I am holy and righteous, because Christ was first holy and righteous. I am worthy, I am loved, and I am myself because of Christ Jesus. I have been transformed into these aspects through Christ on the cross. My heart has found a love for those who don’t believe and trust in Him. Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Spreading the Word of God isn’t because I have to; it is because I want to and get to. I was reminded this summer that Christian literally means “little Christ.” The beauty of the cross is so much more beautiful than we will ever imagine. God is bigger and more sovereign that we will ever comprehend. My life has been changed forever. I am all He says I am, and He says I am His own.

HANNAH HUMSTONsunshine club leader | grand island, fl

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Never before did I understand these words of our Savior like I do now after serving the youngest kids at LFR as a Sunshine Club leader. Seven is pretty young for camp; my three weeks consisted of constant hair braiding, shoe finding, and story telling. Yet God showed me some remarkable things through these precious girls. Their childlike faith was astounding and uplifting. They loved Jesus with all of their little hearts, and He poured out His love through many of them. As someone put it in staff meeting one night, there is no “baby-sized portion” of the Spirit.

These little girls who have been saved have the same Holy Spirit living in them as I do, and He is shining through them in everything they do. I had seven year-olds telling me how much they loved Jesus and what He has done in their lives. They hunger for righteousness and they long to learn more about their Savior. One night a girl in my cabin asked me what my favorite book of the Bible was, so that she could read it for herself. Her hunger for God was evident and incredible.

I was constantly reminded that God delights in my campers’ faith, and I was encouraged to have unconditional faith and love for Jesus just like a child. Because it was Jesus who said it, the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

2 1

HEATHER SHORTsunshine club leader | gasden, al

Coming into this summer as a sunshine club leader second half, I was so excited to see the things God was going to do. I was looking forward to seeing all the smiling faces of the little seven and eight year-olds and working with them. But little did I know, God had a different plan for me for my first week at LFR. A few days before the campers arrived, Abby and Mr. Rich told me I would not be with Sunshine Club; I would be with an eleven year-old girl who had been blind since she was six. When I heard I would be doing this I was so excited, happy, and nervous, but I could not wait to see what the Father had planned. After the first day I began to get discouraged, because I was always with this camper and away from opportunities to bond with the staff. I also began to wonder why I was the one doing this. I felt as if I was not good enough for the job. Satan was using the things I was not able to do and thoughts of unworthiness against me and just began to knock me down. But God reminded me that He had me right where I needed to be, and that I was there to serve this sweet girl. I learned to stop depending on myself for everything and I realized how much I needed to depend on Him for everything. When I first met the camper, she accepted me for who I am. She did not know what I looked like, yet accepted me as if we were best friends. It reminded me of how God accepts us for who we are and loves us unconditionally regardless of our mistakes, because we are His children. He loved us long before we ever loved Him.

Another thing God showed me during this week was that I had been trying to find my identity in earthly things when I needed to be finding my identity in Him. God really broke me of an idol in my life, and I truly realized that His love is all that I need; in Him I have everything. God provided me with the peace, love, and joy I had been longing for, and showed me that I cannot do anything without him. A verse that really spoke to me during this week was Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son.” I would have never been able to make it through this week without having Christ in me, and Him showing His love through this sweet girl. At times I do not feel good enough for anything, but through this camper, God reminded me that I am good enough, because I have Christ in me. God really showed me His love through her by how joyful she was despite being blind, how fearless she was of the tube and zip line, and how loving she was despite not being able to see the people around her. At the end of this week all I could do was sit back and smile, because of how awesome our God is. He worked through this camper to give me so much encouragement, joy, happiness, and, most importantly, the love He has for us in a way I had never experienced before. This sweet girl was such a huge blessing in my life, and I’m so thankful God placed me with her for that week at LFR.

JULIANNA JONESsunshine club leader | carterville, ga

This summer consisted of tying endless pairs of tennis shoes, of telling the same kids to brush their teeth five times in a row, of endless trips to the clothesline barefooted at ten at night, homesick children, and learning to let God love kids through me. Going into this summer, I was completely terrified. I’ve never dealt with small kids well. I dread when my week at church rolls around to work preschool Sunday school; I avoid VBS like it’s the plague, and I’m rarely ever sighted babysitting voluntarily. So when I felt God firmly telling me to spend my summer ministering to seven and eight year old kids, I was genuinely freaked out.

I got through the first two camps (with only two breakdowns, by the grace of God) and went into the third one feeling pretty tired. I was hoping and praying for an easy cabin. But God, in all of His infinite wisdom, had other plans. And I am so glad for that.

His other plans came in the form of an eight year-old girl. She was a sweet, highly intelligent girl, but she didn’t get along well with the other girls in the cabin. Constant drama and fights would break out in the cabin, and I found myself exhausted and at the end of my rope very quickly.

The third night of camp, while at Pow Wow, one of my campers came up to me and told me that something was happening with this girl. When this girl came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder, I was literally asleep. I was completely exhausted. I remember sighing in my head in utter frustration before I got up and went over. And this little girl was literally sobbing in her seat. I took her outside and we talked about what was wrong (drama between her and another girl), and then I asked if she wanted to go back in and sit at her seat. She shook her head, so then I asked if she wanted to come sit with me, to which she nodded. We walked back in, and she sat down in my lap and finished listening to the message. Then the speaker talked a bit about the “East to West” service, which was directly after. One of the things he said was, “God’s love for you spans as far as the east is from the west.” The girl in my lap looked up at me and whispered, “How big is that?” I leaned down and said, “It’s forever.” She gave me this look like, “Yeah, right,” so I kept talking. “No, really,” I whispered to her, “You could go east and keep going east, and you would never be so far east that you hit west. That’s how much God loves you.” And I remember the look on her face, the grin that set in as she leaned back against me and whispered, “Wow.”

God knew that I couldn’t love that girl by myself. He knew I couldn’t love any of the fifty kids that I came into contact with this summer on my own. It was only when I emptied myself of all of me, of all my flesh, and allowed Him to love through me, that these kids felt love. My human love is not enough for them. For me, this summer was a lesson in letting go of myself, and allowing God to work in mighty ways and just to step back and watch. Because when you do, it’s simply astounding.

2 2

JESSI HARTLINEwrangler | brandon, ms

Child-like faith. What better way to learn that than from a child? So many kids have demonstrated simple faith to me, but none more than Trevor. He was adding to the “Thank You” banner that the kids create as part of the “East to West” service. Kids can write notes and draw pictures thanking God for the way He had worked in their lives. Trevor had been writing for a while and I could tell this wasn’t the typical cross drawing and thank you note. When he had finished writing I read the beautiful, simple note he had written. He wrote about anger, pain, shyness, and how God had brought him through it all. He wrote about being sure of his salvation when before he hadn’t. With scribbles and misspelled words, Trevor cried out to his King and thanked God for saving him. He signed his name at the bottom like most kids do, but he added something else that almost brought me to my knees. It read, “P.S please say hi to dad for me.” His adult leaders told us that Trevor’s dad had recently passed away. In the middle of such pain this young man had found the only one who could bring him peace and comfort. He showed his child-like faith in action. Trevor will probably never know just what he taught me that night, but I know I’ll never forget that messy handwritten note and the beauty of that cry to Jesus.

REED PEARSON1st & 2nd half workstaff | starkville, ms

I came into the summer expecting to be completely excluded from everyone and living in a lonely world, just like the world I had experienced from college. During the first week of staff training, we were put into groups, and had to learn to trust each other through various exercises; it was really strange for me. I had extreme trust issues with everyone. Therefore, learning to trust those around me was not going to be easy for me, no matter how many team exercises I had to go through, or so I thought. The team-building activity that began a change in me was the couple’s softball game. We were told to pair off with someone. Earlier that week we had been at the Malone’s house for a game night. There, I had learned that Jessi, the wrangler, felt the same awkwardness about being in such a closed-in space with people. So, Jessi and I paired up. That was the first time I had to make sure I was working with my teammate to accomplish a task. Well, I continued to have to trust more and more, which I hated. As the summer went on I started seeing verses in Psalms that would mention trust; verses like Psalms 56:4 and 11, 62:5-8 and 65:5 were teaching me to trust God with my life and not to hold onto it. Then I remembered Matthew 25:34-40, where it talks about if you do anything to one of Christ’s brothers you have done it unto Him. Who was I not to trust the ones closest to me as I trusted God? At that point, I broke down and told Jessi and Cali, the other wrangler, that I struggled with depression, and that I didn’t want to be seen as weak. They prayed for me that day. Over the rest of the summer, Jessi, Cali, Brandon, and Nathan Sims really worked with me on just learning to trust others.

For the first time in my life, I am at a place where I am not trying to carry the whole world on my shoulders, because it is not mine to carry anyway. I am trusting God more in that He holds my future and He is my Rock (Psalms 61:1-4). Maybe it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it is something I am still learning. And it means the world to know, in my heart and not just in my mind, that I have a God who cares. He has created people who love me, and I can trust them with my problems. And that is the biggest thing that God is working in my life, starting at the beginning of this summer and still continuing.

2 3

WALKER JACKSONmcm intern | winona, ms

My summer reflection may be a little different from everyone else, but I want to tell a story. Right in the middle of Camp Macon, the Lord completely wrecked my heart. To set the stage before I get into the story, God had constantly been teaching me over the summer that He is a God of LOVE, and that He is deeply concerned about His children. For the longest time, I had the misconception that God was angry or disappointed with me when I sinned. Truthfully, this only led to condemnation, which caused me to run away from God and back into sin. By the leading of the Holy Spirit, I had begun to realize that God longs for us to run back to Him when we fall into sin, because that is when we feel His warmth and embrace, which causes me to see in the end that JESUS IS BETTER.

Okay here’s the story. The Tuesday of Mission Camp Macon, a guy spoke to us in staff meeting. He talked a lot about how he struggled with the sin of lust, but how God had set him free from some of the issues dealing with this particular sin. I began to really think and realize how I could relate to this guy, because I deal with this same issue. I began to ask the Lord to truly break my heart over this sin that I struggle with so much.

The night after that guy spoke, we had a worship night, and my whole mindset going into this time of worship was that for once in my life, I was about to get real with the Lord. I wanted God to wreck me of this sin that I dealt with on a daily basis. How prideful does this really sound? That I can somehow tell God when, where, and how He’s going to move in my life? This was absolutely absurd, but at the time, that was what I was thinking. Worship night finally came and out of nowhere there was a roadblock. A friend of mine, who wanted to talk, stopped me. This talk that I thought would last maybe thirty minutes lasted halfway through worship. During our talk I kept asking God, “What are you doing right now?” For once, I’m trying to be genuine about my sin and you’ve got me out here just listening. What is the purpose of this, Lord? Finally, we finished talking and I went back inside to worship night, but I was so distraught. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t sing.

I couldn’t hear. Clearly the Lord was telling me that I didn’t need to be there. So I walked out and began to walk around the lake. I WAS FURIOUS. I was so mad at God, because I didn’t understand what He was doing. I was literally yelling at Him saying, “GOD, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS. I’M TRYING TO BE REAL AND YOU ARE SHOWING ME NOTHING.” I finally shut up and just tried to listen. But still nothing. No answer from the Lord. I walked back to my room upset, confused, and depressed. I finally fell asleep, and the next day I woke up feeling the same way.

As the day went on, nothing seemed to get better. That night was Coffee House, which is a talent show. I tried to hang out at Coffee House, but I was just absolutely physically and spiritually drained. I had been constantly pouring out, but not receiving anything back in. The only thing I knew was to turn to His Word. I decided to just spend some time with the Lord talking, listening, and reading. I had been reading through Isaiah at the time, so I continued reading in Isaiah that night. After I had finished reading, I still felt like there was more that the Lord needed to tell me. I began reading through some verses that talked about the comfort that the Lord provides for His children. I kid you not; the second verse that I came upon was Psalm 94:18-19. It says, “When I thought my foot slips, your steadfast love, O Lord held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” WOOOOOOOOWWW. My jaw dropped, and I began to feel the tears roll down my cheeks. I was in awe of what God had just revealed to me.

I so desperately wanted Him to show me how messed up I was, when truly all He wanted to show me was how good HE is. Instead of showing me my sin, He showed me His grace, and in seeing His marvelous grace, I saw my sin. The truth is that He wanted me to get my eyes off myself and fix them upon HIM. I completely forgot during this moment that HE ALWAYS has my best interest. He knows what’s best for His children. That instance showed so obviously the pride of the human heart. I can be so conceited, arrogant, and prideful. It reminded me how badly we need a Savior. God’s love is neither based on what we have to offer Him, nor on what we can do for Him. His love for us is based solely on His goodness. So I say all that to say this, get your eyes off of yourself and fix your gaze upon the ONE who is Worthy. I’ll leave you with what Mr. Rich left me: “What gets your gaze, gets you.”

2 4

CAMP MACON STUDENT

MISSIONARY REFLECTIONS

LAUREN LUCAS – LOUISVILLE, MS – “Patience. He taught me to be patient and He would answer my prayers.”

BRADLEY BURGESS – BRANDON, MS – “He showed me that I do have a purpose.”

ALEX BUFKIN – LUCEDALE, MS – “I was able to step up and lead this year, instead of being the quiet kid in the back of the group, and it was amazing.”

GUILIA HINTZ – COLUMBUS, MS – “I was able to share the Gospel, which I didn’t have a whole lot of experience doing prior to Camp Macon. I got to do a lot of things that were outside of my comfort zone and God taught me a lot through that.”

LINDSEY FOSTER – GUIN, AL – “God opened my eyes to the need of Jesus in children’s lives. They are just as hungry for Jesus as I am. It’s awesome.”

ABBY HUMSTON – MOUNT DORA, FL – “I think of fun. I believe that God sent me just to have fun, love the kids and make amazing friends.”

BLAKE REDDOCH – DOTHAN, AL – “I think of God teaching me how to serve. I learned how God can speak through me.”

TOBY WINDHAM – LOUIN, MS – “I think of fellowship and new relationships in Christ, as well as new friendships.”

ANNA LANE – MACON, MS – “The Father showed me that I can do anything with Him. The week wasn’t always easy, but through Him I was able to make it through. I am so thankful for the opportunity.”

TRISTIN HARRIS – OLIVE BRANCH, MS – “He opened my eyes on caring about the souls of others rather than myself. He showed me how to run a Bible study and get close enough to a stranger that I could lead them to Christ. None of it was me, it was all God.”

HAYDEN GUY – MARIANNA, FL – “I think of my team face by face and remember how God connected us through His Spirit after I let my physical walls down and let Him work.”

HAYS CASTLE – WEST MINSTER, CO – “I think about what a better leader I became, and the one I want to be.”

NANCY WHITE – PRESTON, MS – “I think of joy and peace. I think of serving like a disciple of Christ. I think offun, fellowship, and relationships.”

CHLOE PEEVY – BRANDON, MS – “Mission Camp Macon helped me grow more in my relationship with God through experiencing the importance of having Him involved in every aspect of my life.”

JARED FAELLACI – DOTHAN, AL – “My favorite Jesus story was Zaria Edwards; a 12 year old teen gal whom the bus captains and I began to pray for by name on Monday evening. On Wednesday, “Kat” and Ashlynn let us know that Zaria had given her heart to Jesus on that day! When I saw Zaria on Thursday, I gave her a hug and we gave her a Bible. When she received it, she began to cry... causing us to cry. Isn’t Jesus awesome? I love how He shows up and blows the doors open when we surrender, yield and give Him ALL to be His vessel and servant!”

we asked student missionaries this question: when you think about what god did in or through your life this week at mission camp macon, what comes to mind?

2 5

JEDD MOAK – BROOKHAVEN, MS – “I had no idea what Camp Macon was really about until I was able to come serve. It takes you out of your comfort zone and builds your trust upon the Lord for strength, guidance, and His teaching. Camp Macon is a great experience to come and love on God’s children, to know God more, and to make God known.”

SARAH HARDIN – CALHOUN CITY, MS – “I really didn’t know what to expect this week other than loving on kids. And I got to do just that! Like Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “I resolved to know nothing, but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” The Gospel was preached and lives were changed. I was just happy to be a part of the work God had planned for this week and am so excited that my new friend Kierra accepted Christ as her Savior! Go Camp Macon!”

ISAIAH EILAND – LOUISVILLE, MS – “I think of how great He is. Also, how He has brought me through.”

EMILY PROFITT – LAKE CHARLES, LA – “God answered my prayers this week! He’s made himself so evident to me! I’ve learned that you don’t have to plan a Bible study, a prayer, or anything really; just let the Spirit lead... I’ve learned that whatever is true about Jesus, is true about me, because we are one... If I’ve learned one thing this week, it is to wake up every single morning with the mindset of emptying myself, so that God could fill me with His Spirit, so that others can see His love, grace, and glory through me.”

JENNA HERRINGTON – BRASSTOWN, NC – “I understood the role of the Spirit in a totally new way this week, because I was forced to rely on Him so much. God filled my heart with love, joy, peace, and power. He has reenergized me to do the simple things like read the Word, pray, and worship Him.”

JASMINE MCQUIRTER – HATTIESBURG, MS – “I think of the times where I know God was speaking through me when kids had questions.”

HAYLEY WOODARD – LUCEDALE, MS – “He brought me through many fears! I’m more comfortable praying and witnessing to my peers and to children. I’ve never felt closer to God as I have this week.”

2 6

ADULT LEADERREFLECTIONS

abe hodgesrayville, la

The personal one-on-one conversations are crucial to making LFR the best.

cheryl lottbaton rouge, la

When a 7 or 8 year old child can understand the concept of trading their sin-life for God’s life (full and eternal), you’re doing something very right!

misty howellbiloxi, ms

I saw how God places each of our campers with just the right counselor. That counselor was able to give each of our children what they needed by way of their personality and life experience. God placed each child so perfectly! Totally amazing!

erica hollowaymobile, al

LFR will always hold a special place in my heart, because in the midst of all the fun, hearts are always pointed to Jesus. This year was no exception. What an awesome blessing to see children walking through the door at “East to West.” It was some of the most beautiful, gripping imagery I’ve ever witnessed.

tammy rosstuscaloosa, al

We love LFR! The atmosphere, recreation options, program, etc- it’s the best I’ve ever been to in 20 years of children’s ministry!

mike gambalcaledonia, ms

LFR brings glory to God by the outstanding job it is doing from its lodging facilities to its grounds upkeep and prayerful consideration of every activity. I have been blessed!

aimee bradleycolumbus, ms

This is my tenth year at Lake Forest Ranch, and it just keeps getting better and better every year! From the excellent guest speakers to the variety of activities and the amazing staff, Lake Forest is a truly unique and special place. There is no where else I would want to spend one week of my summer and no where else I could imagine taking my church kids to. LFR is truly my happy place!

amy pewhattiesburg, ms

Joy starts the second you turn onto Lake Forest Road! The excitement to unite with other Christians and fellowship is contagious! The counselors and leaders are gifts from God who lay out to our children the Word of God. The staff and leaders all point to the true joy and love of Jesus Christ!

paul spellpetal, ms

I have seen several of my students make a choice to make Christ the center of their life this week, and because LFR has also poured into us, I can help take that passion back and continue leading them to follow His lead.

2 7

allyson youngphiladelphia, ms

This week has been such a blessing to see my youth being loved on and poured into spiritually. I know that each one has grown tremendously just this week. God has done way more than I could ask or imagine in their lives this week. Their counselors were genuinely concerned for the campers’ overall wellbeing. It was encouraging to see someone love them just as much as I do and seeing Jesus love my campers through them.

jamie tollisonstarkville, ms

As the youth leader of seven teenagers that have never attended a summer camp before, I have been thrilled to see them making new friends and enjoying group Bible studies. Five of our seven come from broken families with parents serving time in prison. They all seemed to have formed a connection with their counselors and keep talking about how understanding and caring they are. They have all felt so loved and accepted this week. Day one our kids looked scared to death in worship time, but by day three they were raising their hands and worshipping our Savior! That is a miracle for us! God has made Himself known to our students this week!

2 8

LFR NEWS

NICK HALL FAMILY’S FIRST SUMMER AT LFRIt has been a delightful year having Nick & Stefanie Hall and their great kiddos (Eliot, Ava, and Emma) living at Lake Forest Ranch since January 1. They have moved into the Assistant Director’s residence and have quickly become a vital part of the LFR community. The adjustments have been many for them (as you can imagine having moved from the big city of Madison, MS), but they have rolled with the changes and they are a great fit for our Lake Forest team. Nick is learning how the day in and day out life of camp administration works and he has taken on the mantle of our rental retreat ministry as a strong and effective leader. Stefanie is a Registered Nurse, which is a big plus, and she helped us for several weeks during the summer as our camp nurse. Their family is a lot of fun and we are having a great time getting to know them. Please pray for them to be blessed greatly as a family as they bring such great leadership, joy and help to us all in the work that we do at Lake Forest.

STUART & ASHLEY REESE COMPLETETHEIR INTERNSHIP AT LAKE FOREST

Good-byes are not fun. We have grown to love and appreciate the Reeses and their year with us was a blessing. They worked in Wuhan, China for a year before moving back to the states in July 2013 and then in August to LFR. They were a tremendous asset during the year with administrative and promotional help. One day the two of them will likely find themselves in a camp ministry setting again. That is their ministry hope for the future. During the summer Stu was our Assistant Program Coordinator and Ashley was our Lifeguard Trainer and Head Lifeguard (she also organized and trained the staff for all of our Kids Praise worship). They are both very talented and, most of all, they love Jesus! God has opened the door for them to return to Stuart’s home church in Kosciusko, MS where Stu is the student minister. Their work there began in mid August and they are off to a grand start building a student ministry there. Pray for these two to thrive in the new ministry they have moved into. They have been such an important part of the LFR family for many years.

INTERNET TECHNOLOGY!We are planning for online registration to launch in 2015 – LFR plans to launch online registration for summer camp and for our retreats. Pray for all of our administrative team as we seek to make improvements in the next few weeks in the way that we register campers at LFR. We also plan to provide online staff applications as a part of this revamping of the way that we utilize internet technology. Speaking of the internet, don’t forget to find us and “like” us on Facebook.

CALLIE DAWKINS BEGINS A ONE YEARINTERNSHIP AT LAKE FOREST RANCH

Callie served with us during summer 2014 as our Administrative Assistant and she has been approved by the LFR Board of Directors to remain throughout the coming year to serve as our LFR Intern. Callie graduated in 2013 from Bryan College and she served as an LFR camp counselor during summer 2011. She feels that God has called her to administrative work in ministry and she wants the coming year at Lake Forest to further prepare her for this calling. God has gifted this precious young woman to be a blessing in her behind the scenes role. She’s really good at it! Callie will be working directly with Sandy Malone both in the nuts and bolts of office management and in discipleship. She will also be involved in ongoing discipleship, along with Suzanne Robbins, with young women from Noxubee County who were involved with Mission Camp Macon. She will remain a part of the LFR year-round team through summer 2015.

With about 40 families joining us for the final event of our summer, we all loved the culmination weekend for our summer camping season. About 18 of our summer staff came back to help out as over 175 folks had an uplifting time in the Lord with their families.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND FAMILY ESCAPE 2014

2 9

ANNOUNCING THE LAKE FOREST RANCH SCHEDULE FOR SUMMER CAMPS 2015 Go to LFR website for camp speakers and band name for Student Camps, MCM and Preteen Camps

CAMP DATES (Days) CAMPER AGES (grades completed) COST *Kids Camp A May 23-27 (Sat-Wed) 7-12 (1st thru 6th) $300*Kids Camp B May 28-June 1 (Thu-Mon) 7-12 (1st thru 6th) $345*Kids Camp C (mini) June 2-5 (Tue-Fri) 7-12 (1st thru 6th) $300Student Camp 1 June 7-12 (Sun-Fri) 11-18 (5th thru 12th) $345Student Camp 2 June 13-18 (Sat-Thu) 11-18 (5th thru 12th) $345Kids Camp D (preteen) June 20-24 (Sat-Wed) 9-12 (3rd thru 6th) $345Kids Camp E (preteen) June 25-29 (Thu-Mon) 9-12 (3rd thru 6th) $345Student Camp 3 July 5-10 (Sun-Fri) 11-18 (5th thru 12th) $345Mission Camp Macon July 11-18 (Sat-Sat) 14-21 (8th thru college) $320*Kids Camp F July 20-24 (Mon-Fri) 7-12 (1st thru 6th) $345*Kids Camp G July 25-29 (Sat-Wed) 7-12 (1st thru 6th) $345*Kids Camp H July 31-Aug.4 (Fri-Tue) 7-12 (1st thru 6th) $300

* Sunshine Club for ages 7 & 8 included for these camps with extra staff members on hand

2015 SCHEDULE

3 0

UNRESTRICTED GIFTS Help us keep the cost down for summer camp and for church group rental retreats by giving to this important fund. Through the generous unrestricted gifts from our friends and supporters, about 7% of our annual operation budget can be met. This is vital to the ongoing ministry of LFR. For the second year in a row our attendance for summer camps improved which helps our operation budget, but we will still not be able to completely cover the cost of operation without assistance and financial support from friends like you. Giving to this fund helps us to keep the basics going and growing at LFR. We will continue to work hard to keep spending costs down. Your gracious giving to this fund is a great help. Thank you!

CAMPERSHIPSFor summer 2014 we were able to provide 126 full and partial camperships for children and teens desiring to come to camp for a total amount of $31,167.50 given. A contribution to this fund changes lives. Of the campers attending LFR this summer through the provision of campership funds there were 29 life changing spiritual decisions recorded. Of those 16 were salvation decisions. Please help us to provide a way for these children to come to camp next summer through your prayerful gift.

MISSION CAMP MACONOur 11th year of Camp Macon was a huge success with 23 children and teens receiving Jesus Christ as Savior. The attendance was good, the weather beautiful, and the spirit of the young men and women who provided ministry leadership (student missionaries) and the youth and children from Noxubee County was fabulous. And our family night was our best attendance of 11 years. Under the capable leadership of intern Walker Jackson and his assistant Suzanne Robbins, it was truly one of our finest years since we began MCM in 2004. Nathan Sims from Hattiesburg will be our intern for 2015 and Suzanne will be returning to assist him in preparation. One of their most consuming tasks is raising the $20,000 budget for this annual event. The businesses and churches of Noxubee County underwrite much of the budget, but help is still needed from others to cover the expenses. A gift to Mission Camp Macon 2015 will be greatly appreciated as we continue to shine the light of Christ in our county. God is using that special week in a big way in Noxubee County each year.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS You can see by the drawing above that we are in the process of replacing our 50 year old swimming pool at LFR. It was only supposed to last about 25 years, so we certainly stretched that out! We will need to raise about $200,000 more in our capital improvement fund in order to cover the cost for this important camp addition. With the old pool we were able to limp along for the past decade with minor repairs here and there, but the problems and repair costs with the old one began to mount until we felt that pouring more money into a pool that is so old and worn out would not be wise. The new pool is slightly larger than the old one and the pool house is much larger and it will include bathrooms/changing rooms. The new fence around the pool will be far more attractive than the present cyclone fence and thus adding to the beauty of the lakefront. We have some other important pending camp improvements ahead, but those are of necessity being put on hold until we can get the new pool paid for.

LFR CLASSIFIEDSTRUCK NEEDED – We are in need of a donated truck that can be used for our equestrian program. The truck would need to have the capacity to pull a wagon loaded with campers to and from the barn. Our old truck does not have many miles left in it. If you have an old truck that is still in good working order and if you could use a tax write off on it, please let us know about it.

WOOD SPLITTER NEEDED – If you would be willing to donate a motorized wood splitter to LFR to help our facilities staff they would be deeply grateful. We have a fireplace and we have lots of wood around here (did you notice?) and with a little help with a splitter that fireplace can be constantly used during our (predicted cold) LFR winter. Please let us hear from you if you can help us with this.

DO YOU NEED A POOL PUMP? – If you are in need of a pool pump, the pump for the old pool is not too old and is still in good working condition. We would be happy to discuss a good price for you. Call Jeff Troyer at the camp for more information.

GIVING… YOUR GIFT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE AT LFR! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE HERE ARE A FEW OPTIONS...

PHOTOGRAPHER ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT GRAPHIC DESIGN HALEY COWAN CALLIE DAWKINS STUART REESEHALEYCOWAN@GMAIL.COM CALLIE@LAKEFORESTRANCH.COM STUARTREESE9@GMAIL.COM

SUMMER REFLECTIONS STAFF

PHOTO REFLECTIONSworkstaff & support staff set a new record

for the race around the lake of 7:47

3 2

LAKE FORESTR A N C H

web: lakeforestranch.com | e: sandy@lakeforestranch.com | p: 662.726.5052

follow us on facebook.com/lake.f.ranch

LAKE FOREST RANCH 2014 SUMMER STAFF