Hello everyone, I hope this finds you all well.  It has beeen a very busy week in Canada.  We have had two groups and will have three this week.  But before I get into the groups I wanted to talk a little about last Monday.  That Monday at Frontier Lodge was prayer day.  We packed up our backpacks with some lunch and our Bibles and journals and went to a recreational area close to here and dispersed.  We were encouraged to do what our director calls “SWEEPS.”  It is sleep, Word, eat, exercise, pray, and lastly serve.  He gave us an example from 1 Kings, when Elijah, after defeating the prophets of Baal went and did this process to renew his strength for ministry.  So, SWEEPS is exactly what we did.  We went off on our own and slept, ate, exercised, prayed, and read.  It was exactly what I needed.  I was able to speak to God about things that were on my heart, and He was able to speak tome through His Word.  It was very refreshing.  So many times we pray and read, but for no purpose or without the fervency that is deserves.  Monday was a day where I was able to focus totally on the communication between me and God and it was great.  I encourage everyone reading to make time and spend with God doing the SWEEPS method.  Take time to rest before God and then listen for His voice in the stillness of your day.  He will be faithful.  Will you?

Now, on to some of the groups.  Our first groups this week was from West Edmonton Christian School and they were all ninth graders.  It was a fun group; however, I only got to do one day of programming with them.  On Friday, we went to Wapiabi caves about thirty minutes drive away from camp.  It was a long hike and our group set the camp record for the fastest time up the mountain, 1:47.33.  They were moving!  At the top of the mountain there is a cave.  We all suited up and went down.  At the bottom of the cave, we turned off all the headlamps and it was utter darkness.  We also ried to remain as silent as possible.  It was a very powerful experience.  You could not see anything and it was silent.  It reminds me of the darkness that we all are or were once a part of.  We were all lost completely in our sins and were hopeless to save ourselves from it, just like in a dark cave without light.  Then Jesus saved us!  It reminded me of Colossians 1:13 which says, “For He [God] rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”  While we were in that moment, one of the other staff, Phil, shared how Jesus is represented by our headlamp, being our guiding light our of darknesss.  It was great for the campers.  It was also great for the staff because on the long hike down we were able to talk to them about their stories and how powerful our salvation really is.

Our second group was even better.  They came on Friday and left on Sunday.  I hosted the group so I was with them all of the time and they were great!  It was a public school seventh through ninth grade group that came in green to outdoor sports and left proud and accomplished.  They had some great kids and they were all participating in everything which is very nice to have.  On Saturday, I was even able to share the gospel with them in the morning before we all left for the day.  Sunday, however, was the best day.  We went on a moderate hike that was quite a stretch for some of the students.  In fact, two of the girls stayed back with one of the staff about mid-way through the hike because they were just so tired.  But after returning to camp, Jonathan, the staff member that stayed back said that these two non-Christian girls were talking about how they were glad they got to stay mid-way because they could enjoy God’s creation.  How awesome is hat!  It is great to hear that the things we are doing and saying are making a difference in the lives and hearts of these students.  Other students talked about how this was one of the greatest experiences of their lives and that they loved the challenges and accomplishments they made.  This is so encouraging to hear and makes it so fun to be around the students.  Some of them even expressed interest in returning to some of our summer camps.

So, as I wrap this week’s report up, I would just like to ask you to pray for some things.  First, pray for the Christian groups that came that their faith would be real and exciting to them.  Secondly, please pray for the public school group that came that their hearts would be open to the gospel and they would realize their need for a savior.  Pray especially for Jaclyn and Barbara, the two that stayed back and “enjoyed God’s creation.”  Just that simple statement means they at least caught on to our goal and purpose here at Frontier.  Pray that they would come to know Jesus as their personal savior though.  Lastly, please continue to pray for me as the longevity of my stay is becoming more and more real and the ongoing nature of camp ministry is beginning to take its toll.  I also don’t have a day off until Thursday (which will make one week straight of work without a day off) so please pray that God will renew my strength.  Also pray for Megan and my family as the longevity of my stay is becoming more real to them as well and that God would comfort them in my absence.  Thank you all in advance for your prayers.

To Christ within,

Craig

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