It's really hard to believe that we made it to the finish line of our two weeks of Camp Promise already!!! (you should come try racing to dinner with us next year , like the group in the picture:)The staff was spectacular, and the campers went home healthy & seemed to have a fantastic time! As in other years, we were truly blessed by a staff that went above and beyond the call of duty! We had many returning campers and a few new ones! For the first time, we had a group of 12 day campers from a local group home facility! They were a wonderful addition to the fun! The chapel and Bible class times went wonderfully, too! Much enthusiasm could be heard during skits and singing times, especially! It was neat to see many of the campers troubled over the hardship Joseph faced at the beginning of the week in our lessons . . . then, wow, were they excited to learn how God worked everything out and Joseph was even able to forgive his brothers by the end of our lessons!! We talked much about relying on God to be our friend and to help us to do our best even when things are difficult. We also emphasized the exciting opportunity we have to experience God's forgiveness (He forgives and forgets :) and to share this forgiveness with others!
Our little Ortlings were such troopers! It's so sweet to see them make personal connections with the campers :)! Jeff is back to Lifeguarding this week and will be preparing for speaking in chapels next week at one of BSBC's Junior weeks (3rd-6th graders). The kids and I are hanging at home for a few days, but I'm sure we'll be missing the action soon :)! We love camp and are SO glad God has placed us in this place :)!

Busy days :)! Fun days :)! Over the last couple of weeks we've been getting ready for camp and seeing God do great things to provide us with a new and bigger vehicle!! A couple of weeks ago, our Subaru blew its head gasket (sp?) and required a new engine! Days prior to this I had been thinking how nice it would be to have a roomier car, but I knew we weren't really in a position to get something new. Friends of ours heard our plight and offered to give us their '99 Dodge Caravan instead of trading it in on the new car they were buying. We are SO blessed! When frustrations like car trouble arise, why do I even worry! The boys were so sweet and matter of fact as they prayed for God to provide to fix our car or give us a new one. They prayed and were off playing again! (Such confidence- child-like faith!!) We had fun this week washing our new van :)! We're off to camp for 2 weeks today - more pictures soon :)!!!