We wear ourselves out with fun at Camp Promise :)! It is a beautiful, fun place! We were reminded, again, this year, of the beauty of God's creation in our surroundings and also in the lives of each camper and staff!

Our second week of Camp Promise has come to a close, and we had such fun with these friends! There is much fun to have, from free time to learning together in chapel.

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Wednesday, we had a beautiful sunny day to enjoy electives (like boating, archery, and the ropes course). We also enjoyed our annual cookout. Jeff's camper, Alan, needed a table, so Jeff's back worked well! As we studied the life of Jonah in chapel, we discussed how God, in His love, rescued Jonah by sending the fish to swallow him whole. He rescued us by sending Jesus to die to take the punishment for our sins so that we could be friends with God! We ended our chapel time with a DVD of Alan's testimony - of God changing his life after an accident when he was in the Coast Guard. Another camper, Jennifer, sang Amazing Grace for us! I am always touched by how God works in and through the lives of our campers to minister to us! WOW!

Today marks the end of our first week of Camp Promise. It has gone by fast in some ways and slow in others, but it was a week full of fun! We now have an official camp photographer to whom we are SO grateful! I'll try to post many of her pictures in the days to come!

Game time in the evenings is a great time to relax before bed!
Camp Promise is such a neat place to see campers encouraging each other in their relationship with God. Here, Robbie and Alison team up to work on their Bible books.
Jeremie, one of a million, who enjoyed the super hammocks donated to camp this year.
More fun rowdiness as the group awaits the next item of excitement on the agenda. Wade and Matt have grown to be great pals over the last few years.

A smorgasbord of week one for you to see :) . . . archery, boating, and snack shop fun!

Meet Nathan. He lives at Lighthouse Christian Home, a local Christian group home for adults with disabilities. Jeff is on the board for their facility and spent the spring hanging out with Nathan one day a week. Nathan and one other resident, Kristen, stayed overnight at camp while the other 10 residents came with their staff as day campers this year. Below you see the teamwork it takes to hoist a camper up on the "flying squirrel".
Camp Promise is a super place for reuniting with friends and meeting new ones :)! LOTS of smiles are the result!!

The lake is a fantastic place to hang out :)! Above, Jacob cools his feet with Kelly. Roscoe and Meghan try to refresh with a bit of aqua for drinking. Don't forget the rowdiness that can occur as well :) - Mikey & Matt - some of the ultimate wrestlers that show up at camp :)!

We were certainly not lacking in camp dogs to love at camp this year (at least five made appearances off and on). This is Zoe, who flew all the way from PA with Wendy & Bill. Sylvia and Shandra are giving her lots of attention.

Mrs. L is our faithful craft gal at camp! We're so glad to have her around and she LOVES her new craft room (downstairs in our new office building - built with many memorial gifts to her husband). The store Jeff runs all summer is also in the basement of this wonderful building. This handsome crafter is Seth. You may remember me mentioning him in the winter. His mom painted the tulip masterpiece that was my anniversary gift. Seth also comes to our Friday Night Out program regularly.
Crafts are a FAVORITE elective, especially on cold days!!
Sunny day for a all camp picture. We all had trouble keeping our eyes on the camera :)!
After breakfast each morning, we spend time reading our Bibles together.

Jeremiah has had more fun each year he comes to camp. Mrs. Wendy is a favorite swim buddy at the lake (Kara's, too!)
This is Thea! This is a constant laughing face she wears :)! She is the deaf camper whom we tried to find an interpreter for last year, but couldn't. This year we were able to have someone come in the evenings, and I had fun going to Bible class with her. She is a great sport and has fun - uninhibited by language barriers!
Mikayla and Hillary were such special friends this year. It seems they both enjoyed camp this year much better because of this friendship!!

A few highlights from week two of Camp Promise. Again, there are many more wonderful photos, so more to come :) . . . The second picture is Chrissy. She came to church with us for several months last fall. You can pray she would continue desiring getting together with other Christians and learning more from the Bible. Lots of smiles this week of camp :)!