June 2024 ☀️
Summer Camp ID Files
Our theme this summer is ID Files. Think old school detective and solving mysteries. The daily dramas have centered around this theme with speakers focused on helping campers find their Identity in Jesus. There are a lot of opinions on where your identity comes from with many saying it comes from within and that you get to decide. Our speakers have challenged the campers to see how God defines us and our purpose.
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” – Ephesians 5:8
You can listen in on one of the speakers, Ian Dunnaway, who we interviewed on The Voice of Camp Nathanael! https://sharpsatcamp.com/podcast
What have we been doing?
We hit the ground running at the beginning of June and haven’t stopped! It’s the busiest time of year for us. As we go into July we are getting tired, but so excited to see the work God is doing in the lives of the children (and adults) who have come onto our campus. We have a great group of Summer Missionaries, High School and College Kids, who are counseling, team leading, working in the dining room, the store, the pool and all the other jobs around camp. We enjoy getting to know them as we interact with them throughout the weeks and getting to encourage them in their walks with the Lord and pour into them as they pour into these campers around them.
We are doing all of the behind the scenes jobs, but all jobs are important and it’s so good seeing the body of Christ work together to impact lives. Lee has been doing his normal office work ensuring bills are paid and donations are processed. He has also gotten to lead Bible Classes almost every week, including a week with the high school kids Digging Deeper into the MetaNarative of the Bible. They walked through the entire narrative of the Bible in 3 one hour classes. He has 2 more weeks, so 2 more Bible classes to go, repeating his classes for the 6th graders and then the 4th-5th graders after that.
Tess has been spending every day with our Mission Kids, the kids of the full time staff (and sometimes other volunteers) while their parents are leading Bible Classes and Activities and all the other necessary jobs each morning. There have been between 10-15 kids ages 0-10 in each normal camp week and we had around 8-9 babies/toddlers (0-2 years old) each morning and evening during our Family Camp programs. Lots of babies being held and snacks being poured and swings being pushed, all for the glory of God. Everyone’s job at Camp Nathanael looks a bit different but we have enjoyed seeing the kids have fun and hear stories of the work God is doing in their lives as they spend their week at Camp. Tess also has spent a bit of time keeping our Camp Store stocked and working as the Medical Coordinator, ensuring all of the first aid kits are stocked and nurses are scheduled and prepared for each week of kids.
Pray with us
- 13 campers have declared Jesus is Lord! Pray for these campers as they learn and grow deeper in their faith and trust.
- Pray we are able to stay healthy. We have had some close calls with some ailments that we have thankfully quickly recovered.
- Pray as we navigate facility problems! We have had 2 air conditioners break and our walk in cooler in the dining hall. We are thankful for friends at Disaster Relief who had an extra walk in fridge on a trailer we could borrow. It’s amazing to see God provide in some unexpected ways.
- Pray for the campers who have and continue to grow in their faith
- Pray with the Summer Missionaries (High School and College age) who are growing in their faith and service and leadership.