How Things Look From Down Here: Pine Cove, Round...... I Lost Count

I am off once again to my summer home, Pine Cove in Tyler, Texas. I will be posting to this blog periodically throughout the summer to keep you updated on all of my camp adventures.

Pine Cove Christian Camps has been a huge part of my life, both as a camper and a staffer. I started going to The Woods family camp in third grade. My family and I spent seven summers there. I began youth camping at The Ranch as a seventh grader. I spent two summers there. The Shores was my final camping destination, I camped there all four years of high school. In 2011, I was hired by The Timbers youth camp and worked the second half of that summer as a counselor. Last summer I worked first half as a traveling base camps counselor, and then second half as a Timbers counselor. I figured that one more summer at Pine Cove wouldn't kill me. I am working 13 weeks for Base Camps this summer. My first half experience last year convinced me that if I was going to come back, it would have to be on base camps.

I am a Pine Cove person, but don't worry I won't use 100 exclamation points or tell you that Pine Cove is the only camp that does it right. While my lack of punctuation and persuasive language might not show it, I love everything about camp. Pine Cove is a place where you (staffers) are always tired, a little sick, and have muscle pain, but it is all worth it. We get payed to hang out and share the gospel with kids! I am constantly surrounded by amazing Christian men and women that are on a mission to share Christ. Having the opportunity to watch others overcome struggles and put themselves last is a great encouragement to me. Hanging out with first through fifth graders may not sound like fun to you, but I love it. Young kids are unpredictable, and I never can predict what they will say or do next. Sharing Christ with them, and realizing that they can understand it at such a young age, is truly a testament to how universal the Gospel really is.

I will miss my family and friends here, but I am so excited for what God has in store for me. I will be on Base Camps Team A. Base Camps is a newer addition to the Pine Cove camping world. Each Base Camp team travels from city to city partnering with churches. We pile 30 staffers into vans, trucks, and busses to travel to churches that we have partnered with. We travel to cities in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and of course Texas. Riding eleven hours in a fifteen-passenger van with people you just met can cause accelerated bonding experiences. Once we get to our destinations, we set up camp and get the week started. Base Camps seeks campers that do not attend services at the church we partner with. Usually these campers don't attend church at all. We spend all week sharing Christ with campers and their families, but that's not where the mission ends. After we are gone, the church seeks out the people that we brought in to camp. The church wants to begin shepherding these people and making them part of their flock. We travel the country to help churches reach the lost people in their communities. We are a short-term missions group that hopes for long-term effects.

Again, I am waiting anxiously to see how God will move this summer. Please keep my team and me in your prayers as we travel. Below is a list of the cities and churches we are traveling to this summer. Please let me know if you will be in any of these places the same time as me.

Week 1 - Grace Fellowship - Johnson City, TN
Week 2 - Fellowship Bible - Brentwood, TN
Week 3 - Southcrest Church - Newnan, GA
Week 4 - CrossPointe Church - Columbus, GA
Week 5 - Fellowship Bible - Longview, TX
Week 6 - First Methodist Houston - Downtown Houston, TX
Week 7 - Grace Bible - Dallas, TX
Week 8 - FBC Midlothian - Midlothian, TX (My Hometown)
Week 9 - Crown of Life Lutheran - Colleyville, TX
Week 10 - Frisco Bible Church - Frisco, TX
Week 11 - Crosspoint Church - Bellaire, TX (Houston)

All of the pictures below are from my Base Camps travels last year.