Father/Son Camp at Nathanael

Well, it has been far too long since I have written up a blog post but here it is.

The week I will be referencing began on June 22nd the weekend after our two weeks of training. Year after year, this week is often a test drive of sorts for our Staff and Noncom team to figure out how to work together in the ministry. That being said, our test drive was very successful. Our dish and grounds crew had success setting tables, washing dishes, mowing, and keeping camp tidy, the Noncoms serving as liaisons for the cabins of Father/Son pairs helped everyone stay informed on the schedule and know where to be, our Lifeguarding crew made sure there were no incidents on the waterfront, and our Staff team did an excellent job overseeing all that happened in each area of Camp and leading Noncoms towards success and a good experience for our Campers.

Father/Son camp is often my favorite week as there are lots of dads that used to work at Camp or came up as a campers when they were young, as a result there are lots of funny stories that get shared. Moreover, lots of dads are very interested in us as Staff and Noncoms and I find that it's a lovely and uplifting opportunity to share what all God has been doing in my life. Seeing the joy that comes over me and the Dads as I get to share is always a blessing to my heart and spirit.

During this week, I had two lovely opportunities to serve the ministry, the first was managing the safety and successful function of our climbing tower; and the second was giving a spiritual Invitation to the dads and sons at our evening Campfire ceremony. Firstly, the climbing tower. I was assisted in ensuring safety by four of our Noncoms, Silas, Gabe, Grisha, and Noah. Silas and Gabe are certified in belaying and were usually at the bottom of the tower helping kids with the climbs on the sides of the tower. Meanwhile, I spent much of the time on the top of the 50ft tower, managing the Zipline that runs from the top of the tower, onto a little Island in the midst of a little pond. Grisha and Noah were in charge of helping boys (and the occasional dad) with dismounting from the Zipline. All in all, I was very encouraged by the high quality service our team was able to provide to the fathers and sons. This service came not only in the form of a safe climb and Zipline ride but also lots of uplifting conversations that we had with dads.

Secondly, the spiritual Invitation. This is a segment of our evening Campfire ceremony that I believe to be invaluable. Our Campfire ceremony goes as follows: 2-3 fun, uproarious songs; a short comedy skit; 5-6 softer, spiritual songs; a Biblically based, often allegorical Campfire story; then the Invitation. The Invitation serves as an explanation of the story, application of its principles and lessons to our lives, and a (you guessed it) Invitation to think on a particular question or decision related to the Christian walk and faith. We use this time to invite Campers to make the decision to follow Christ, consider making a change to their behavior, help resolve an attitude or discipline issue in their life, or another thought provoking question. All in all, I place a lot of value on this final part of Campfire and getting to present an invitation during the week was a huge blessing.

I hope that this post finds each of you, dear readers well and in joyful spirits. I plan to post again by the end of tomorrow so stay tuned for that!

Blessings,

Levi R Miller