8/3 – Prayer Requests & Praises

• Counselors are doing great having patience with campers in very demanding situations. Our disciplinary procedures and staff are all working pro-actively to solve problems before they grow into crisis. Praise God for an excellent staff with willing hearts!
• Please pray for staff and campers as they endure the hot weather and oppressive sun. Everyone’s energy levels are quickly zapped by working and playing outside, and we are thankful that everyone is working hard to stay hydrated and that there have been no major heat-related health problems.
• Last night’s cabin devotions outlined God’s plan of salvation for the campers. Pray that God would continue to convict campers and lead counselors as they guide them through tough questions.
• Pray for two campers who are negative towards one another and butting heads. One in particular is very critical of the other campers—please pray that they find a way to reconcile themselves and that the counselor would have wisdom in guiding that process.
• Praise God that they are asking good questions during devotions. Another two campers are struggling with doubts and consistently asking whether the Bible can be trusted. The counselor thinks their questions are genuine and heartfelt and he sees true seeking hearts in them. Pray that God would open their hearts to receive his word. The cabin as a whole is also really enthusiastic about the memory verse and are doing well during that time. Pray that all our campers would hide pieces of God’s word in their heart for a lifetime. 
• One camper has grown especially short-fused and is struggling to control his behavior. Pray that he would allow God’s peace into his heart and learn how to control himself. A second camper who really struggled with fighting at Camp last year is doing very well and it’s encouraging to see ways in which he has grown up. Last night, the campers asked their counselor how much he got paid for working with him this week and they were blown away by the fact that he is a volunteer who is sacrificing a week of his time to be with them.
• One camper in particular purposefully isolates himself from the group. In years past he has had many discipline problems and certainly keeps pushing camper and staff buttons, testing the limits. As a sixteen year old, pray that he would feel a connection with the rest of his cabin and his counselor and be open to the message of God’s love. Pray that his counselor would have wisdom in fostering cabin unity and have faith that the camper is in God’s hands and it is not up to him to turn the camper’s heart around this last summer that he’ll be at camp.
• Pray for another sixteen year old camper who has also heard other campers in other cabins talking and is now interested in returning next year as staff. Pray that he would understand that process and sustain his enthusiasm through the year.
• Two boys in particular are very negative influences; as friend back home they play off one another and create a cynical environment in which there is little respect for one another. Pray that God would encourage the counselor especially and that our team would have discernment in handling this situation together. Pray also for one camper who continues to have very bad allergies.
• Some campers are beginning to grow increasingly obstinate with one another, but they are still responding very well to our disciplinary procedures. One of the campers also just moved into a new foster home where there is a strong Christian influence. Pray that he would be able to take the message of the Gospel home from camp to a place where it will be reinforced consistently and grow in a transforming way in his life.