Tuesday, August 5

We were ready for day 2 of the camp, and we started with the normal devotion of workers. Today, Ron Edwards, the pastor from Washington, talked about the compassion of Christ. He mentioned that three things are needed to reach others for Christ - a compassionate Savior, a concerned saint and a conditioned sinner. As we went through camp and as we go through normal life, are we concerned for the lost? Sometimes, we tend to see others as numbers, when Jesus views them with compassion. To reach others, we need to show that we are concerned - and this can be through a variety of ways - sometimes, just our attitude towards them. This is especially true for the sports camp and dealing with all of the kids.

Here's a bit on the numbers in the camp. To date, we have 78 campers. 3 of them are from the Washington group, and 12 are from Westlynn (church members). 21 campers, from 13 families, have no church home and 2 of them have attended Westlynn a couple of times. Additionally, 13 new families are represented in the camp this year. The overall numbers are a bit lower than the past couple of years, but the fact that so many new families are represented shows that there is great potential.

The beginning of the camp starts with a rally. Randy leads the kids and workers in some songs, and the kids generally really get into it by the end of the week.

Phil leads baseball, along with Ed from Washington, and a couple of Vancouver teens.

Don leads basketball, along with Chris from Washington. Amity and Amy from Vancouver are the teen workers.

With larger groups, the scrimmages at the end of the sessions are rather large. With one group, Grandpa (Randy) plays along.

John North has been taking a lot of pictures, from several very inventive spots.

Madison is one of the group leaders - teens from Missouri, Washington and Vancouver, who stick with a class and help to make sure they get to where they need to be on time, and ensure the kids stay hyrdated.

With the younger kids, some inventive 'sports' have been created. Norm, from Washington, created a basketball hoop out of a box, a hula hoop and a beach ball. It was a hit with the younger ones.

We have at least a couple of kids with special needs. It is great that they are able to be a part of the sports camp, in some way.

After the camp, we went to Lonsdale Quay (pronounced key) and did some shopping. Another picture best left off the internet involved one member getting a foot massage. We ate Chinese and had ice cream afterwards. While on Lonsdale, I noticed the price of gas - makes you feel better about American prices, doesn't it?