Wow! Time flies when you keep telling yourself "I need to blog... " but then you don't. I have been busy with the ending of the 9weeks and all, but I would rather just be honest. The truth is, I coasted for a while with the camp stuff. I was kind of depressed about the whole lack of progress, and in a sick way figured the best way to deal with the lack of progress was to ignore what I should focus on. It was a total lack of faith and faithfulness on my part. But God used my wonderful wife to wake me up the other day. She said, "Matt, not to be mean, but-". You have to love it when your spouse starts off a statement like that! (it was already late at night, and we were fixing to go to bed) Erin then proceeded to tell me how she just didn't see how the whole camp thing was going to get done-especially if I wasn't going to do what I needed to do. These words of brutal honesty woke me up, and I thanked her and God right then. The next day I started working more diligently on things I could do to keep the whole camp vision going. I wish I could say I have a ton of good news to report, but the truth is we are awaiting the answers to several issues currently.
Issue 1- we await the response from Angelo Bible Church and our nonprofit status. We know it's just basically a matter of time to hammer out the specifics, and we are working with ABC to get this done as soon as possible. Please pray that we can get this finalized in the next week or so.
Issue 2- the EXACT timing of the camp. I have the high school gym available for the summer, but I can't reserve an exact week until I talk with some of the coaches that have expressed an interest in helping. In answer to prayer, I talked with a former coach from Cornerstone Christian School, and he committed immediately to helping out. He and his family are totally excited about coming up. His quick response was an answer to prayer and a great encouragement. (isn't it amazing how God does that- encourages you at just the right moment?) I will have more to report next week, Lord willing, as I will be talking with another coach on Wednesday to see if the dates of July 9-13 will work for him. So far I have three coaches that have committed to helping us. Pray for us all as we try to coordinate their schedules. I will also need more staff of course, so pray for that as well! I want to let you know the names of the coaches so they can be lifted up specifically: Mike, Rory, and Sean. Sean says he knows a coach from Angelo State University and will ask him if he is interested in coming out as well. This is another encouraging development. Pray that it leads to another coach if that is God's will.
Issue 3- board members. I have talked with three folks locally, but have not gotten a definitive answer from any of them. Pray that they see clearly God's will concerning their involvement. I personally would love to have a board organized now, but God's timing is not mine!
So we have been working on camp stuff, but it feels like we are moving slowly as we await answers to these issues. In other news, I was able to meet with the pastor of the local Baptist Church, and he said they would be willing to help. I sent him a brief memo describing specific ways his church could help us in getting the camp started. I have also talked to Mark Morris, the UIM missionary that has houses for rent. The plan is to have the camp staff stay in a house or two there at the mission property, which is right next to Crosslands. (our church for those who don't know-) I will give Mark a specific date for renting the homes once I have the exact dates for camp. (Lord willing, by the end of this week!) So that wraps up the camp stuff for now!
CEF- Erin and the ladies still have only 5 or so kiddos coming to the club. It is nice on one hand, because each child can really be focused on. But it would be nice to have a few more kids. Mrs. Soltero has gone to California to meet with a specialist there and they plan on doing surgery in a few weeks.
Lastly, here's some specific prayer requests-
Pray for Erin and I as we continue to do CEF and prepare for camp. At times we feel alone in trying to get the camp thing going in particular. Pray too that we can get the nonprofit, exact date of the camp, and board member issues moved on to more final solutions. I still need coaches, so pray that God gives us the folks we need. Pray too for unity among the staff as we will be bringing folks from all over to work together. Pray too that we could find more local support in the form of churches and individuals willing to help. We want the camp to be long term, so the need is to find local Christians to get behind the camp idea as well. Pray for CEF and the kids to be reached; pray for Mrs. Soltero and her treatment.
