The gang at the beach during the Cape Breton Camp Out.
It has been a big summer, and I must apologize for not posting regular updates throughout. After our power outage week, we spent a lot of time playing catch-up; so I thought I'd give an overview of the entire summer in one post here.
Some of our team serving during the week of Day Camps!
This year we once again offered a week of day camps in communities. These day camps included, face painting, bouncy castle, a BBQ, puppets, music, games and a sketch board Gospel presentation by Kirk Hubick. These events were well received and gave us great opportunity to connect with campers and moms & dads as well. Lord willing we will plan to do two full weeks of day camps next year!
Gathering time in the dining hall during the power outage.
Our Teen Camp was quite eventful; although the after affects of the hurricane turned out to be relatively minor, New Brunswick suffered mass power outages that in some cases lasted for weeks. At Arrowhead we were without power for 128 hours. This made for some interesting changes to our approach to the week - but our volunteers felt they were up to the task, so we proceeded with the camp. A generator arrived with one of our volunteer teams from Ontario - and although it had not been in service for about 10 years, Jerald Hayden was able to keep it running long enough for us to save our 6 freezers and one fridge full of food for the summer. Thanks to the kind gifts of a couple of donors we were able to afford a new generator as well, so now ANBC is equipped with two generators going forward. Initially we had a bucket crew hauling water from the lake for washing dishes and flushing toilets - but when it became evident that the outage would last indefinitely we ordered in porta-potties. We saw the Lord work and we heard the Gospel preached by Kirk Hubick; our efforts were more than worth the while!
Junior Camp #1 saw campers come from a number of different communities. It was encouraging to make inroads into some communities that we have not had at ANBC for some years. Although this week saw a number of trips to the hospital - the Lord offered His protection and there was no one seriously injured. It's amazing to me to see how God uses what appears to be bad for His own glory. This seemed to be a theme this year as He taught us to rely on Him in everything. Micah Hiltz was with us this week and once again it was awesome to hear the Gospel clearly and fully declared for the young people.
This year we changed our approach to the Cape Breton Camp Out; our intent was to engage in a family camping experience for our campers. With a mindset of doing those things that we would do with our own families were we to go tenting in Cape Breton. It was a rousing success - we saw amazing opportunities in spending time with the kids and genuine relationships sprout as we enjoyed our time together in Cape Breton. The trip included whale watching, a visit to the Fortress of Louisbourg, hiking, tenting, BBQ, swimming and of course smores. Kevin Strout and I (Grant) shared the devotional times - he shared from the Word in the morning and I shared for evening devotions. We were very pleased to hear the kids asking excellent questions and really wrestling with just what it means to repent and believe!
We had planned a Junior Camp #2, but unfortunately due to a lack of committed volunteer staff we were forced to cancel the week and revamp some of our scheduling. It can be discouraging to think about it in human terms as a failure - but it certainly does not fall outside of God's Sovereignty and He knows exactly why and with what purpose He saw fit for it to be this way. This week break gave Liz and I a couple of days to recuperate and prepare for the next week.
Tie dye this year fro crafts... was a big hit... if a little messy...
This last week of camp was our smallest, but by no means any less important. Andrew Ardern came and shared the Gospel chronologically with the campers through the week. We saw a large staff emerge (somewhat unexpectedly) and once again hear the young people engaged in confronting the issues of repentance and faith in their own lives.
Although we did not have a lifeguard this summer, I didn't hear one single complaint from camper or staff about not swimming. The attitude and focus of our team was contagious and the atmosphere at camp was excellent throughout the summer. I am truly thankful for the wonderful teams that arose each week for the sake of the Gospel and for the honor of the Lord. It is humbling and exciting to see and hear such dedication to Gospel clarity.
We are looking forward to an interesting fall - you can pray for us as we drive to Pinawa, Manitoba at the end of this month for the NCEM General Conference. This conference occurs every three years and it is a requirement of the mission that the entire mission body be in attendance. We're looking forward to seeing everyone, but are not sure what the 40 hour journey will be like for Ivy.
This September will also bring our annual ladies retreat, we are excited to have Carol Keuhner joining us for the weekend and look forward to her messages "So that Christ may be exalted!" We encourage you to join us for this excellent weekend of fellowship and time in God's Word.
We will also be hosting a charity fundraiser banquet at ANBC in September - more information on this will follow very soon. But with Fawcett baby #2 on the way it has become necessary for us to re-evaluate our living situation. In order to accommodate another bedroom and give us some space for storage, a home office and guest room - we are looking at a small building project this fall. We will need to complete it before the snow flies in order to be ready for Ivy's baby sister.
We thank you all for your ongoing prayer and financial support as we seek to serve the Lord at ANBC - we are excited to see where the Lord is taking the ministry of NCEM in Atlantic Canada and are so pleased to have you be a part of it with us.
You can look at a fantastic library of pictures from this summers camps by visiting our Facebook Page, simply click
HERE.
