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Fall News- Bad News and Good News |
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| HE IS ABLE | October 28, 2011 |
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Greetings!
Today we will start with the bad news, but we would really like for you to see this as an opportunity! We still have 109 camper sponsorships to fill. This is really sad for me because this means many of our campers do not have a sponsor who is praying for them this fall. Prayer is such a powerful thing and I desire that each of our campers have someone asking God to work on their behalf.
 This shortage of sponsorships has also put a financial strain on the camp, draining most of it's funds. Last year at the end of camp, we only needed 36 more camper sponsorships, and by October the bulk of those had come in and we were able to focus on preparing for the next camp season. God did this even with the 50% increase in camper numbers. The shortage in sponsorships this year means an opportunity for you to still sponsor a camper, or several!
I believe God will provide for all our needs just as he has for the past nine years. Last payday our secretary was praying about how she was going to write the needed checks, and that day a local church sent in an unexpected gift of $2,000. That was enough to cover the bills and paychecks at that moment!! Now it is just four days until payday again, and we need a miracle- God's provision.
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100 years ago Lillian Trasher started an orphanage in Egypt, which is still in operation today. |
Our family has been reading the biography of Lillian Trasher, a missionary to Egypt. The stories of God's provision have really encouraged us that HE IS ABLE! My wife and I have been fervently praying for God's provision and we believe He wants us to share this need with you. Would you take a moment and ask God if He would have you help meet this need and to work on our behalf?
For the Children's Sake,
Ben Smith, Camp Director
P.S. Rejoice with us in all the good news in the following reports! |
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What do we do with campers during the school year?
We have launched our new Mentoring Program and so far we have 12 campers and 8 staffers involved! Pictures coming soon...
We also send out a Monthly Newsletter with a devotional, verse to memorize, and happy pictures from camp. Take a look at our new design for this year! |
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"At the beginning of the week, one of my girls came very skeptical and with a pretty angry heart. As the week went on, I watched God soften her heart and open her mind to His love. It was exciting to see the Holy Spirit fill her and bring new life into what was once dead! At the end of the week my camper gave her life to Christ and got baptized. What an amazing feeling!" -Twila
(camp counselor)
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 Help for 3 Weeks! Good news- wow! For the past three weeks we have had a MMAP team of four retired couples working here at camp. During these weeks they hung the rest of the fascia and soffit on Fort Turley and GTC (Grandpa Tom's Cabin), finished all the electrical in GTC, did landscaping, sewed aprons, painted GTC, and just got a ton of stuff done. Thank you Jim and B.J., Rich and Barbara, Al and Carol, Dewey and Charlotte. They were such an encouragement and blessing to us. We will miss them.  
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Playground Fundraiser
 Our Pizza Inn fundraiser on October 17th went really well! We had an amazing turn-out for the event with friends from almost every church in Rolla there! Our team of 28 volunteers greeted customers, waited tables, and washed dishes for over four hours and together we raised $1200 toward new playground equipment.
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Interns
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Our interns are doing a wonderful job hosting retreats, setting up presentations at college & youth groups (they made over 8 presentations the past few weeks), recruiting help for different camp projects, writing skits for camp next summer, designing display boards and other promotional materials, mentoring campers weekly, keeping the grass mowed at camp, and a whole lot more. We are so blessed to have them living here and part of our team! | |
Work Teams
Since camp we were blessed with four work teams including: First Baptist of St. James, who finished the electrical in the barn; CCF, who took down the wagon tarps and put all the mattresses in storage; First United Methodist Church of Rolla, who built six devotional spots for the camper's morning devotions; First Baptist of Rolla, who helped organize all the tools in the new maintenance barn. Thank you all, what a blessing! | |
Retreats
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Rent CDO for your group event! |
We have enjoyed hosting three retreats so far this fall. Our own Staff Retreat with nearly 50 staff, the SCA Autumn Arrows with over 100 people staying in tents all over camp, and the Rolla Prayer Group Retreat. If you are interested in having a retreat here at Camp David of the Ozarks, give us a call. We would love to host your group!
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This was our 4th annual Staff Retreat, and the first time we were able to host it here! |
Next week we will host our first ever, "Renewing Hope Retreat", for those reaching out to at-risk kids in the camping ministry. We are excited to network with many others who have a vision for seeing at-risk kids come to God and their lives changed.
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2 Corinthians 9:10-11
"God supplies seed to the planter. He supplies bread for food. God will also supply and increase the amount of your seed. He will increase the results of your good works. You will be made rich in every way. Then you can always give freely. We will take your many gifts to the people who need them. And they will give thanks to God."
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New website and online forms coming soon!! The online forms will make it easier to volunteer, so make plans now to be part of our team next summer! |
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