Camp Kellogg

On July 10 I went to Camp Kellogg with my youth group for my second year of senior high camp. This year was very different from last year. The main difference was in the people there. Last year my friend Alyssa came with me to camp, but she wasn’t able to come this year. Another difference was that there was a very different group of people there and I have a new youth pastor. However, God moved in my life in powerful ways, and we had a great time.

It all started on Tuesday morning of the tenth of August. My mom dropped my brother and I off at the church. Once the whole group was there, we prayed together and then we all piled into the church van and headed off. I ended up in the very back of the van with my brother and my friend Josh.

When we finally arrived at Camp Kellogg, we were greeted by a group of about 4 to 5 people stopped the van and get out. One was dressed up as Robin Hood and another as a friar. The one that was dressed up as Robin Hood said that we were trespassing in his woods and he made us sing “I’m a Little Teapot” in order for us to continue up the driveway.

Once we had made our way up the driveway, we unloaded the van, carried our stuff to our cabins, and then headed down to chapel. In chapel there was a short skit and then a leader went over the camp rules. After that we all headed up a hill to a field where we played a few ice breaker games.

I was confused on one of the games, so I decided to just sit out. I sat and talked with one of the girls in my youth group who was also sitting out. We instantly began to notice that we had a lot in common and we ended up becoming really good friends over the next few days.

That evening after dinner we went down to chapel again for worship and the first camp sermin which was about God’s love for us. We had chapel every morning and evening. One of the best parts of the whole camp was worship. This past year I have been having trouble enjoying singing because I kept on comparing my voice to others and worrying about what they think of me. Throughout my week at camp, God helped me be able to let go of my worries about whether or not I am good enough at singing and just have fun and focus on him. I even went to the altar for the very first time. I hear God’s voice all the time when I am worshiping, but I just had never really felt led to go to the altar. As I was at the altar, the worship team was singing a song called “Here’s My Heart, Lord.” I sang the words to the song as I knelt there in the presence of my Savior. The chorus of the song says, “here’s my heart Lord, speak what is true.” As I sang I gave my heart and all the lies that Satan had told me about who I am and asked him to replace them with truth about how he sees me.

Even Though Senior high camp at camp Kellogg was very different from last year, God moved in my life and in the other campers’ lives in powerful ways. Many people heard God call them in to ministry, at least one camper accepted God into their heart for the first time in their life, and we also had a blast!

This is My friend Amelia’s testimony of how God moved in her life this year at camp:

This year I went to Senior High Camp at Camp Kellogg with my youth group. On the first day, I was in a bad mood, so I talked to my friend Natalie. We prayed together, and God gave me the word "be." It sounded like He wanted me to just be still and not try to force righteousness and a relationship with Him. We continued to have a good time from then on. Although it was hot, I got to play paintball and go on the zip line during the week. However, the best parts were the conversations, connections, and chapel time. The worship team did amazing and played one of my favorite songs, "Simple Gospel." I was able to enjoy worship unlike normal. The speaker, Zach Carpenter used the same analogy throughout the week: a board to represent Jesus's way for us to get from sin (which was a cinderblock) to God's kingdom (which was another cinder block several feet away). He also carried a duffel bag to represent sanctification, completely surrendering the baggage of our lives. That spoke to me, and I was able to begin leaving my bags to God. He spoke to me about how He will help me. It's a promise even though it might not be fulfilled immediately or all at once. God blessed me with the opportunity to connect with one of the people in our youth group and witness the changes in their life. Praying for that person and praying with another person at chapel Wednesday was so refreshing and gave me so much joy. Then, in our cabin's reflection conversation afterward, I knew that I need to be doing that. God called me to be a youth pastor. I know that things might not get clearer from here, and things will likely get harder, but even these weeks after camp God is helping me understand the things He spoke to me at camp. God is truly, undeniably good.

If you would like to ask any questions or learn more about The C.A.N Sisters’ Ministry, leave a comment below, check out our website, or email us at cansistersministry@gmail.com.