Blessings Through It All

It has been five days since Ian’s passing, and I am finding serving here at Camp des Cimes to be a refuge in some respects, but a trial in others. As with all experiences, you must take the good with the bad. The work and constant activity at camp has been a blessed distraction from thoughts of Ian, but it has also been exhausting. I so badly want to be home to attend the funeral and celebrate Ian’s impact on others, but also know that I was called here for a reason and cannot abandon my duty – this feeling is certainly something Ian knew well. I have not hidden my emotions, but have tried to find joy in moments of true community here. I know Ian wouldn’t want anything less, and I am hoping everyone here who heard the news understands that when I smile and laugh, I am experiencing much needed catharsis from the sorrow I feel. For the most part, people here have been very good about giving me my space and allowing me to grieve alone when I feel the need.

Friends and family have been a blessing from afar as well, sending their love and support. To be honest, it is a bit overwhelming. Know that I do not have energy to write too much back to each of you, but that your words have been invaluable to me in this time.

Camp chugs along like a well-oiled machine despite many last-minute changes. Yesterday, the dinner’s turkey order did not come until 6:15 – two hours later than scheduled. The kitchen team was panicked but worked hard to get the meal out before eight and succeeded with flying colors, delivering a meal every bit as delicious as we would expect from them. Video workshop has also experienced some bumps in the road as our editor’s computer crashed and we were left with less attractive options to do post-production work. I have committed my free time following workshop and prior to dinner to editing on our computer using iMovie. It isn’t the most advanced software and is frustrating at times, but for our purposes it will be just fine. Filming itself has been going well and the French campers have been nailing their English lines, so things could be a whole lot worse.

Here are the names of the campers in my workshop for prayer purposes: Nathanael, Augustin, Emilie, Maud, Maelys, Karine, and Tristan. I know that some of them are not believers, so pray that God would give me an attitude and demeanor worthy of him while working with them. For the most part, they have been a joy to me, though they are not the most organized or focused bunch until we start filming.

Today’s message was on obstacles to faith – pray that the Spirit works through the words spoken to change camper’s hearts to the gospel and bring them close to God. Tonight we will be playing a massive spy game throughout the whole camp grounds, with service team playing the part of snipers with water balloons. It will be my first time this year taking part in the night game, and it sounds like it will be a fun experience.

In other news, we are receiving updates from the States regarding the birth of our godson Aaron. We have been blessed with the opportunity to serve as godparents for our good friends Christopher and Rachel’s new child, and we are going to try to call them later today. It will be a true blessing to hear from them and hear the joy in their voices.

God bless,
David