It’s Fall, Camp Family!
Summer has come and gone, and now most of you are in the full swing of fall - days filled with all the activities that autumn and school pursuits bring. Now is a good time though to remember the sweetness of summer and give thanks.
We had a truly blessed summer at King’s Camp. God built new relationships and strengthened old friendships and blessed us with the gift of Himself and His steadfast love. Our son, Austin Clark, and nephew, John Ellender, were our Co-Directors for the summer. It was a joy to see their varied talents mesh together to serve and support our staff and camp community. Along with Austin and John we had returning camp leaders, Jennifer Johnson, Terral Davis, and Isaac Cupples as Work Study Directors; Katelyn Keller as Staff Director; and Maddie Cannatella as Kitchen Director. It was beautiful to see how the Lord continues to raise up leaders, how He creates something bigger than ourselves and beyond what we can imagine as we listen to His calling that we are His children, His people created to enjoy Him and reign with Him forever, created to share His kingdom with a world that so desperately needs Him.
We had a host of new counselors, many who came to us from The Refuge, a college ministry of The Chapel, a church on the LSU campus. We have special ties to The Chapel and the Refuge as both our sons were discipled at this church, along with many of our King’s Camp former campers and staff: Vick Green, Erin Ellender Collins, Rachel Barr, Molly Devitt Clark, Kevin Aaen, and many, many more. We are thankful to see the intentional discipleship of college students and have witnessed the fruit of it.
We were also blessed to have a dear friend of mine and her husband, Stephanie and Cliff Canipe, who have ministered in South Africa for the last 20 years, join us on the grounds for the spring and summer. Their presence on the grounds over the weeks of camp was a gift and blessing to our camp community. We give thanks for the gift of friendship.
We are truly thankful for all the staff and volunteers this summer that followed God’s call to show up! I’ve come to learn lately that much of what God asks of us is to just show up - show up to meet Him in the morning, show up for our family and friends, show up for work, show up to the gift of His presence and His calling. I am aware that my offering is small, but I can rest in the knowledge that I am simply His creature created to enjoy His presence, and somehow He makes something of it for His glory…Thank you staff and volunteers for showing up!
We give thanks for your offering. The Lord sees you and smiles...Mac Brandon, Deworange Brown, Christian Fritz, Parker Giering, Noah Jeffers, Riley LeBlanc, Bailey Scott, Annette Demartinos, Caroline Glath, Taylor Hebert, Elise Juneau, Maggie Kennedy, Blair Petitjean, Ashley Prudhomme, Megan Prudhomme, Carly Turner, Haleigh Vollmar, Maddie Dearman, Anna Beth and Tucker Hibbard, Natalie Canipe, Madeline Ringwald, Jacob Albritton, Peyton Rivera Davis, the Rivera Family, Sara Hawkins, Misty Odom, The Richland Sheriff’s Department, The Morehouse Sheriff’s Department, Daryl Gregory and the Knights of Columbus of Monroe, Kayla and Shane Cupples, Chad Brooks, Margaret Turner, Lily Marchand, Anna Kate Glath, Ben McNeil, Joshua Mote, Cullen Clark, Molly Devitt, Alex Villier, Oren Keller, and Stephen Fife.
(please if I forgot someone, know that it was not intentional and that we appreciate you!)
As the summer came to a close and school and work began calling us back to other realities we had reason to celebrate and reason to grieve. We celebrated the wonder of God and the mystery of His tremendous love for us. We celebrated the love He gave us for one another in friendships and community and in new marriages! Congratulations to Peyton and Terral Davis, and to Molly and Cullen Clark! We are thankful for the people that God puts in our lives for us to love and to be loved in return.
Along with the joys there were also sorrows. We grieved the end of camp, the fading of summer, and the goodbyes of “until next year!” We grieved the loss of those that were dear to us. Like much of the world, this past year we lost loved ones who were part of our community, those who will be in our hearts forever. Jesus does not promise us a sorrow-free life. In fact, He tells us that we will have many troubles, but He promises to be WITH US. He promises us His presence “I will be with you, ALWAYS.” He promises us the gift of Himself.
So now as we embrace the gift of right now and the gift of the fall season, we want to share with you an event that we will have at the end of this month. We are having our 2nd Annual 5K and 10Miler Run. This will be a fun day to gather together, to show up and give thanks for God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. You are invited to join us in any capacity - run, walk, watch. Come out and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation and the gift of community. The run will start at 8:00 am on Saturday. At 6:00 pm the Friday evening before the race, we will break ground on our Oaks of Righteousness Chapel and remember by name those that have been memorialized as Oaks of Righteousness through the donations of loved ones. Come see the Oak trees that have been planted and the gorgeous view that will be the backdrop for our open air chapel.
For a full schedule of this event go to our website at this link.
We love you and are blessed to call you friends!
Jennifer and Nolan Clark and the King’s Camp Community
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
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