Sep. 1, 2007

September 2007 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,

It seems like the timing of these letters is always off somehow.  I mean I end up not being able to talk about Christmas until my February letter, etc.  Well, I'm glad for once the timing seems to be perfect.  As I write this letter (just hours before the deadline), we have been back from camp for just three days.

And camp is, of course, the highlight of this past month.  Thank you so much for your prayers while we were away.  We could truly sense the Lord's presence throughout the week and I know your prayers made a difference.  It was amazing to see the changes that took place in many of the children over the course of just a few days.

As we anticipated, the first couple of days were a challenge with this year's "first timers" (i.e. the children who were at camp with us for the first time).  But by the end of the week those children were listening much better and truly a joy to be with.  I'm sure it helped that nearly all of the staff members came along to camp this year, so the kids received lots and lots of attention.

The location of the camp was great.  As I mentioned last month, this particular camp has a soccer field, a sand volleyball court, an outdoor basketball court, and (many of the children's favorite) a trampoline all within about a hundred yards of each other.  This was so much fun for the kids.  Each day during our "free" game times the adults broke up into pairs to stay at one of these game locations.  Then the children got to choose where they wanted to be.  Even our attention-span-challenged kids thrived in an environment where they could run, kick, jump, hit, and throw for hours on end.

Our week was full of game times, both "free" and also organized for all the kids at once.  We shared all of our meals together and spent time worshiping together every day.  There were also times for devotions in the mornings and every evening the different teams took a turn presenting a short skit, reciting a poem (inevitably funny), or a made-up song (inevitably even funnier).  Each of these was so much fun.

But one highlight of the week for me had to be our Bible study time.  We split the children into two groups, older kids and younger kids, for this time.  I can't speak for the younger group since I wasn't there (but I hear it went very well), but the time with the older group was excellent.  The theme was identity.  We talked a lot about from whom we receive our identity (both true and false), whether or not the things said about us are true, and so on.  I'm sure all that was said didn't sink in, but much of it did.  It was amazing to see the kids open up and begin to get revelation into different areas of their lives where they have believed lies and need healing from Christ.

On a lighter note, I slept in a room with three of the boys.  One night I awoke when I heard a loud thud in our room.  I turned over to see the youngest of the three boys (a second-grader) kneeling on the floor next to his bed looking quite stunned.  He looked at me and said, "I fell out of bed."  I told him he was fine and to go back to bed.  We all had fun teasing him about it the next day, of course.

Then a few nights later, early in the morning actually, I again heard the familiar thud.  This time I looked to see the same boy in the same spot and position saying the same thing to me.  "I feel out of bed."  Only this time his nose and mouth were covered in blood since he had fallen out of bed right onto his face.  Ouch!  This time I helped him get cleaned up before he went back to bed.  Of course, we again teased him the next day.

The next night, which was also our last, I folded up a blanket into a makeshift wall on his bed to help keep him in place.  In the morning the blanket was on the floor, but not the boy.  Yes, I teased him about that, too.

Again, thank you for your faithfulness.  Your prayers are having an impact in the lives of these precious children.  Please be in prayer this coming month as we begin the new school year.  The children will start school on the 17th of September and we have lots of preparations to get done before then.  There is also a good chance we'll be receiving a few new children again this year.  I'll let you know the details on that (hopefully) next time.  Until then, seek the Lord with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul…

Love,
Paul

paul.rase@wordmadeflesh.com