I know some of you have read about our time at camp this summer, and yes it has been a while. I thought our time there was very productive and wanted to share that with some you who may not have been getting our newsletters at the time. We were at camp back in June. Here are some excerpts from our news letter.
How old do you have to be to go to camp? Our family was able to go to Lake Lundgren Bible camp this past week as the missionary speakers. Daniel (only 3 weeks old!) joined his brothers for their first camp experience. We loved interacting with and seeing the energy of the young campers! We know that many of you were praying for us as we prepared and spoke at camp. God was truly working as He communicated some brand new ideas to the campers about Tribal Missions! We had 4 Speaking sessions:
Day 1: Kandi shared her testimony of growing up in the Amazon jungle in Brazil and seeing all the river people who had no churches to attend and no way of knowing God. I shared about growing up in Bolivia and the needs of the gospel there.
Day 2: What would it be like to be an Indian with missionaries coming in to your village? I dressed up as a tribal person and told the campers what life was like on a daily basis for the Yuqui. I shared about how the spirit world governed their everyday existence and how they’d chock their slaves to serve their masters in the afterlife. I also gave some of the campers an opportunity to try learning some Yuqui just like a missionary would.
Day 3: I gave an in-depth look at the great commission, being commanded to go into all the world and teach all that Christ commanded. I also talked about the needs in tribal missions. I wanted the campers to realize that it is not just a one man show but a team effort. I tried to give campers a glimpse of the how immense the task is with 2,500 language groups still isolated from the gospel.
Day 4: I wrapped things up and drew a comparison between 2 Kings 6:25-30 and 2 Kings 7:3-10 and the great commission. The passage talks about the besieging of Samaria and how desperate the people were for food, just like people are desperate without spiritual food. God used four lepers to tell the city of Samaria that the besieging forces fled and there was abundant food in the abandoned camp. This is so similar to how God uses ordinary people like us to free those under the bondage of sin and spread abundant life because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. I then showed the campers a list of all the language groups that still don’t have any access to the gospel and gave the campers an opportunity to write their name on the list if they felt that God was calling them to reach to those who have no opportunity to hear the gospel.
I shot this short video of kids expressing their interest in serving the Lord by taking the gospel to those who have no opportunity to hear! The list stretching from up on stage to the back of the auditorium has all the languages that currently have no witness of the Gospel. Many have never heard the name of Jesus.