Deep Camp – Graduation & A Personal Thanks to You All
Team Photo on top of Mt Evans
As I sit here at a table and it being over a week since the Experience gradation im still wondering where the summer has gone? I leave back for SC in 2 days and it feel like yesterday I was boarding a plane to head out Colorado. But as I look back at the summer It feels like years that ive been out here when I reflect on all that God has done, how close the team got, and all the places Ive gone things Ive done. Every summer God continues to mold and shape me into more of the man he has created me to be and I humbly try t walk into obedience. I cant say thanks enough to all those who supported me this summer financially, spiritually, and emotionally through your generous giving, prayers, letters, txt messages, and facebook post. Nothing went to waste, worth every penny you sent to this summer. God didn’t only transform me but he transformed every student that when through the program. From students finally finding and feeling love, and discovering and walking into their unique ministries and gifting to people finally being comfortable in their own skin by finding their identity in Christ alone and students finally being able to forgive someone that hurt them deeply and on and on from walking in boldness and courage and learning to be a leader or a servant, to getting a gimps of what the body of Christ and its community could look like, they where challenged Physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally to go beyond anything they every thought they could do, to look past themselves and see the bigger picture, or see past their narrow view of the church and God but the most important thing that happened to these students was that they were pointed to Christ to guide them and make them more dependent on God and not look to a program, person or an experience to help them move on. “the greatest gift you will ever give this world is your intimacy with God” …the students heard this phrase over and over again but the reality and truth of this is so powerful and is the goal of this summer that through this hearts will be set on fire and lifes set on purpose to take this world for the kingdom and that is whats happening right now. These students are world changers! It was a honor to work and life alone side them for two months and the ways they have impacted me will have a life long impact. God truly showed up and out this entire summer in ways we could have never planned!
EXPERIENCE STUDENT UPDATE:
zip lining at Deep Camp
I never got around to another blog post after my two blogs about overseas so here is what the experience team experienced the rest of their summer and for a more detailed idea of their time check out KBM’s Blog. After the three teams came home from overseas they soon headed up into the mountains to the YMCA of the Rockies to Deep Camp where they were small group leaders leading discussions after the services they also helped out with the kids camp, led afternoon activities and games, and took part in morning and evening services and afternoon breakout sessions. God did a might work that week in the team as well as the students and families they poured into.
After Deep camp the Experience teams had a day of rest and and team building and then the three international teams headed out for wander week. The DR team headed to Las Vegas the Haiti team made there way to Dallas and the Honduras team went to Downtown Denver and they where on their own the whole week no leaders, no set plan, no guidance just the team and a city. Each team had two leaders chosen and money was given to them and a initial contact to meet when they first got there. Each team came into team and other conflict in some matter or the other from deciding on groceries to dealing a church with a very different theology, sickness, and planning on where to eat or do for ministry. through all this though they all saw God do amazing things in and through them all and watched the Kingdom of Heaven come to Dallas, Denver, and Vegas. here are a few stories about and from the teams.
Connect one the first day with a young teenage girl that had a fiery passion for God and through her they ended up at Red Rocks Amphitheater for a incredible night of worship with all these teens and collage students from Denver. Haiti/Dallas: as they arrived in Dallas they soon arrived – (Denver)
“So we were out on the streets just praying for people and I was paralyzed by fear of my past with men to even put my hand on the shoulder of a man I was praying for. My team notices something is wrong and takes time to listen to my fears and then they shower me with truth and pray over me. I feel totally overwhelmed by the truth they spoke over me about who God is and how God can use me regardless of my fears and how He is even more glorified through me stepping outside of my fear and less than 10 minutes after that I’m standing next to a man, talking about his life, and praying over him and speaking the same truth my team spoke into my life just before that. God uses you in your brokenness” – Hannah Reed (Las Vegas)
“we met this little elderly woman named Ida while we were there. She spent some time with our hosts. When we first met her, she wouldn’t really talk or laugh with us and had always been that way with Jim and Becky too. But towards the end she began sitting and talking with us voluntarily. And we got a call from Becky recently saying that she continually asks about us now and talks a lot more. So we weren’t even trying to accomplish that with our hosts, but our team dynamic ended up blessing them tremendously” – Lyndy Barnes (Dallas)
“Hey a huge way that God showed up in Dallas was through our host family, Jim and Becky Elam. They just showed us what ministry for them looked like as missionaries in Dallas and they loved us really well. Through them we were able to become familiar with the city and find ministries to serve.” – Drew Boland (Dallas)
“Well a night that we decided to go out on the strip and talk to people on the strip, Mikey Karolina and I ran into a bucket drummer and were able to talk to him for over an hour. He had grown up in the church but always had questions that people didn’t answer and turned away from Christianity as he got older. At first he told us his name was sal but later in the conversation he told us his real name was Joel. It was really cool being able to tell him about who God really is and answer a guys questions who was just honesty seeking truth in his life. It was one of my favorite things that happened the entire Vegas trip.” – Branson Despres (Las Vegas)
Team DR on their way to Vegas
Once they all got back to the office they entered into their finally week. this week was life planning which included some fun times at staffs homes, a trip up to the top of Mt Evans, class teachings, and 1-on-1 one life planning sessions along with hanging out and doing as many fun things a s a teams as possible like late night ultimate Frisbee games, hotel pool, Half off apps at Applebee’s, thrift store and Starbucks runs, meals with staff and interns, team dinners, movies, dressing up as cows for free Chickfila and just hanging out at the office.
SC CREW
It is a busy but such a impactful week that really helps the students put words to what has happened to them this summer and help them see, develop, and plan next steps, whatever that might look like, as they go back home to broken family’s, difficult jobs, unclear futures, collage campus, and ministries. during their 1-on-1’s each student developed a Life Purpose & Life Talents an example of this is what I got two summers ago LIFE PURPOSE: “I Exist as a risk taking artist to show and inspire that there is joy in fully and passionately living a surrendered life to and for Christ” & LIFE TALENTS: Discovering Adventurer, Loving Engager, Inspiring Father, & Relentless Warrior (which became my new God given name).
1-on-1 life planning
These help the students put words to who god has created them, what makes them tick. I have found that these things have really helped me over the past two years to see and live into these things that make me me. Also this week there was a Father’s Blessing ceremony where any fathers who were there and then for others a staff member would give a blessing/prayer over that person as a right of passage from boy to man or girl to woman. Powerful stuff especially for the fathers and family members that where there to do this blessing over their child.
The Fathers Blessing
At the “Last Super” the day before graduation the students surprised us by having all the staff, interns, and family come up and wash our feet and pray over us. nothing like this has ever been done and was one of the most powerful and humbling experiences of my life. I was so blessed and teary eyed. Just another reason why these guys are awesome I cant wait to see how they serve this world! “Today they washed our feet, tomorrow the world’s” Dwight.
The Students Washing the Staff, Interns, and Families Feet
The summer ended with a graduation service which was live streamed and recorded and can be watched HERE. here the students shared personal testimonies of what God did in them and ended it with us commissioning them out by praying over them. It was hard to see them leave but God continued to remind me that this is what it is all about. We dont have them raise money and come on the experience so they all can live as a family together forever in CO. The Purpose of this whole summer is to equip them and send them back out to the world to change it. So it was sad and I didnt want to say goodbye but I got and still am so sticking stoked to know they all are sped out over the country and the world changing and redefining the environment they are in. No they didn’t all their problems fixed or find the way to have a happy life. but what they go this summer is greater…They got a new idea of what the body really looks like, who they are in Christ and found a greater dependence on God.
Graduation
they will have struggles and hard days they will have times they fail or want to quit and feel all alone but they discovered something great and that is”The greatest gift you can give this world is your intimacy with God.” So who knows where they will go, who they will meet, and what they will do! This is not the end but only the beginning and the best is yet to come!
Thanks for reading and again for all your support!
– Relentless Warrior
Commissioning Prayer
Journeys of Relentless Warrior 