The Fruit Of The Spirit

Wow!

The first two week session is over and the campers are gone. And the second group is here. The up side is there are 6 more girls for me to teach about our Lord and His Kingdom, the down side: there are 6 more girls that will leave in 13 days and that I will miss and love terribly. But I'm STOKED! I have learned SO much and I have been tried and stretched and encouraged and loved and everything in between. I wish that I had the words in my tiny brain to tell you everything that I have learned here but I don't. The encouragement and love that you all are sending me and that I am recieving here not only from the girls but also from our Father is sustaining me and will continue to sustain me throughout these last 6 weeks.

I am constantly having the desire to be home, not now, in the fall. When I know the Lord will move like never before. Not that He isn't moving in Athens now, becuase I know and have stories that He is, but I want to be there to experience it. And I will in 6-7 short, yet fulfilling weeks.

Last night, in preparation for the campers we had a time of praise and worship out side then heard an excerpt from Galatians and from a Max Lucado book. These passages were about the Fruit of the Spirit and it's nine parts. Yes, I said that correctly: the fruit (with no "s" on the end) and it's nine parts. I had never known that it was singular. That all nine parts are one and God does not give us an option as to which of them we want/ need to follow. I think that is beautiful and frightening. Recently the fruits of the spirit have been put on my heart. I have been passively thinking about them, and now I feel that I have more of an incentive (sp?) to seek them and learn about them.

I apologize for how short I am being but we only have a short period of time until supper and I want to be on time as I am quite hungry.

I want to thank each of you who have actively kept in touch with me. It really means a lot to hear the voice/words/encouragement of my friends and brothers and sisters back home. I miss you all and am praying for you daily. Please feel free to send any prayer requests! I would love to pray for you all!!

Praises: One of our counselors got some terrible poison ivy and is healing well and back working at camp. God is moving and working hard here. I now have an hour each day that we call "g-watch" which is where you sit outside and make sure everyone gets where they're going and while they are in skill it is your time. Thus God has provided me with the perfect time to sit outside and enjoy Him and prayer and His Word and to listen to Him. Thank you for those prayers! I got a new Bible this past weekend (along with quite a few other, less imprortant things)! It's very small, not much bigger than my hand, and convienent enough for me to have with me at all times. I'm super excited about it!

Prayer requests: Daily rejuvination (sp?) -- it's tough having to be the same smiling face everyday for these girls, but they need it. Love, Patience, and the other Fruit of the Spirit. Focus -- first on Christ, and second on the girls, and last on me and the sleep I need. Direction -- in future plans, in what I should be seeking because I really have no specific desires right now, in what I should be reading both in the Word and out. I ask that you pray each of these things not only for me but for our counselors, head counselors, and central staff, we are all being tried!

I will leave you all with Philippians 1:3-6. It's beautiful and it's the verse I sent the girls from the last session home with. I encourage you all to look it up and remember it.

Thank you again, and I love you!

In Him.