Day 23:
{Noah - age 15}
Welcome back to the Wonderful World of the Darfus Family (110+ Degree Edition). It’s been a long 5 days since you’ve heard from us last, and in an attempt to keep it fair, everyone is going to get to write a section about it, since we all missed a turn (except me {that’s why I get to go first}).
Let’s start with Sunday. Everyone had been saying the first camp is always the smallest, but I always thought they were exaggerating… I never will again. The attendance was lower than expected, but it was a great chance to see how the camp runs. My dad pointed something out to me that I realized to be true; our presence at the camp helped increase the number of campers to facilitate it in a valuable way, and without us, things more than likely would have run differently. My dad says that that very much could be the whole reason that God called us out here, for this one camp. We may never know why, or the outcome of it all, but it gives me the Holy Ghost chills to think that we took part in God’s plan. Anyways, I am going to hand this off to I’m-not-sure-who-yet, but thanks for your support! Only 7-ish more days in Arizona! (Mixed emotions about that one)! God bless, and I will see you at the end of the ark ride.
-Noah
{Elijah - age 12}
This week was an interesting one. This is what I learned …
1) What a Seder dinner was, I ate lamb,
2) How to think out of the box,
3) Exodus 19:4-5
4) A new perspective on why Jesus died
5) And 3 new card games ! (speed, ERS, and mafia)
6) Also how to play the trash can
7) And how not to say everything on my mind.
That’s all from me... over and out!
- Elijah
{Josiah - age 7}
{Dad asking Josiah questions… with Josiah’s answers}
What was your favorite part of camp?
Swim time
What was your favorite meal during camp?
Pizza
What was your favorite recreation time activity?
Going through an obstacle course
What was your favorite Bible lesson?
God’s people had to trust Him to lead them out of Egypt
What was the overall theme of the week?
You saw how I carried you on the wings of eagles and brought you to myself. Now obey me completely… and out of all the nations you will be my special treasure. Exodus 19:4-5
On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate camp?
4
Would you like to come back to camp again next year?
Yes
- Josiah
{Becky - age 29 again}
I can’t believe we only have one more week to be here! Tonight was the very first time I have felt any homesickness. While walking into a Walmart that resembled ours in CW I received a text from a very dear friend in Ohio and homesickness struck like a lightning bolt. (Yeah, thanks a lot Denise!)
As we go into our last week, the excitement of another week of camp is overshadowed by upcoming goodbyes, some even before we leave. One of the dear missionary families here and the VIA (Volunteer in Action) are both heading off for training Sunday and Monday. We won’t get to see them again before we leave, so that is a bummer. We have enjoyed the people at SIMC very much.
Oh yeah, week 1 of camp was fun, the food was yummy, the sun was hot, the worship was great … that is my camp summary.
- Becky
{Doug - age ... older than dirt}
Genesis 22:1-5
Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”
2 “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”
3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”
Trust. Our journey has been about trusting God and obeying what He asked us to do. Last Sunday, we went and worshiped at a church where many Native Americans worship. The pastor read the passage above from Genesis and pointed out something I had never seen before. Abraham told his servant that he and the boy (Abraham and Isaac) would go and worship and then “we” will come right back. WE refers to both of them. [Not all translations say ‘we’ but all imply both will return.] This is an amazing amount of trust because Abraham had been ordered to go and sacrifice Isaac. If this were to happen, then only one of them should return. But Abraham trusted God that He would not take his son away from him.
The staff here at the Southwest Indian Ministry Center also trust God. They had been saying all month that God always sends the right number of campers that correspond with the right number of work team members. This past week, no work team members had signed up to come. It was just the staff, a few other dependable regular helpers, and us. If many children had shown up, we would have had trouble doing all the things necessary to make it a successful camp. But God only chose a few to attend… and they had a marvelous time together! It was evident to me that God was doing His marvelous (and sometimes mysterious to us) work. I’m not saying everything was sunshine and roses, but I could see how each camper grew both spiritually and in the relationships with the other campers. This includes my own three children who were blessed to be campers this week.
Sunday starts our second camp, but this time the Darfi clan will be working teaching classes and cleaning messes. Work teams are scheduled to be here and we trust God will send the correct teens and the correct number of teens to make another successful camp. Please continue to pray for everyone involved in this ministry. They are advancing the kingdom.
- Doug
P.S. We met a family of missionaries from Texas who works with the same pastor I mentioned in an earlier post. The pastor was the one speaking about how God would not give us a neon sign to GO... that God already tells us in the Bible. It was at that time I knew Becky and I were to go on our first mission trip together. It seems WGM (World Gospel Missions) is one big family, but I also get the idea God has placed these people in our path for a reason.
Noah had to trust the camp director that he wouldn't dump water on his head by poking pencils through a full zip-lock bag.