Back home!  It is bittersweet for us today…we had such a great time with your boys this past week!  Words really cannot express the joy that we feel about having been a part of what God is doing in their lives.  You should all be very proud of them and what they have accomplished this week…most of all having tons of fun!!

Before we got started in our teaching, we recognized the boys who had trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior on Thursday (there were 6 boys who came forward); then we recognized the boys who had trusted Christ at any point during the week (not pictured – Levi B. and Steven S.(who trusted Christ Friday morning after all of this!!) our wide angle lens wasn’t wide enough!!!).  A total of 17 boys who have chosen to follow Jesus and accept the free gift of salvation through Him!  WOW.  Praise God.  We prayed for them that the Lord would continue to reveal Himself to them in new and exciting ways and that He would bind up the evil one while He grows these boys.  Please join us in praying for these boys!  They have taken a step of faith to become followers of Jesus Christ and as a body we need to encourage them to continue to seek Him in all things.  Again, we have been so blessed to have been used in their lives in this way…it has been a very emotional past few days for all of us counselors!

Friday morning we touched on Philippians 4:13 (Amplified Bible version) and talked about the infusing/empowering of the Holy Spirit.   It was a great opportunity to encourage these boys – both new and older followers of Christ – that in Christ, they have been Transformed – the old has gone and the new has come; they now have The Power in them (through the indwelling Holy Spirit) and they have been called to Serve…to be Conduit Men by relying on His power as it is perfected in our weaknesses (“I can’t _______, Jesus, but You can through me!).

We closed our morning time by going outside and doing the ol’ Mentos in Diet Coke experiment (many props to FBCN’s Jeff Jones for this illustration).  Dropping a Mento wrapped in foil into the Diet Coke first to represent that when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes and lives in us (as Paul has said many times in his letters, this is a mystery, but he has made it known to us – Christ in you, the hope of glory) and indwells us 24/7/365.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  This is a “one and done” action.  However, Paul also says that we should “be filled” with the Spirit, indicating an ongoing action as well.  This is a “both/and” proposition, not an “either/or”.  As we abide in Him as it says in John 15:5, He will abide in us and we will bear much fruit.  He also promises the disciples (and this is true for us today as well…) in Matthew 10:19-20 “but when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.  For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”  When I put the unwrapped Mentos into the Diet Coke I explained that it was like the Jesus empowering us in the moment as we call on Him and depend on Him for whatever it is in the moment.  This is a hard one for us to wrap our heads around, even as adults, but God is bigger than that.  We pray that He will reveal this truth to these boys – and us as counselors – more and more with each passing day.

We ran the boys through the pool one last time prior to lunch, had Papa John’s pizza for lunch, finished packing & cleaning up, took group pictures and loaded the bus.

When we look back at all that has happend during the week, it is hard to believe that it was only ONE WEEK!  It was pretty chock full!!  Your boys were great and we cannot wait to see them again next year!  Please try and reserve July 21st – 25th, 2008 on your calendars, as that is the week we are shooting for.  The Girls Getaway already has that date reserved at Jan Kay Ranch and we will be shooting for those dates as well!!

Many, many thanks go to our volunteer staff of counselors and junior counselors as well as our medic, Richard “Radar” Sherard.  We absolutely could not have done this without your Herculean efforts!  We love you guys and are so thankful for your sacrifices during the week.  We’d also like to thank the parents & guardians of these Warrior Week campers.  Obviously, we couldn’t have done this without you either!!  It has been an honor and a priviledge to serve your families and your boys this past week in this way.  Thank you to all who prayed for us this week – we cherish your prayers and feel as though God answered our prayers infinity-fold!

Until next year…

In His Strength,

Jason & Matt

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wow…great day.  We had about 30 boys who showed up for the “Polar Bear Aqua Training” at 6:00AM…woof.  Nothing like a good early morning chicken fight to get your blood pumping!!!

We focused on John 15:5 as our memory verse today and talked about the difference between Conduits and Cul-de-Sac’s – and the fact that we were built to be conduits…or as Jesus calls us, “branches”.  As an attached branch/conduit we transfer Christ’s ______ (fill in the blank) to those around us (fruit of the Spirit).  That is our purpose…we have been transformed into CONDUIT MAN!! 

During the day, we asked for our counselors to follow up with all of our boys to see if they had any questions concerning the Gospel presentation from the night before.  There were quite a few who were still wrestling with a number of different questions.  By the end of the evening, the Lord had drawn about 3 more boys to Himself that we are now Brothers in Christ with!!!  Praise God!

Our team competition last night was our skit competition…what a riot!!!  We have some natural comedians in our midst!  Since they were all so good, we had to break them down into winners of categories…like the Oscar’s – Best Comedy (Scorchers), Best Musical (Senseis), Best Technical Production (Crimson Truth), Best Horror Flick (Shadow Hawks), Best Soakery (Grizzlies).

Also last night, we had our second annual “Calling Out” of our 6th grade boys.  As men, we need to be called to something greater than ourselves and encouraged that we “have what it takes” to be Dangerous…for Good.  I believe that it was very impactful and pretty emotional for all involved.

Tomorrow will be bittersweet…looking forward to being home, but sad to leave!

In Him,

Jason & Matt

Another awesome day!  Wednesday we had much the same schedule logistics-wise, and the same level of intensity and enthusiasm from our Holy Hero campers!!

In the morning we discussed POWER – but not in the traditional sense.  In 2 Corinthians 12:10, Paul talks about Christ’s strength being made perfect in (our) weakness.  We used a toothpaste example to describe how the Lord allows problems and circumstances to come into our lives so that Christ’s life can shine through the cracks of our brokenness – if He is your Lord and Savior.  Small group times were very cool.

Wednesday night, we presented the Gospel with the aid of the Evangecube (see www.simplysharejesus.com) and followed it up by talking about John 15:5 and how we are now attached branches to the True Vine – Jesus!  We used a magnet, bolt and nails to illustrate how attached to the Vine we can bear much fruit and apart from Him, we can do nothing…it was very moving.  At the time of this post, we have confirmed that 8 boys (that we know of) have made the decision to put their faith in Jesus Christ alone as their Lord and Savior!!!  Praise God!

We then had an awesome time playing capture the flag!  Much fun was had by all…. 

Thursday will be a great day, so stay tuned for more Warrior Week coverage!

In His Strength,

Jason & Matt

We had a great day Tuesday!  The weather was VERY agreeable and your boys were too….  We got on a regular schedule  and we rolled on down the road.

We talked about the first stage in the superhero process being TRANSFORMATION.  The hero undergoes said transformation somehow – falls in a vat of acid, is zapped by gamma radiation, bitten by a spider…whatever – which causes the change.  They are no longer the way they were…no longer “mild mannered Peter Parker”, but they have been transformed into “The Amazing Spider-Man”.  Like this, when one trusts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they become a “new creature – the old is gone the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17)…this is a one time, and one time only change.  It may not feel like anything has changed, but if God says it’s true about you, then it’s true (after all, God can’t lie, right?)! 

The follower of Jesus Christ not only undergoes the one time transformation, but also ongoing transformation….  Romans 12:2 says that we are also “transformed by the renewing of our mind”, which indicates an ongoing transformation…meaning, not only does God love us enough to enable our one time change, but He also loves us enough not to leave us as is!  He lovingly replaces the lies of the enemy with His truth as we seek Him in all things.  Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…”.  The truth is a Person!  The counselors have reported that there was some great discussions in their small group time. We had an “Aqua Battle” to cap off our evening, followed by some nachos and lemonade.  All slept well….

Wednesday, we will discuss what comes with the Transformation…POWER!  However, slightly different than how the superheroes experience….  Stay tuned!

Again, it has been, and continues to be a pleasure and joy to serve your boys.  They have been awesome!

In Him,

Jason & Matt

Well…we made it to Camp Copass!  Had a smooth and easy ride from FBCN with no incidents.  With the exception of the Scorchers & Crimson Truth guys (5th & 6th boys) having to ride in the un-air conditioned bus, everything went great.  Got unloaded and settled in to their cabins and then met briefly in the “Batcave” meeting room.  Our memory verse, as you can see on the left, was Matthew 19:26 today.  The other item the boys will be working on memorizing is the “Warrior Creed”…thought you might enjoy.

After lunch we had a great time for our “Super Skills Training” – High Ropes, Climbing Wall, Craft (Duct Tape Wallets) and Mini-Golf.  We had a looooooong swim afterwards which was a welcome respite from the heat.  The guys chilled out during our Flat On Back (FOB) time for a bit, then hit the chow hall.  Shortly after dinner, we had some praise & worship time and broke up into our “Super Alliances” for our daily competitions.  Tonight we had our 2nd Annual “Slime Pit Kickball”…kickball, but with the bases (baby pools) filled with various slime elements – first base = red jello (this base had a hole in the bottom, drained rapidly, so I had to get the hose out and continue to fill it…but a nice opportunity to soak everyone…BONUS!); second base = baked beans; third base = oatmeal oats; home plate = flour.  When the boys dry this concoction hardens to a nice pasty/crunchy film over the skin and clothes…difficult to water blast off…hence the throw away outfits!!  We had a great time and the boys LOVED this game…you might hear about it a bit when they get back home .

Cleaned up and settled in for the night.  The counselors are reading “Mountain Cabin Mystery” as their bedtime story, which they all seem to enjoy.

We are doing well and having a great time here!  Your boys are wonderful and we are so honored, blessed and priviledged to host them at Warrior Week this year.

We are looking forward to an awesome day tomorrow.  We are talking about Transformation – what it looks like for superheroes and what it looks like for us as brothers in Christ.

In Him,

Jason & Matt