The Third Doulos Group

Maybe you have noticed that this post has taken longer to write than others have. Our third group was one I will never forget. It was the first week I made it out of the kitchen for the whole week! I have been having a great time making cookies, cleaning the lodge, and packing lunches but it was nice to be out helping with some of the other projects.

One of the projects we have been looking at all summer is fixing the scar on Inspiration Point. Benjamin started Monday morning leading a group as they began to figure out how to fill in the slide that had grown to nearly five feet across and three or four feet deep at some points. It definitely started out as a daunting task, but the group had the right people for the job and slowly but surely they began to make progress. It was a long week of digging out dirt and transporting it to the scar over and over again. Now it is one of the most visible reminders of what was accomplished this summer.

While Benjamin was digging away and running wheelbarrows of dirt, I was leading a group out at Ranch Camp. We pulled a pile of dead, torn-down trees out from along the road and began to take down trees along one of the fence lines to clean up the appearance. It is amazing the difference it makes just removing a few trees. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember to take any before/after pictures to show you, but we made good progress. There were other places where trees were beginning to spring up along septic lines, so to keep the roots from digging into the pipes, we took those trees down as well. As we took down trees and hauled them to the burn pile, we salvaged some of them to be used as retaining walls in the Inspiration Point project.

Working alongside each of the groups has been a joy each and every time. I have had a difficult time conveying the relational side of what we have been doing. Each group that comes has different leaders, youth, personalities, and skills. Whether I am in the kitchen, driving a truck, or shoveling dirt I get to know new people. People that impact and affect my life. How do I explain how just working alongside someone can change your perspective drastically? Who the people are on the trips is much more important than what we accomplish. I think the same is true for anything we do in life. Jesus took the time to be with the sinner and the outcast. He did not lord his power over anyone. He guided people to the truth but never forced anyone to act on what he told them.

As we learn from the experience of other people by serving with them, we learn to see things from a different perspective. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control and when they do, how we respond tells us so much about who we are. During their time here, one of the leaders who came with the third Doulos group was called home to be with the Lord. He was loved and respected by everyone we talked to and it came as a shock to us all. Each day he diligently served alongside the youth and set an example of a Godly leader for all of us. While he is dearly missed, we are thankful for the promises of God in these times.

We are so thankful for your prayers this summer as we serve at camp. Knowing that there are so many people who are praying for us helps make the hard days easier. Our fourth group arrived safely on Saturday after only a short delay in Seattle and we are already rolling on some new projects and other old ones. Last week, between the groups, we were able to spend some time off-campus with local friends as well as catch up with old camp friends who brought some of their church’s youth to experience camp.

God is good and faithful and loving. I am so thankful for the perspective that we have in him.

//Greater is he who is inside of me

then he who is living in the world//