About 70% of those reading this article had the chance to experience Hurricane Irene a few weeks back. For the better part of a week, you could not turn on the news or weather with-out hearing about the storm and its destructive power. Perhaps you, like me, began preparing and planning for what might happen. In the stores around town, bottled water, batteries and flashlights were scarce. Outdoor grills, furniture and equipment were all moved indoors, while others boarded up their homes and fled further inland. Hours, perhaps days, of preparation went into handling the storm, and then the storm arrived and unleashed her power! As Irene came and went, some had the inconveniences of lost power, downed trees and flooded basements, while many others felt far more damaging and destructive effects.

Now as we are weeks removed from the storm, hopefully, for the great majority of us, our lives have returned to normal. The power is on, the basements are dry and the damage is repaired. All of the preparation put into planning for the storm is becoming a distant memory, but we still remember the great power it unleashed.

It was an amazing view at the camp to see the Delaware River rise 13 feet above normal. There were trees snapped off on the property from the force of the wind. Around town there were roads washed away because of the force of the rushing water. Although the camp was greatly spared from major damage, there are others who are still feeling the long lasting and damaging effects and who are trying to clean up and rebuild after all the destruction.

As I was thinking about the process of Irene, I realized that campers often times go through the same stages only with positive effects! Churches and families spend weeks promoting and talking about the upcoming week of camp. Youth pastors and parents get busy taking care of all the details, while checking to make sure the registrations are in, and transportation is arranged. For some, mainly the teenage girls, the week long event of packing takes place. Every item of clothing is moved from the dresser and closet into the suitcases (for those that may not know, it’s safer to have all of your clothes with you since you never know what kind of mood you will be in each day)!

Finally the week of camp arrives! Campers unleash all of the energy they can muster on the camp. They meet new friends, play new games and compete against the other teams. But they also study God’s Word like never before, and spiritual decisions are made in their lives. The week ends and the campers return back home. The weeks go by and the details of camp begin to become a distant memory, but the power of God’s Word continues to have long lasting, positive effects on the camper’s lives!

I never fail to be amazed at what God can do! What an amazing sight it is to see God using the mighty power of His Word to change lives. The benefit is, that unlike Irene who left long lasting, life changing destruction and devastation in her wake, campers have the opportunity of having long lasting, life changing benefits in their future. Our prayer is that the junior campers, teens and families would heed the lessons learned this summer so that they never have to experience the devastation and destruction that sin will cause in their lives.

These campers have been given a great opportunity to continue in the things that they have learned. All of the planning and preparation was used to point them to the life changing truths of God’s Word. Well over 125 of them responded to these truths. Would you pray for these campers? Pray that they continue to stay faithfully in the Word of God, for it is only by His Word that these changes will become permanent and have the long lasting effect that God intends for them to have!