Terry Williams

Jun 17 2020

Virtual Camp Behind the Scenes

We’ve been making preparations to be part of the team conducting a virtual camp for special needs adults. This would have been our fifth year working alongside Ability Tree as we gathered in Pennsylvania at Refreshing Mountain Camp but this year is going to look a bit different. We are taking camp to the cloud and transform the experience to reach even more campers. Our team has been creating the raw video for various segments of the camp week and then sending them to Ability Tree staff to edit. We are typically responsible for building the campfire and you can’t beat this team as they get ready for S’MORE night.

We visited Inglish Homesteaders and captured some video of their farm animals for the virtual petting zoo. My favorite was the Jake Turkey strut.

May 17 2020

Rooster Ready

Summers are typically filled with several camps spanning from Pennsylvania to Arizona but this year we are limited to the borders of Maryland. COVID19 has changed the landscape of our summer activities and we have adapted to a new and interesting way of engaging campers and giving them a quality camp experience, even in the midst of change.

We are going Virtual

As unprecedented as virtual camp sounds there are some exciting things being developed to allow campers to feel connected and loved as they have fun, build relationships and most importantly draw closer to Jesus.

Our camp team, for the fifth year will be leading organized recreation and special activities for the campers. You’re kidding, right! How can you have organized recreation and special activities virtually? That was my exact question when this opportunity was presented to me. Three weeks and three zoom conferences later, with an amazing team spanning from New York to Arkansas, I’m beginning to see how this is going to work and we are only limited by the creativity that God has given to us as a team. I’m not a fan of videotaping so this has stretched my ability to communicate beyond face to face interaction but thankfully God brought along Jake and EmmaLeigh to lead the charge and come up with our team’s introduction video to the campers. Here is the raw clip before any editing. We will keep you posted as things develop.

First virtual camp video for the season. Unedited

Sep 04 2018

Special People, Special Abilities

Camp for a week… those words affect everyone differently. My thoughts were, “sure… gross food, but I don’t have to cook, kids get to spend a week with their grandparents, and it may be fun.” Little did I know that it would be one of the VERY best weeks.

This summer Lantern and Compass was given the opportunity to come alongside Ability Camp, a camp dedicated to special needs adults. A camp that believes EVERYONE should be given the chance to do a multitude of activities they may not get to participate in otherwise and most importantly the opportunity to worship, pray, and be in the presence of God.

The week started and we hit the ground running. As recreation staff we planned special games, events, and activities, we were the go-to team for anything needed. A room needed set up, we were there. Walmart runs… we went. Water passed out to campers… we traveled around the camp. Campfire started…we struck a match. To say we were busy would be an understatement, but with everything we did there was much more to what was happening around us.

The campers taught us more than we could have imagined. Fishing was one of the events we took on. Our week was soggy, but we met the campers at the little pond for three early mornings. Our first morning it poured the rain, we were sure no one would show up, but they did. We stood in the rain for 2 hours baiting hooks, teaching campers how to cast, reeling in empty hooks, to do it all over again. We laughed a lot that morning! All together we caught ONE fish, but that didn’t matter. The campers didn’t care they didn’t catch fish, the rain didn’t bother them, they were there to have fun and build relationships with those around them. We had rain everyday, some days more than others, but each day we were fishing. Each day God was working through the campers showing us, it doesn’t matter the conditions, have fun, love the people you are with and be thankful for the time we have to share.

Beyond all of the activities and fun times, the week was filled with God’s presence around the camp and in each service. The campers truly worshiped with everything they had, they didn’t care who was around them, they worshipped 110%. A lesson learned from the campers; it doesn’t matter your circumstances, God has given you His love and you need to be thankful each and every day the best that you can. We saw campers come to know Jesus and dedicate their lives to Him. There was one camper who blessed so many, he was blind, had a hard time walking, did not communicate, and could become aggressive to himself. At the beginning of the week he sat on the floor in the back of each service, it took 2 staff members to work with him, he banged toys, made noises, and could have been very distracted. Not one person felt he didn’t belong. As the week continued, we saw a change happening… he would pull his 2 adult counselors to the front during worship, he would stand a little straighter each night and move to the beat of the music. His last night with us not only did he move to the front for worship, but he sat in the front during the speaking as well. He did not make noise, he sat and listened to what God had to say.

At the end of the week this camper was baptized in water, when he came out of the water he had a smile on his face, he stood straight up, and gave the leader several high fives when asked, all things we didn’t see throughout the week. We know God is working in his life!

A week at Ability Tree camp is NOT just another week of summer camp. It is a week filled with learning from those around you, ministering in ways you never imagined you could, being in God’s presence 24 hours a day, being ministered to by the campers and having a TON of fun. If you have the opportunity to join Lantern and Compass next year, don’t pass it up! You will be blessed more than you could imagine!!

by Beth Wiles – Camp Team Member

Jun 20 2018

Fun, God & War Room

Camp Wannahockaloogie is fun and exciting every year. This year, however, was particularly special. Our theme was God’s love for us, it is the reason we live and the purpose for our lives. We felt that it was important for the kids to understand their purpose in life, so we explained who God is to them. After all who could be passionate about God’s love without understanding who God is himself? The trinity seemed like it would be difficult to explain, but the kids were open and understood it for the most part.

Throughout the week we were open to and encouraged questions about God, the Bible, and our faith in general in the new War Room. By doing this we were able to address many questions that the kids had, and it opened our eyes to how hungry they all were to hear God’s word. Many questions were asked, and many of them were deep, spiritual questions that we had to research so that we could get back to the kids with an accurate Biblical response. God was present throughout camp, making his presence known in the questions the kids asked, and the worship time that we had.

There were a few different occasions where we decided to interrupt the originally scheduled events because God was flowing freely throughout our worship. It was an awesome week. It was fun as usual, but the important part of camp is making sure the kids leave knowing more about God and their purpose in life.We are confident that they left this year knowing more about who God is, and we know that many experienced God’s love and presence in a way that they had never experienced before.

By Joe Ernst – Summer Student Team

Aug 16 2016

Golden Guns

Big muscles. That is what Jacob Ernst thought he had until this summer. When Jake decided to join Lantern and Compass Project for 11 weeks he had no clue how much work, and fun it would be. Growing up on a farm, Jake knew what it was like to work hard but having 3 other brothers he also knew what it was like to play hard. Both attributes were needed for a summer of ministry.

Q: Jake, what did you hope to experience this summer as a team member?

A: I wanted to have a better understanding of what it looked like to be in ministry and to serve as a missionary and I never realized how much planning and preparing it took to pull off so many different areas of ministry. It was a lot more work than I had imagined.

Q: So Jake, what is one thing that you will remember about your summer as student team member?

A: The amount of fun with had with the kids. An experience that stood out to me this summer was “Golden Guns” at District Kids Camp. We spray painted water guns gold and turned them into trophies that the campers could win by doing various activities. When Terry was explaining the golden gun trophies to the whole camp, Tanner and I ran up front and said that these were the true golden guns (we flexed our biceps, traps, triceps, etc.). From that point on, campers would randomly chant “Golden Guns” throughout the camp and we would yell out “Golden Guns” and flex. As a result of our goofiness, “Golden Guns” turned into something spontaneous but extremely fun. “Golden Guns” will definitely be one thing I remember from this summer.

Q: How would you describe your experience as a student team member with Lantern and Compass Project?

A: Good. Fun. Cool. Okay. Honestly, I don’t know that I could fully describe what God did in the 11 weeks I served with Lantern and Compass Project.

Jake, you have been a blessing to the ministry, myself and the many kids you impacted this summer. You came with few expectations but left with an abundance of life experiences, friendships and the knowledge of how God uses people in many different ways to build His kingdom.