Over the past three months we have partnered with a local church to provide “Food Encouragement” to 412 families by providing large 35-40 pound boxes of food to people who signed up to participate in our Drive-thru Community Food Blessing events. We had people from Ohio to Pennsylvania sponsor the cost of boxes and numerous local people who picked up the boxes to deliver to families who could be encouraged by food, friendship or a meaningful connection. There were also families that signed up to receive a box and came to our Drive-thru event to pick up the box themselves. Volunteers took the time to pray with each family, putting God front and center in all of it. Please continue to pray God uses these boxes and food blessings to reach the lost and encourage families as we continue to expand and provide food encouragement in the upcoming months!
Virtual Camp Awakens
To say that 2020 brought change is perhaps an understatement but what didn’t change was the excitement of coming together for a week of camp. For the past 4 years we have taken a team as part of the staff for Ability Camp, a physical camp for individuals with special needs, 18 years and up. This year was the first online camp, launching AT Station, an online gathering space for Ability Tree events geared for individuals with and without special needs.
Despite transitioning from a physical to virtual experience this year, campers were still able to interact with one another, take part in art classes, play bingo, exercise, participate in all camp activities and hear God’s word through dynamic speakers and it was all done online through video. Sure, it looked different but it didn’t change the fact that relationships grew between campers, chaperones and most importantly with Christ.
If I could use one word to describe the Ability tree camp experience I would say, ‘Heaven’. What a joy to be part of a camp where everyone is so encouraging, accepting, gracious, excited and full of love. I would encourage anyone to take advantage of the opportunity and serve at Ability Camp or be part of AT Station events. If you’d like to be part of the next camp experience, complete our Volunteer form and a real person will get back with you. In the meantime a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at just a few.
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.
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.
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