Youth Haven: Week #2

On Friday afternoon, Andrea and I headed to Picacho to pick up 10 lively campers who had spent the week at Youth Haven Ranch. This boy in the yellow greeted us with certificate in hand -- so proud of his "Humble Servant Award."

The 5 girls:

The 5 boys:

The back of the van was crammed with their stuff. Youth Haven sent them home with large black garbage bags galore, filled with various prizes the kids had won during the week. With each unloading stop, we had to sort through the identical black garbage bags in search of each child's bag. When the final bags and luggage had been sorted and delivered, we discovered a bit of a problem -- an extra duffel bag. Upon closer inspection, it contained male clothing, in a size much larger than any of our children would wear. The verdict is still out, but it's possible that one of our campers very efficiently loaded a Youth Haven COUNSELOR'S luggage into our van! Oops...

So very happy to reach home sweet home again!

One of the campers, a 10-year-old girl, wrote: "I learned that I am God's little girl, and I will always be His little girl. And that He will always be there when I need Him." When I think about some of the challenges in her life, I am thankful that she is learning and soaking up this truth at a young age.

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In other news, you can be praying for us as final preparations are underway for our swiftly arriving two weeks of VBS: June 28-July 2 and July 5-9. The Fairlawn Mennonite Church youth group (Apple Creek, OH) will be joining us for week #1, while youth from Naumburg Mennonite Church (Castorland, NY) will be leading VBS week #2. Since the Naumburg group is a large one, they will be leading VBS at a second location as well, blessing another inner-city kids ministry with their energy and talents. In addition to evening VBS, the groups will be volunteering at St. Mary's Food Bank and St. Vincent de Paul, local charities who work with the poor.