Dear Church Family and Friends,
During part of my childhood, I suffered from a typical adolescent malady: the neighborhood bully and his crew of snickering cronies had given me the blues. On top of this, I did not have a close group of friends at school. As a result, I felt like I had lost my capacity to laugh and have a good time. All of this changed-for a couple of weeks at least-when I discovered Camp Tecumseh, a YMCA camp in Indiana. At camp, I went from being a shy, timid kid to being the cabin clown. I discovered I could laugh and have fun once again. Outside of Christmas with my family, nothing made me feel so good about myself and about life.
Lots of ingredients made camp a special experience: caring and dynamic counselors, campfire songs, nightly devotions, outdoor activities, being in a place where my peers consciously focused on being good neighbors and friends, etc. I like to believe that running through all of this was the work of the Holy Spirit.
I shutter to think what would have happened to me if I had never re-discovered laughter! What if I had never gone to camp? I do not think I could have survived. Because camp was such a meaningful experience for me, I am excited that our church will be having its own camp weekend July 17th and 18th. I hope all of you will seriously consider joining us for this special time of Holy Spirit fun and laughter.
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Brooks