Inside the Cove | Stories | Summer Staff
It’s no secret that this summer didn’t look anything like we expected it would! But of course—God was still at work. Join our Chief Ministry Officer Craig “Dutch” Langemeier as he recaps and reflects on summer 2020, thanks you for your support, and shares a story of just one of the many lives transformed by the Lord this summer.
From a Shores Camper
“I just completed my final and favorite year as a camper. I have never felt more true to who I am in Christ—to who God has been building me to be. As a high school senior facing college choices and leadership at school, there’s no greater gift than the clarity God blessed me with at camp. I cannot thank the Lord enough for the encouraging community of believers that exist at Pine Cove.”
From a Woods Family Camper
“Your work is priceless. New hoops and hurdles with unheard of circumstances opened the door for ANY and EVERY excuse to cancel camp for the summer. That would’ve been understandable and reasonable, but our God is unreasonable! Unlikely times call for an unlikely hero! God used Pine Cove to draw us to worship and trust Him like never before. Thank you thank you thank you! Every doorknob sanitized and hand sanitizer station refilled played a part in marriages being restored and parent/child relationships being healed!”
From a Silverado Staffer
“This week, two boys came running up to me and asked if I could take their picture because they had just become brothers because they both accepted Christ. Their excitement and child-like faith in Jesus was a beautiful example of what we are called to have.”
From a Chimney Point Family Camper
“We are so super grateful for the staff making Jesus fun. Thanks for being role models and for giving our kids “human being/Christ follower” goals. We will continue to come because we care that our children have people worth looking up to and y’all are worth looking up to! We needed to have fun this year and FUN WAS HAD.”
When Brantley “Pop-It” Goins spotted a familiar car turning the corner at the Bluffs family camp on opening day, she told another counselor, “Hey, my family has that same car!” That’s when Bluffs Camp Director Coleman “Busta” Ross told her, “Surprise—your parents are the speakers for the week!” It took a minute for it to register, but once it did, Pop-It immediately began jumping and cheering. She had NO idea that her parents were coming to camp! Her mom and dad got out of the car and they all cried, laughed, and hugged each other for the first time in weeks. It was a GREAT surprise—one Pop-It later said was the best surprise of her life.
It’s not every day you graduate with a Master of Fine Arts degree. It’s even less often that you do it at CAMP! When Woods Director Chris “Broflex” Boddy found out that Aaron Novak had finally completed grad school this spring—but without a ceremony or any fanfare at all—he knew they needed to change that! Along with a few other college staffers who’d completed school without a graduation, Aaron was able to walk across the stage at the Woods family camp and finally receive his “degree.” And trust us: this time there was plenty of fanfare!
From a Ridge Parent
“Nobody does fun and gets excited about loving Jesus more than Pine Cove. I am SO thankful for this place and the life it spoke to my daughter this week.”
From an Outback Staffer
“This week we started off the first night and I asked the question, “Who is Jesus to you?” The answers of three of my campers were very sad because they didn’t know him at all. I prayed for crazy encounters of the Lord for those campers. Throughout the week, I kept checking in and on Thursday night I asked the same question again. All three of the campers ended up giving their lives to Christ this week. It was such a good reminder that things happen in the Lord’s timeline not in ours.”
From a Woods Family Camper
“Coming to a place like Pine Cove, that is a safe, consistent place for us to attend year after year, really served to be a physical reminder that our God is unchanging, safe, and a refuge in an ever changing and inconsistent, crazy world. We grew in our knowledge of God and the Bible this week, in our relationships with each other, and in our appreciation for what a great God we serve.”
From a Ridge Camper
“I learned even when you don’t feel loved you will always be loved by the Lord. He will never stop loving you.”
From a Towers Parent
“I am so incredibly thankful you were able to hold camp this year, since I know the time to unplug, unwind, and just be a kid was needed so much right now with everything that is going on in the world. He also came back with a renewed dedication to God, and has been doing Bible studies every day since he returned. Thank you so much for all you do – the incredibly fun activities, the precious counselors who dedicate their summer to being role models for these children, and for pouring the love of Jesus into them during it all!”
From a Ranch Camper
“When I first got to camp it was like I was carrying a backpack of bricks which represents my sins. One night at club, the words said, “I surrender” and in that moment, it was like God picked up that back pack and threw it away.”
From a Chimney Point Family Camper
“Camp was a much needed reset and refocus for us. It was so incredible to be in community with other believers. We never knew how much we’d miss the encouragement that comes from being able to sing together in worship and sit under live teaching. Online church is just hard! Never needed camp more than this year!”
From a Timbers Staffer
“I had a camper who was turned off of Christianity because of bad representatives of it in her life. She just has heard a Gospel of condemnation all her life. I got to read the truth of scripture to her about how we deserve condemnation, but in Him there is none, as he’s given us forgiveness. After our hang time, she said “If that’s all true of God, then I actually wanna pay attention during Bible study.” She started praying and engaging during Bible studies. Another camper had questions about faith. I got to share those things with her and the Holy Spirit spoke through my words. After hearing those things, she wanted to give her life to Christ. 2 Tim 3:15. This played out before my eyes. It is only HIM who can make us wise for salvation.”
From a Crier Creek Family Camper
“We got to demonstrate to our kids how Christ followers respond when things don’t go as planned. The dads all pitched in to serve when the guys’ staff was quarantined. And then when the girls staff had to be quarantined and camp had to shut down early, it was so cool to see every family show joy and gratefulness for the days we had at camp, rather than showing anger or bitterness for having to leave early. It was the most unique week of camp we’ve had in five years of attending family camp, yet it will undoubtedly be our most memorable.”
Posted Aug 13, 2020
Categories: Inside the Cove, Stories, Summer Staff (Browse all)
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