Meet Two Campers by Rebecca Meitler

(Please note this is a true account of two girls, but their names

have been changed, and any photos are not of these specific girls)

Evening Fire Circle with 4th-6th Graders

          Alexandria and Gabrielle, ages 12 and 10, are both so full of life. They always have smiles on their faces and are filled with joy. Alexandria does everything with her whole heart in it, from dance class to doing hand motions to worship songs. Gabrielle could easily be a comedian. No matter what mood I’m in, she always has the ability to make me laugh. Just the other night, the whole cabin was rolling with laughter as she impersonated her mom trying not to cry while wearing mascara. On the outside, these two sisters seem to live completely normal lives. But, by digging deeper, I found that their lives are anything but normal. As the week of camp progressed, bits of their story began to unfold, and it broke my heart.    

Rebecca and one of her cabin girls

            Their parents were "together" sometimes, and at other times they "dated" others. The girls have seen their parents drunk too many times to count. A neighborhood friend of theirs once pressured them into stealing from a store. Their younger brother occasionally chases them around the house with knives - even throwing the knives at them.  He even chopped off some of their sister’s hair because it came so close to her head. After hearing this, I already couldn’t imagine what it’s like to live with this. But, it didn’t stop there.   

Cabin discussion groups after morning Bible time

           One day, they were rushed into an
upstairs room in their house. They were scared and frightened, not knowing what was going on. Before they knew it, the police were at their house to arrest their parents. Alexandria’s eyes filled with tears as her mind flashed back to this image. While their parents were in jail, both girls were in many different foster homes. They explained how their foster families didn’t care about them. When sharing during evening devotions, Alexandria said, “I know these girls who were also in foster care. At one of the homes, they were….” She paused before she continued, “They were raped.” After a sad moment of silence, Gabrielle spoke up, “Those girls were us.”

            My heart aches for these precious girls. At 12 and 10 years of age, they have experienced and seen things I didn’t even know about at their age. And that is only a tiny fraction of their story. Things I would consider my worst nightmare happen to them daily. It is completely normal to them. After hearing their story and leaving the cabin, I broke down crying. How could I let them return home to this nightmare? I felt so helpless. I wanted to keep them forever. The only way I could even think of allowing them to leave was that Christ will be with them every step of the way. I may not be able to help them, but Christ can. I may not be able to change their situation, but Christ can. I may not be there to comfort them when they are sad, but Christ can. No matter what happens, He will be there for them and can transform their lives into a beautiful masterpiece that glorifies Him. And I am so thankful that I could be a tiny part of God’s perfect plan for their lives.

Editor's Note:  Fortunately, like all our campers, these girls have a relationship with our inner city ministry leaders.  So when they go home, not only do they have their most loving, powerful and faithful friend, Christ, who can transform their lives, but they do also have city staff to follow up with them. 

Carole's Favorite Week of Summer - Week in the City

At "Week in the City," (WIC) we bring our summer staff to receive training and lead an inner city outreach sports/crafts/Bible camp for the week.  I love it because I get to feel the heartbeat of the city, I am privileged to meet and know inner city kids and share Christ's love with them, I have the joy of serving alongside my husband and children as they actively participate in ministry and outreach, and I get to know our summer staff who I love so dearly!  Awesome - thank you Lord!!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Our media intern made this awesome WIC 2012 video......

We set up our sports camps as an outreach in 2 low income communities where some of our World Impact missionaries live.  At the camps, kids may participate in soccer, basketball, hockey, dance, arts and crafts, and drama.  They have a Bible time, complete with songs, skits, and story time, followed by small group discussion about the Bible, and of course, the ever important snack time!  It's a time where kids receive a lot of attention and love, have a ton of fun, and most importantly hear about Christ.

Cruise Across Camp Update

          The first annual Cruise Across Camp 5K was a huge blessing. This event was a fundraiser for our Leaders in Training program and we raised almost $12,000. We ended up with 115 and about 35 volunteers (pretty good, we think, for our first year). Many participants commented that the course was challenging (it includes a 1/3 mile uphill trail gaining 500 feet in elevation), but the views at the top were totally worth it!

            A huge highlight of this event was having twenty fifth graders participate from World Impact's school in South Central Los Angeles. Two of their teachers (who have both served on summer staff here at The Oaks) motivated and trained these inner-city students diligently for a couple of months. They all finished, with a couple of the boys coming in fourth and fifth place overall! Participating in this event was a massive accomplishment and ego-booster for these sweet kids. One of the teachers (a runner who recently finished her first marathon) said, “Watching my kids cross that finish line sprinting may have been even better than crossing the LA marathon back in March.”

            Thank you so much to those of you who supported this event. Your support is providing some really special teens with a life-changing opportunity. Next year's date is May 11, 2013! Mark you calendars if you are local. We are hoping for 300 participants next year!

The starting line

Students and leaders from World Impact's LA school

The first mile

Using God's Creation to Bring Him Glory

One of the highlights in Spring at THE OAKS is Outdoor Education season.  A total of nine camps of came during April and May, ranging from fifth graders to seventh graders. So, what happens during Outdoor Ed?"

Here is a list of classes included in a typical camp:

·                          Tracks & Traits / Skins & Scales

·                          Edible Plants

·                          Meteorology

·                          Pond Study

·                          Night Hike

·                          Astronomy

·                          Yucca Rope Making

·                          Shelter Building

·                          Team Building exercises

·                          Hiking various trails in the National Forest

·                          Adventure Activities (Leap of Faith, high ropes, zip line, rock climbing, canoeing)  

Grizz during his fire circle presentation

The most important aspect of Outdoor Education camps is using creation to point to the Creator.  Every night includes an evening program at our fire circle amphitheater, with worship time and a presentation by a speaker.  One of our returning speakers this past season was Grizz, a Native American who speaks and entertains with Native American singing and dancing and a few stories. Then he shares his story of how He came to know Jesus, and gives an open invitation to anyone who wants to be transformed by Jesus' love. One night, seven people came forward in response to his invitation, including several fathers (chaperons). Later, Jared, our Outdoor Ed Director and full time World Impact missionary, had the chance to talk to one of the dads who had come forward. He had been deeply impacted by his camp experience at The Oaks, and had felt God working in his heart all week. 

Paul teaching a Pond Study class

campers during Skins & Scales class

Isn't that just how God works? The focus of our Outdoor Ed programs is on the kids, but God used us to teach the parents too. Never assume you know who you are ministering to; God could have a completely different idea in mind. His ways are so much higher than ours.

A Fun Way to Spend a Weekend with Friends!

Long before we could have ever imagined in our wildest dreams becoming missionaries with World Impact, we volunteered  at THE OAKS for several years.  Those were some of our most favorites days!  We even came up with our church’s middle school families who loved it so much they came up each year for several subsequent years. 

We continue to have various groups come up to volunteer.  We feel deeply thankful for their wonderful service to the camp.  We are also greatly encouraged to hear of the enjoyment and fun they have as a group as well as how they grew closer together while serving.

In March, Paul worked with the Biola women's soccer team over a service weekend.  They were amazing - those strong and fit athletes worked hard.  But even more exciting for us was the report their coach gave.   She had  seen the first part of THE OAKS mission statement, “Changed Lives”.  She said, “I had looked at your website prior to our trip.  It talked about changed lives. When sharing about the weekend, the girls shared about how much their lives had been touched and changed by coming to serve together.”

 

Three months later (in June) I received an email from the coach who said, "The girls repeatedly bring up the team growth that occurred".  It is such a joy for us to see others experiencing the joy of serving as well as the personal and group growth that occurs when working together.

If you have a school or church group or just a few friends that would like to come serve, service retreats can be designed to fit your group and can include team building, ropes course, adventure activities and more.  Please contact us at meitysix@gmail.com or pmeitler@gmail.com .

Encouraging Your Kids to be More Mission-Minded

We just wanted to pass along a helpful tip we received years ago. We implemented this idea in our family about 10 years ago, and since it's been a blessing to us, we thought we'd pass it along.

I'm sure most of you receive numerous letters and emails from missionaries and mission organizations. If not, find an organization that tugs on your heart and subscribe to their newsletter. Take a few minutes at the dinner table to read it, or a portion of it, out loud. Take time to discuss it as you deem appropriate, and then pray for the organization or the missionaries as a family. It will not only be a blessing for your family as you are encouraged and inspired, but your prayers will be a blessing to the missionary/organization.

(Another tip we found helpful…once we receive the letters, we stick them in a cupboard near our dining table so they are handy come dinner time. For email newsletters, we print them immediately and do the same.)

Winter Camp

We had another record year at Winter Camp with about 350 students! The theme was "The Amazing Race," based off of Hebrews 12:1. It was even warm enough to add a mud pit to our list of activities, which ended up being a huge hit! The Eastern Sky Theater put on a short theater production with a powerful, impacting, life-committing message (Some of you have seen their powerful play called "The Last Appeal").

At the final session, the campers were given the opportunity to write down on cards anything they wanted to bring before God, bring them forward, and lay them down at the foot of the cross. Almost 200 teens came forward. Among the list of issues brought before the cross were hatred, pornography, drugs, sex, self-cutting, family problems, and drinking. Many made decisions to follow Christ for the first time, and many rededicated their lives to Christ. One such card read: "I love you Lord. I miss you so much and I confess that I have been off track. I need help Lord, I will be stronger because of you!! And I know that, and I pray that I no longer be afraid to speak of you and trust you." We praise God and rejoice because of the many lives changed at winter camp!

Archery

The Mudpit

All of the campers