West Cocoa Chat

At this time last year, things were anything but encouraging. We had been asked by CFBC to un-invite Pat Pugh. I knew that God would have used Pat in a powerful way to reach our kids just as he had done the previous year at the Mid-Ohio Valley Work Camp. Of course the rest is history.

This year I joined the “Pat Pugh Club” by being un-invited from Camp just before the Pepperdine Bible Lectures which by the way came at a great time in my life. So, the thought of putting me, my Camp Partner Steve, and a Bible Camp of any kind together seem to be a distant dream. This would not happen in a 1000 years. Well, God has an interesting sense of timing.

In a conversation at Pepperdine, the Melbourne Youth Minister, Joe, told me he had found a Camp with our week open. At the time I wasn’t too high on his offer. I was in the middle of my own personal “pity party” and was having a good time. Then God began to open my eyes.

First came a Wednesday night meeting at AWP (Associated Women of Pepperdine) pie night with one of the Melbourne elders, Don. Don expressed to me how Melbourne was outraged by what had happened at Camp and they were committed to making Bible Camp happen. My eyes opened a little more.

Then I had a conversation with Steve who reiterated Don’s message, Melbourne was committed to making Camp happen. Then it hit me, hey, we can still have Bible Camp. I began to realize the funk I had been in was due to feeling sorry for myself because something that was such a part of my being, Bible Camp, had been taken away. My giddy up returned.

This past Friday our two Youth Ministers, Chad and Joe took a tour of the new camp. There were some things better and some thing “not so better.” But there were two keys I couldn’t get away from:
1. “Our week” was opened.
2. They (Camp Ithiel) actually wanted us. That was nice for a change.

This past Sunday my wife Barb, I, our Youth Deacon / Dean of Mohawk Haircuts – Brett and his wife Sharon made the trip to Camp Ithiel. Mike, the Camp Director was working in the Mess Hall so he gave us the grand tour. As we were walking the camp I tried to express our gratitude towards him in allowing us to hold Bible Camp on his campus. He looked at me, smiled, and then relayed how just a few weeks before, a week of Bible Camp had canceled their reservation for the week that we now had. He said one of his Board Members asked him what he was going to do. His answer was both simple and profound. He told the gentleman, “God will provide.” Then he said, “And then you guys showed up.”

Last year at this time I was wondering about God and His “providing.” It seemed that we were serving a God of “subtraction.” Now with the benefit of hindsight we can see that God was working, he was working to provide a Camp that would allow us to reach kids for Christ uninhibited by legalism.

BTW – I honestly feel that God was not only doing us a favor but CFBC as well. The last thing I want to be is an instrument of irritation and it was obvious we had become that very thing to CFBC. May God bless each week of Camp this year, the Camp Director and Board.

When I called Pat up the other night to undo last year’s “un-invite” I said, “Brother, you and I have something in common now.” When he asked “what” I answered, “We both have been un-invited from CFBC.” Pat laughed and then we both began to get fired up as we spoke of God, His Will, and how He had this all under control last year when we felt everything was out of control.

I hope if we don’t teach our campers anything else, we impart upon them that God is in control. May God bless all of you.