Great Camp...Surgery...Rough couple of days

Well, folks, here it is. My post-camp, post-surgery I-think-I'm-gonna-make-it-after-all blog.
First, let me say that we had a fantastic Church Camp. One of our best in years. We were back, once again, at Boone's Creek Baptist camp, a facility we returned to last year for the first time since 1994. It is a pretty rustic old place, but it does have a few neat perks that keep us in love with the place.The cabins are rough old wood sided cabins with creaky floors, and each one is fitted with what was once a brand new air conditioner unit in the window. They do have private showers and toilets, so that's a plus. Nothin' fancy, but if you want fancy try the Motel 6. They'll leave the light on for you. Not us. Porch lights at camp in Kentucky are a bad thing. They draw bugs...which draw out the bats. Okay so it isn't that bad...or is it.
Actually, I'm cutting up. It is a cool old camp facility. We don't go for fancier places simply because we fight to keep costs low. With God's help this year we were able to offer a special package that would get you tuition, a very nice t-shirt, AND a $5.00 snack card for $85.00!!! Unthinkable! Bur God laid that on our hearts so we went with it. And by preliminary counts, we actually MADE A PROFIT!! Praise God!! He has blessed us so much! It is amazing that we made any profit this year...indeed it is a miracle. Now, of course, I should explain what I mean by "made a profit." No individual profits financially from this. Although many individuals put money in, none of us profits financially from the camping program. The region does not take this profit to use it for other things, but rather it is put into the camp fund to help pay for promotion and preparation for next years camp. So, thank God!
We had about 60 campers and staff this year, which is roughly the same as last year. The funny thing is, one church which sent 10 or more campers last year only sent about four people this year. BUT, the Letcher family, which sent about seven this year, wasn't there last year! How funny is that?It sort of balanced out, I suppose.
I do not have the final figure on experiences, but I think it is in the range of about ten. Six people were baptized.
Earlier I mentioned some perks that make us love the place. Well, here they are. It has this big, ole gymnasium, probably built in the 1930's with an old wood gym floor. In there you can play volleyball, basketball, or any of a number of things. They have a sound system in there so you can play Christian music while the kids play. Pretty nice. In addition to that, they have about a hundred pair of really old, yet fully functional roller skates. Is that cool, or what? Very funny to watch the skating. Most of us old school TCOG folks haven't the foggiest idea how to operate the things, so as you can imagine, hilarity ensues. oh, yes, it does.
In addition to the great old gym, they have a pool. It was so hot this year, that the girls and boys each recieved an extra hour of swim time. Yes, that's right, an extra hour. I had built a ton of fat into the schedule to make it flexible, and so this year we took some of that fat and swam in it! :p
We also gave the staff and some senior campers a chance to swim after hours...very cool. I suppose it should go without saying that we managed to put a nice covering around the fence surrounding the pool, and got each gender their own lifeguard...I'll go ahead and mention it to keep everyone's mind at ease.
So, anyway, camp was pretty awesome. The services were so wonderful. We had Sister Allene Cox from Tennessee as our guest evangelist. Sister Cox is a life long friend of mine, and it was just great to have her there. Let me tell you, she obeyed God! He used her so much to inspire and bless the campers and staff. The altars were filled every evening and God really did some great things in the lives of our campers. He didn't stop there, but the staff were also blessed and enriched by His Spirit! Praise God! Brother Jared Nolen, with help from Sister Kelley Peters, Brother Ryan Peters, and several musicians led us each night in a wonderful time of worship-It was just great!
There is so much more that could be said, but to keep this blog from getting too long to be enjoyable, I will stop for now. But know that God truly blessed our camp...TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!
From four years ago when we had no place to go, and very little money, so we had camp in tents in the field behind TCOG in Mayfield, KY...to now, when we have money in the fund, and all kinds of people to come and help us...it's just awesome what God has done for our region! Thank God!!
So, the Monday after camp, I had surgery on a hernia in my stomach. Small, outpatient surgery. No big deal, right? Phooey! Recovery has been so painful!!! I have been shocked by the amount of pain, soreness and bruising! Good grief!
But anyway, with all your prayers, I have improved a little every day. Thanks for the prayers, and Thank God!