the russells writings: Sharptop Cove 2009...

After getting back from Frontier Ranch, we had almost exactly 2 weeks before we took our Central Texas high schoolers to Sharptop Cove in Jasper, Georgia...

You would think that it would taken nothin' to get a high schooler to leave Killeen and go to camp... Noooooooooooooooooooooo, not this year. Not ANY year! I know that this is part of the Spiritual Battle that goes on all around us each and every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The Enemy NEVER stops!

But the busses pulled up, we loaded 40 kids and 9 leaders on 1 bus and some Belton and Marble Falls folks on another and off we went! It was a wonderful bus ride. Not one problem which is unusual. I did think to myself around 1 a.m. as I was trying to doze off and get an hour of sleep before our crazy week of camp starts tomorrow, 'At what age am I told old to be riding this bus each and every year?' I turn 33 years old on September 3, 2009. Taylor told me that I am already too old to ride the bus and that we need to fly next year. I think she was just acting silly and selfish ... wink, wink!

Of the 40 kids that we took to camp, 16 made a decision to follow Jesus!!! Now the Fun begins as we arrive back home, get kids plugged in and start their Spiritual Root System. We met every single day from 10-11:30 a.m. for two weeks and it was STRONG! Probably our best after camp follow up that we have ever done. Such a joy to see kids grow in the Lord!

I sure wish that you could experience a week at a Young Life Resort!

This is a group shot of our CenTex friends. We are all wearing our commemorative Camp Shirt honoring the year of the 'Flying Pig Flu' a.k.a. Swine Flu...

This is Night 3 at the Carnival. One of the kids won some money and chose to take me to 'Pie in the Eye!' I know it's coming, so I might as well make faces and talk trash, right?

This is one of our guy cabins before their ropes course. The Ropes Course is such a Powerful Tool to challenge kids, have them step out in faith and learn how to trust something or someone other than themselves! It's like we have to Deprogram people from the world before they can learn to listen to the still small whisper of our Heavenly Father.