The Halfway Point

It's official. SWO12 has hit its halfway point. We have six weeks behind us and six weeks ahead. We are experiencing the physical wears and tears of high-adventure summer camp ministry. It is in these weary days that we see the strong presence of the Spirit and His empowerment in our daily lives. It is only by God's power that we are able to operate in Biblical community and faithfully live out the calling He has given us to make disciples.

At this point in the summer, I (Brittany) would like to ask you to pray specifically for the Transition Team -- a small group of girls who are in a transition phase between having served on SWO's servant team and preparing to serve on our summer staff. These girls are recent high school graduates who are about a year away from being able to serve on summer staff but have previously received preparation through our high school servant program. These girls work with students alongside an older summer staff member and receive weekly discipleship in a group setting with me. We meet a couple of times a week. This summer, we are working through the book "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 

It's been a great journey so far as we are learning what it looks like to operate within a Biblical community, which is - sadly - something very foreign in the Church today. These girls are learning how to relate to one another in the way they would relate to Christ and to come to one another in humility, reverence and joy. It has been such a pleasure being able to walk through this time together.

Please pray for me, personally, that I will faithfully lead these girls in the way Christ would desire. And pray for each of them that they would grow tremendously and learn more what it means to be disciples of Christ and a part of His Church.

Thank you for your continued prayers for us.

Brittany

SWO12

It's hard to believe but today begins week 1 of SWO12 summer camp at Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters. Amid fixes to last-minute items, landscape preparations and cleanings, our staff has been filling its heart with knowledge and wisdom from the Word of God.
You see, no matter how hard we work or how much we prepare for students' arrivals, our work is trivial if not for the life-changing message of Jesus Christ we proclaim week after week. This is our call. This is our mission:

To see students transformed by the saving work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and through the centrality of this Gospel, to disciple students in such a way that the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God will conform them to the image of Christ.  

Today more than 450 students and student leaders will arrive on our campus, and we will have the privilege of ministering the Gospel to each one of them. What a precious honor. It is something we do not tread upon lightly.

"Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col 1:10-14)

This summer we will walk students through the Supremacy of Christ in All Things and show students what it means to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord." Join us in prayer as come into this journey — that we will remain faithful, that God will give us rest in sleepless nights and that our hearts and minds will be set on things above.

Because of Him,
Brittany