Nikos Camps

Ben put together this cool summary of the good times we had! Check it out:

[vimeo 3948633]

The camp formerly known as “MUDD camp” stood true to it’s old name! Our camping grounds, Pole Cat Hollow, have come a long way in development since that first MUDD camp – but the weather traditionally provides some mud just before the Spring Retreat for making memories and messes.

Thank you to all who prayed about the cold and rainy weather! God was certainly in control and had all just as He wanted. Because of the weather on Friday night and Saturday morning, we saw a significant turn-over with our registration list as we picked children up from different spots. This made logistics a bit more challenging as our campers arrived. But God allowed us to have all the kids assigned to groups before they pulled in, making their welcome moments more smooth and less stressed as their group leaders came right up to the bus, van, and car doors to kick off the weekend together. We only had one sprinkle shower on Sunday morning and even had a little sunshine on Monday!

This retreat included MP’s very first ever Nikos Olympic Closing Ceremony! We had fun with the Olympic theme by having the children perform for an audience from Grace Covenant Church on Sunday night. They learned a movement routine to the catchy song “Final Countdown” choreographed by Caron Gibson and coached by Leece Naxera during their activity rotation. The kids enjoyed being in the spot light, and smiled as their four groups rotated on Pole Cat’s new track. (We are working on getting the video up on our website for you to see!)

I wish you could’ve heard the children’s voices as they declared our theme verse together: “Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd, watching our life of faith, let’s throw off everything that slows us down and the sin that so easily trips us up, and run with perseverance the race God set out for us! Hebrews 12:1” (Nikos version)

To close the ceremony, we handed out “gold medals” to the children based on team achievements and sang a marathon of Nikos Camp Songs together.

We praise God for everyone who came out to help prep and serve meals, run activities, serve as group leaders and adult staff, and for those who covered us in prayer! May God have his way with our hearts as He calls the ones He has in mind to continue in relationship with the little ones that came to this retreat!

Well, they all came and went… MP fed 125 at our wilderness camp-out site during this short 2 day, 1 night camp out. God brought so many teens and adults to love on the children – enough for less than a 1:2 ratio, and we didn’t even have a drop of rain! (VERY different from retreats past, formerly known as MUDD camp…)

There were several moments during this retreat which blessed me deeply. A 9 year old girl named Karen and I sat together on the gravel floor of the outdoor kitchen after she had had to be rinsed nearly from head to toe because she had rubbed a poison ivy leaf all over herself on purpose. Over years of contact with Karen, she has just started to respond to me because she knows that I love her.

Margaret (on the right in the picture above), brought her small pink Bible to me. “I’m reading in John. I tried to read on the bus on the way here, but it was too bumpy,” she said, beaming up at me. I was able to stop and pray over her and her Bible. Lord, take hold of Margaret’s heart as she reads this Bible, and speak clearly to her spirit as your child… what a sweet moment.

After a story-telling and discussion of the life of Joseph, Kimberly came up alone to ask me why God allows bad things to happen to us if He is trustworthy. It was an amazing opportunity to speak the hope of maturity in Him, of His love and sovereignty, and against the lies of the enemy to such a young soul!

My favorite moment of the retreat has to be Saturday night, when Tim Jr. was reviewing the material the children learned this summer at Camp Nikos – God is real, He can be known and heard, He can be trusted. At the end, he mentioned one of the promises that we can trust God to keep. He started the words, “You will seek me,…” and children’s voices overtook his, singing, “…You will find me, when you seek me, with all of your heart. Jeremiah 29:13, Jeremiah 29:13,” to the tune of the Mexican Hat dance. I could not hold back the tears as I recognized that this promise had been written on their hearts. God, you are so good!

The HEB Road Trip was quite an adventure! This was our first year to camp on the H.E. Butt Foundation’s camp grounds in Kerrville. We enjoyed swimming in a beautiful piece of the Frio River called Blue Hole. Together, we cooked, served, played, created tie-dye shirts, swam, tubed, sang, and learned about what it means to be a Sanctuary for The Lord.

We talked through the lyrics of a familiar prayer: “Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary- pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.” We want to be a dwelling place for The Lord – purified by His sacrifice, faithful through fire. We want to lay down our own lives in order to be raised to new life in Him.

Please pray for these teens as The Spirit prompts you. Some live up to 5 hours away from us, in Corpus Christi. Some are in Caldwell, Spicewood, or Del Valle, Texas. This makes follow up a bit more complicated. We know that God had a purpose for each one in attending the HEB Road Trip, and pray that he would continue to work in each life represented. We pray that the enemy might not be allowed to de-rail their lives with any of his schemes. Lord, may their hearts be soft to your voice and obedient to your call.

94 children and around 60 leaders attended Camp Nikos this year from all around Austin. Throughout the week full of songs, outdoor activities, crafts, and group times, we talked about The King’s character and His love. He is real! We can get to know Him and hear His voice. We can trust that He will do what He says.

Bianca aims for the bullseye!

Brooke and Taya enjoy the lake!

Fishing off the dock…

I hope Karen doesn’t REALLY eat that worm… : )

Praise God with us for a great week together at camp! Thank you to each prayer warrior and financial supporter for enabling such a sweet time. There are still opportunities to participate on our website at www.mpaustin.org.

Check out our official Camp Nikos Blog to see more pictures and videos from camp at www.campnikos.com.

“I know it’s good to be near you, God. I will go and tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.” Psalm 73:28 (Nikos version)