Winter is here!

I find my office chair not able to roll because of the sand and grit that I have brought in from the great outdoors! I have to admit I love winter, the truth is I love all of the seasons! Today is a great day, some days are not so great, but as I prepared to lead worship this Sunday in Bar Harbor I was reminded of how amazing God is. Worship songs, by their design, point us to God. Even if I am rocking it out in my office all alone those words remind me of God's greatness. Today as you go about your day sing some praises to the Lord, even if you write them yourself. God is awesome!

Adrian <><

Busted ankle...equals slow life down

It is amazing how something simple like your ankle works so well, but when it doesn't...well it doesn't. By God's great goodness though in it there is good. It is easy to run this way and that way most of the time. Some times it is good to pause. I've been reading a collection of Mike Yaconelli's stuff, a youth ministry guru who was not afraid to speak out. He passed away a few years ago, but his words are still true today. He speaks alot about how we can tend to rush through life in all areas, including youth ministry, and that we miss out when we do. Now I get to slow down and rest in the Lord, because I have to, but also because it is good to!

A <><

The stars are giving us a show!

I am not sure what happened but this is my second attempt at a blog tonight. It is true that we have a crisp clear sky at BYC and from time to time we see a shooting star across the sky, pretty amazing.

We practiced hard today! Those who come on Friday will be blessed, by the grace of God of course. Keep praying for us there is still a lot to be done. Tomorrow will be a full day.

God is awesome!
adrian

tuesday at BYC

Good evening! I pray that this note finds you well. We have had another great day here. We practiced a whole bunch for Friday...if you haven't heard there is going to be a camper led praise and worship service from 6-8 pm at the Franklin Baptist. It would wonderful to have a packed house of friends and family!

We enjoyed a lively game of China Lake Musical chairs, and favorite, everyone enjoyed themselves.

Let's see. We had chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots and salad bar for dinner. Yum.

Keep praying for us. we have a lot to do in the next few days!

God is awesome.

adrian

monday!

praise God for a great day! If you prayed yesterday for thigs to go well today believe theewy did...praise God and thank you for praying. This morning after fun warm ups, pledges, breakfast and clean up we had an enjoyable time of worship followed by TAWG which stands for Time Alone With God. Today's TAWG was focused on the value of silence.

We followed that up with a group builder and then started to hammer out the details of our theme and how we thik God maybe leading us to use our gifts in the upcoming service. We spent some time thinking about how a service could be laid out, a template for a service.

In the afternoon we enjoyed some options. Some kayaked, dance, swimming, crafts, and games. After chapel we worked some more on the details of the service. As a side note these are some very gifted teens!

Now it is time to rest. have a great night!

back at byc...Music Camp!

Off to a great start. Praise God we have lift off with a great group of teens. We played a few get to know you games, enjoyed a scrumptious dinner, praised God and learned a bit about worship being how we live our lives and not just a song we sing. After some free time we did some brainstorming for Friday's service, by the way the campers had some excellent ideas. Pray for us tomorrow as we work out the details of what we hope to do o Friday. Then the challenge of pulling it all together. I know that with God's strength we will be able! God is awesome, all the time.

have a great night keep praying for us, and we hope to see you Friday in Franklin as we present the service they are preparing.

adrian

peace

It seems that at midnight there is extreme quiet here at BYC.

We have had a great week and I have had campers ask me over and over if they can stay.

Today the sun shone bright, which may be why my face is a bit red. We had our options for the last time and said good bye to Max (the puppet) who has been a great help in helping us to learn the bible stories this week!

We are gearing up for our closing program and look forward to seeng all the families and guests who will be able to attend.

Have a good night.
a

wow

have you ever had one of those moments that it was so amazing that you couldn't even believe that it was true? On Monday the staff devo that I was let too was the same scripture that the Beckers used during morning chapel, the same thing happened on Tuesday and today the during staff meeting was focused on the psalm that repeats the phrase...His love gendures forever. The first song at the morning chapel was Forever which is focused on that same phrase!!! The Beckers and I hadn't planned it that way, but God had. It was amazing.

Things are going well here! The clouds and the rain cleared for our afternoon options...Praise the Lord!!! We had lots of fun. Tomorrow we have the banquet, our special dinner. The cooks have done a woderful job this summer preparing lovely dinners for this event. They put in the extra time needed to make it special.

Keep praying for us and know that God will do great things!

adrian

lovely rain

Give thanks to the Lord our God and King, His love endures forever, for He is good he is above all things, His love endures forever. SING PRAISE.

That song is on my heart tonight. Maybe because there are times that the rain can seem like a bad thing, and it is raining right now. Yet the rain brings a calm and I know that I really appreciate it!

During the second option this afternoon I felt a few drops of water. By God's grace it held off until dinner time when it began to rain steadily.

Praise God for his creation, his Word and for those who live for Him.

warm sunshine

Praise God for a beautiful day! Today I had a lotr of fun hanging out at the archery range. David helped me to learn the rules of the archery range. ttrhe campers who were there during that option did a great job, even though some of them were doing it for the first time! I even got to see a few holes in one, which I was quickly corrected that they were called bulls eyes.

Now in the stillness of the night it is very calming to hear the cries off the loon, so neat.

We had a lot of fun during our first full day. We had a blast at Jeremiah Jam - our singing and bible game show. Everyone seemed to enjoy ther afternoon options. What is always cool is that campers can choose the activities they want to do. There are things from indoor living, kayaking, sports and games, sign language, guitar...there are quite a few thing campers can choose. We have three different times so they have a chance to do 3 different activities.

The food has been great, atleast I think so. At lunch we has chicken fingers, pork sandwiches, and fried fish to choose from, along with the lunch time salad bar. Yummy.

Pray all is well with you. Keep us all in your prayers and remember that God is awesome!

adrian

the stars at night shine so bright

What a beautiful day we had today. The sun shown bright and campers and staffs smiles only added to the warmth. After a few welcome games we had our camp photo. Mr. Knapp stuck to the wonderfully expected tradition of counting to 3 and taking the picture on 2, and throwing his hat up in the air on the final picture. He has been doing that for as long as I can remember, even back when I was a camper!!

All of the campers are now in bed for the evening. After a pizza dinner we had chapel and then a big group game.

A good way to kick the day off! I am sure there are many more adventures to be had tomorrow! At breakfast campers will sign up for what they would like to do duing the afternoon activity time.

good night!
adrian

camp fires and fond memories

Praise God we oly had a light shower this afternoon. All of the afternoon options were able to happen without a hitch. We had a tremendous turkey dinner for our speciall banquet feast, with candles, decorated tables and fancy clothes. The chefs really out did themselves!

There have been some great singers during chapel, and Jeremiah Jam! It is woderful to hear them sing praises to our King!

The guys had a camp fire as did the girls this evening complete with s'mores and conversation.

God is awesome!
adrian

another day in beautiful charlotte maine

Praise God for a wonderful day. The laughter of campers as they enjoyed the puppet Max was fabulous. We are all learning the memory verse with Max's help.

The sun did shine today, although I have heard rumors of rain tomorrow (please pray for sun). Campers are enjoying kayaking, crafts, archery, sports and games, swimming in the lake and the pool.

The food has been great, we had frech toast for breakfast, burgers for lunch and tacos for dinner. Yummy. We had a great cake to celebrate a birthday!

This is a great group of campers and super staff.

don't forget families you are invited to join us for lunch on Friday at noon. We will have a show starting at 12;30 nd check out is around 2pm on Friday! feel free to give us a call with any questions.

God is awesome!
adrian

the stars are amazing!!

The heavens declare the glory of God. Tonight they are doing an amazing job! We had a great day. blue skies in the morning, by the afternoon it was a bit cloudy, but the rain held off until dinner time! There was an amazing sunset, and many smiling faces.

Each day I have been working in the snack shop, and I have really enjoyed saying hi to each camper and checking how their day is going.

We played a great game of steal the pearl tonight, a capture the type ball game. We've had some amazing food and you might be surprised how many campers are enjoying vegetables from the salad bar!

God is great! remember to pray for all the campers ad staff! Thanks!

God bless.

sunshinny rain!

Wow what a day. weatherwise we enjoyed some powerful bursts of rain and some bright blue sunny skies. We were blessed to all be in the diing hall following dinner for the heaviest rains, and right after we saw not only 1 but 2 huge rainbows! praise God for such a blessing. later on in the evening after dressing up our counselors in funny space suits we went to chapel. We sang and worker on our memory verse with our friend Max. Pastor Scott shared with us about Adam and Eve and brought it to Noah who built the ark. It rained a whole lot and then God brought out a rainbow as a sign of his promisses. The cool thing is that Scout had prepared what he was going to speak on this morning he told us and he had no idea that it was going to rain like it did and that we would have such an amazing display I the rainbows we saw. God is awesome!

May God be with you!

adrian

junior camp off to a great start

After a few fun games we started the afteroon off with a camp photo so everyone can remember the great times they had at BYC in the years to come. Fred Knapp came out with his wife to take the picture, they have been doing that since I was a kid!

After a lovely dinner campers had an alphabet scavenger hunt around camp looking for random items that started with each letter of the alphabet.

We went over the camp rules and had a high energy worship service. Dancing and singing for joy to the Lord. Max (our puppet friend) joined us for a while to introduce us to the theme along with the theme verse. There was a lot of laughter through out the chapel. Our camp pastor for the week, Scott Records did a great job getting us thinking about what it the mission that we are on.

It was a good first day. Following chapel campers went to their cabins for snack, to brush their teeth, talk about what they had heard, to pray and head to bed. God is awesome!

sorry it has been a few days!

It has been an exciting few days and I am sorry I haven't stopped to tell you about it. We had a great week with the junior highers, leaders in training (LIT) and young adult kicking servats(YAKS). We were blessed with 44 wonderful campers in these three groups. I had the privelege to be a counselor one night, due to one of they guy counselors having to go to a funeral. it was a wonderful opportunity. I was blessed to get to know a cabin of guys a little better. I have no doubt that God has incredible plans for each one of them, as he does for each one of us! this coming week we are looking forward to a group of junior age campers, grade 3-5. It is a very fun age to have at camp! pray that God would do a mighty work as he has time and time again!

once upon a time

tonight at chapel the Becker family (Jeremiah 29;11 ministries) showed a recap video of the first few days at camp. it was hilarious. The chapel speaker, my mom, told some memories of my younger days and it was a great reminder of how even as a kid. I loved camp! One year I even left our year in England early to be at BYC.

What are your favorite memories of camp? God has and is using BYC in many ways to impact lives. praise the Lord.

keep the staff and campers in your prayers.

Junior High Adventure

Good morning. when I woke up I thought to myself...hmm there is something I forgot to do...sorry I missed last nights blog.

Last night we heard the real life story of Brother Andrew who served God during tough times. Amazing stories of God being I control.

Today I am sitting by a lovely warm fire. it is chilly here, but not raining. The lawns were mostly mowed yesterday as it was the driest day in a while.

please pray for a few more campers to sign up for next weeks junior camp, for grades 3-5. We have 25 currently but would love to have at least another 10.

it is great to hear laughter and joy. If you would like to come by for a cup of hot coffee, hot chocolate, tea or just conversation let us know and I would love to chat.

460-1536
adrian

sunday, junior high adventure - day 1

Praise the Lord the un camee out today. I am so thankful for a group of staff this week. we have had some return fropm last, some from last year and some new folks! it is amazing to me how God brings together.

This week my mom, Donna is our chapel speaker. she really enjoys having fun and somewhat messy activities during our chapel times.

please pray for open hearts and for campers to have a great time/safe time. May God bless you.

adrian

Teen Camp has ended for 2009

What a great week, tiring but great. We had a lot to praise God for. There were no major accidents, only little rain, ok a bunch of rain, but each afternoon the weather was a little bit nice so we were able to swim every day. There were 3 first time decisions for Christ and 20 or so campers who rededicated there lives to Christ. Praise the LORD! We have much to thank God for! Now I will take a few days off from blogging, but if you ever want to know what is going on you can always give me a call! 460-1536

Adrian <><

tired =)

sorry but I will have to fill you I morning. it is after 2 am and I need to get up for stff memeetings at 5;30.

have a great sleep.

adrian

well , it is raining, but the sun was beautiful today

during the afternoon options it was hot. from pool games to tye dying we all enjoyed the sun. As we head to bed the peaceful and somettimes down pouring rain lulls us to sleep.

We had pizza for dinner. yummy french bread pizza which was even better!

campers and staff are having great conversations and laughter is quite common as this week draws towards its end as is often the case. I remember years ago doing everything I could to stay at camp as long as I could.

We've been learning a lot I know I have and d it seems like others are as well.

reminder to parents teen week pick up is Thursday starting at noon with lunch and the closing program. We will likely be finished around 2pm.

pray for counselors; they put in a lot of time, don't get a whole lot of sleep, run around, teach, and care for their campers. pray that they have all they need.

please also pray for Sarah our program director who hurt her knee today. she doesn't know how bad it is, but it is causing her pain.

Thank you for your prayers!

adrian

monday teen camp

What a day. Campers and staff seem to be in the groove of things. People are getting a little tired, myself included, but we are enjoying ourselves. the sun did peak out today for a bit, but it continues to be drizzley.

Everyone enjoyed the 5? guests we had today. I think I mentioned them coming is a previous blog. it was really a wonderful experience. they are on a tour sharing their gifts of music, drama, and dance. the cool thing was that those in the group were the age of the campers who are here this week. think they will be performing in Ellsworth again on tuesday. it is certainly an amazing ministry. I heard many positive comments about the time with the group.

It looks like we will need to finish off the boys nearly renovated cabin before next week. Praise the Lord we have campers. If you are a carpenter or skilled worker and have some time we could use your help! Please give me a call.

time to get some rest. I have to wake up early! keep praying for Gods spirit to flow at BYC. Thank you.
adrian

pray for sun...no rain would be ok to

give thanks in all crcumstances, that we wll do. A small bit of sun would be wonderful to add to the praises!

Thanks for the prayers!

today is Sunday

It seems like tme disappears when you are at BYC. it is hard to believe that yesterday was the start of camp. Campers seem to be settling in, catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones. There are quite a few new teen campers and we thank God that they can be hear, as we praise God for those who have returned.

Our camp pastor this week was my camp pastor here at BYC when I was a high school camper. It is great to have Scott Conners here (also our camp president). I don't think he looks a day older then back then...of course I am forgetful. Scott is doing a great job speaking Gods word. Scott was also a camper himself a few years back.God has great things n store and I thank God for those like Scott who are making a difference.

The staff here are such a blessing. as I talked with the cooks tonight, they said how much the enjoy being here and seeing campers have FUN!

It was cloudy and rainy at times, but we were able to have our afternoon options outside. campers swam, played games did archery, baked cup cakes, and danced, among other things.

Pray for us tomorrow. there is a a dance, drama, choir visiting from florida as they minister in washington and hancock county. the are many logistics to work out through out the day. pray for sun which would make the day a little bit smoother.

If anyone has a good wireless handheld mic you are willing to give to BYC please let me know. If you would like to mow the lawn at camp this summer, when the sun comes out give me a ring. we have a mower and fuel, we just need someone with the time.

May God bless you in mighty ways this day.

Love in Christ.
adrian

day of joy/teen camp day one

We don't need the sun to be filled with joy. Tonight we sang a song called get down. 'I get down he lifts me up...' is the simple words of the chorus, but the power is behind the who...an all powerful God! we've had a great day at camp. a fun scavenger hunt, a spelling contest with alphabet soup, praise and worship and God's word. Praise God a cabin was completed today thanks to some hard working vollunteers so we were able to accomidate the largest teen camp we have had in years...50 campers! Thank God Amanda was willing to step up to serve as a counselor, she will do great by God's mighty power!

There was so much to give thanks for today! God is awesome...all the time.

Please keep myself and the staff in your prayer!
adrian

One week until BYC gets into full swing. I am looking forward to staff training that starts Wednesday. Praying that God works in marvelous ways this summer. We've seen it over and over and look forward to seeing Him work again! God is awesome!

Pain in the leg

Today I bashed my shin into the trailer hitch on the back of the van. Serious pain, the kind where you are not sure if u are going to pass out or not. Well I didn't, and really in the grand scheme of things a little bump and some blood is not the end of the world. There is a great deal to give thanks for and many things to pray for and that's what I plan to do now. Have a great night.

The Birds are praising

It has been days, maybe even weeks since my fingers have scribbled a few words here on my blog... Many things have happened and life has been full speed ahead. Rather then recounting all that has gone on I will simply move forward with today.

The sun is out,
the sky is blue,
the birds sing praise
and I do too!

Let us rejoice and be glad for God has done great things!
Have a good day!
Adrian <><

not broken

Have you ever wondered if you broke something. I don't mean the time you broke a window, there was likely no question about that. Today I made a teip to the er to test if my ankle were broken by way of x rays. Sometimes it is obvious that something is wrong, some times it is not. The same can be true in our faith. . There may be signs that something isn't right, sometimes it is unclear, but we always need to keep an eye on things so we can keep serving strong for the Lord!

Ouch

That is all I could say when I landed wrong on my ankle during basketball today. I would gve to repeat ouch as my ankle rests in a pan full of ice water. On the other side of it people are wicked nice when someones down (litterally). One guy carried mybsrinky shoe, another gave me a ride home, another got me ice...thanks

when the day is done

Rays from a setting sun are a dose of peace after a busy day. From the windows of our cabin at camp the delightful colors are a gift from God. Glad to be here. Glad to finally rest for a minute, sad to leave in the early morning, but perhaps we'll catch the sun rise and have cause to stop and thank our Creator again.

take it easy

Today while at a friends house we heard the riding lawn mower start and watched as another friend drove down the driveway. We watched and commented on what we saw. The driver stopped at their car and got off the mower. We got a good laugh thinking about how easy the riding mower life was. Later we found out that the plan was to mow the lawn all along, so the trip to the car was only a detore. 2 applications ; are we judging before we know the whole truth, and are we willing to take it easy once in a while?

Yummy food, friendly fellowship

What a delightful evening with friends.. Two followers of Christ who say it and mean it. May all of us who say we follow Jesus be like our two friends Butch and Kathy.

Surrounded

A long journey, but a good one. Ficket and I brought some things from a church Westboro to BYC. After a long day in the truck it was great to empty it and do just a few things at camp. The best thing was that I could only stay for a few minutes so I couldn't start on any huge project. So I did what I needed to and then sat on the well and didn't do anything. I can't remember the last time I sat on the well! The sun was out and the breeze helped to deliver it's warmth. The sky was a brilliant blue and the clouds flew by. It was wonderful. In a moment I was reminded of all the reasons we do what we do at BYC. It was like being at home in the presence of God. As the warmth surrounded me I imagined his loving arms around me. surrounded.

My guts are dancing.

There are times when things happen that don't make sense! The last few months my stomach has been bothering me. This week I go to have them looked at... Down my throat! Prayerfully there will be something easy to repair! Today my stomach is a little up side down, but that is likely due to 3 cups of coffee. Sometimes things don't make sense, but today they do!

Eyes are sleeping, yet I am still awake

Could I rest? maybe.
Should I rest? Maybe
Then why not rest? Hmmm... Good question. Good night!

Rain is beauty!

Praise God for the rain. It cleans, it refreshes, it replenishes. I went for a run in the rain today with a friend. What a great way to start the day! We had great conversation and I am thankful that I have been reminded repeatedly today to pray for the exciting opportunity for his church. It also reminded me to pray for others today. Rain is a beautiful thing. Praise God for the rain.

Warm sun

Walking to the post office today allowed for a great chance to get out of the office and breath in God's creation. This evening the kids went for a bike ride while I walked alongside and although it was cooler it was still lovely out. How many times have I rushed through my day and not take a minute to enjoy the beauty around me? I don't want to take it for granted.

Stop Lights

Have you ever wondered if red lights know you are late? Today I think I hit every red light (or at least most of them) as I was trying desperately to get to a car repair appointment. I was late. You know that grr feeling, well I had it. Why do I get so rushed and so filled with grr. Perhaps poor planning, perhaps trying to do to much. After the fact it was yet another reminder of the value of slowing down and relaxing, because the reality is that no matter how frustrated I was getting, I wasn't going to get there any faster than I did!

Ahh...If I could be taking a nap I would be. This should be an interesting afternoon. I am tired from a late night of driving and of sickness, but I am praying that God works this afternoon in the lives of the young people who come. Today reminds me that sometimes I do it on my own strength, because today I can not! The fact is I should always be on God's power and not my own!! A <><

Take it slow.

I am at a camping conference and have learned a bunch the past few days. It's been good, sometimes a bit long, but overall good! One thing that stands out in my mind is a speakers words. He said that there was a big push to speed read years ago. He encouraged us/me to slow it down and hear what God's word has to say to us. He encouraged us to read and review. To think about the word, to think about what it means to us. We spent time looking at Luke 5:1-11 and spent time asking the question "God you are a God who..." Read some of God's word and think about it today! It's amazing when you think about it!
acm <><