there was weeping.

our team just arrived back in Riga after 9 days of camp, and 11 days, in Rezekne, Latvia, for a total of 2 weeks in Latvia...

my life is forever changed.

i will try and share a brief overview of what this past week has looked like, but i am exhausted, so i am looking forward to the day when i can rejoice with you all in what God has done this week in full detail.

zosna camp...picture this...
run down school house infested with mosquitos, in the middle of a tiny village of alcoholics, with an orphanage specifically for children coming from traumatic experiences...if this camp were to run in America it would be shut down before it even was open, which is why its so awesome!! haha...we washed our dishes in the same bucket of "soapy" water all week; camp was only supposed to be 8 days but they extended it to 9 just for the fun of it; the skit to introduce the kids to camp included the use of a real gun, the stopping of and breaking into the campers' bus, and a whole load of other events; our shower was a lake; there was no real schedule, the only regular activity was the two hours of Bible class; we had a nature fashion show; every night we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning around the campfire talking deeply about God and life with all the kids...the list just goes on and on and on...and on...Zosna camp is AWESOME!!!!...
70 campers...14 of us leaders...about 90 in all, including staff...plus a very really, very active, very loving God
in this week i watched in awe as God brought 10 campers to know and accept Him as Lord and Savior, 15 others recommit their lives to Him with a strong desire to live a life passionately pursuing the King...2 of the kids who committed their lives to Christ for the first time were in my Bible study...every orphan from last time remembered me by name, instantly, and then God proceeded to show me how He has answered my prayers for them over the last two years...One example, Vladik. This boy was in my Bible group two years ago and was the most closed off and depressed of all the kids, by the end of the week he was bawling because he had experienced love for the first time and didn't want to let it go; this year, Vladik was in my group again, and this year Vladik talked about God in our group times, asked questions about following Him, and thanked me for helping him to believe in God. He has become my brother. Our God is good.
there are so many amazing things that have happened in this last week that i have been left speechless with awe...i cannot wait to share with you all that our God has done this week, His presence was so real, He lit a fire in Rezekne.
and now...now my heart has been broken and is with those kids...but one thing i know, there is no doubting what God did in those 70 kids, and there is no doubting what He did in me. He changed my life.
Praise the LORD.

prayers for these next two weeks:
-One of the girls on our team is wanting to leave early because of some difficulties...pray for wisdom for us as leaders in what to allow her to do.
-energy and strength to make it through to the end
-Open hearts, eyes, and ears for me and every member of our team as we begin to process what God has done in our lives this summer
-A focused mind and heart, the summer is not over yet and so i want to remain focused on where God has me and what He still has in store, rather than focusing on what will happen when its over.

praises:
-I have never before experienced God's goodness to such intensity as this week
-God's love can never be comprehended by the human mind
-God has answered prayers in my life this last week that i have been praying, not only for this summer, but for the past two years

there was weeping this week, but our hearts were, and are, rejoicing forevermore in our God.