So there are times...

in life when we as Christians choose to put others needs above our own. We give our time, money, wisdom, homes, resources or energy into something that's full purpose is to benefit others. We do this, hopefully, out of our love for the Father and our love and desire for others to know the Father they way we do! And yet it always seems to me that when we do this we end up more blessed and satisfied than the people we were hoping to bless. Our joy is increased and our love for the Father and His amazingness often grows deeper as we give of ourselves. As it says in Acts 20:35, "...remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

I realize that sometimes things we do for the Lord go unnoticed by everyone except for the Lord, or sometimes our efforts just seem to fail miserably and we have to be able to have peace within our inner man that our intentions were right and that the Father saw our efforts. Other times though, it seems like the reward for giving of ourselves is so tangible that you can almost feel it!

All that to say this... House of Faith Family Camp 2010 was this weekend!!!!! Gunnar got to come to help and it was a weekend full of work, packing and unpacking, cooking, teasin', dish washing, serving, laughing, loving, family, FREEZING water and JESUS!! My good friend Michael's sister got saved so that of one MAJOR Hallelujah (as Bob would say) of the weekend!!

We had the Talledega del Frio Race and every family got to decorate a box to race Fred Flintstone style. Everyone got REALLY into it and it turned out to be a major hit of the weekend!! My family didn't get to decorate but acted as the paint and supplies managers! haha It actually was really fun and we didn't get paint on us at all ;)

Gunnar, Dad and I setting up. I was already covered in paint!

Trying to thicken up the paint

That little munchkin was a handful!! I caught him twice with about 15 coffee straws in his kool-aid , adding creamer to it! There was kool-aid all in the creamer and all over the bowl and not a parent in sight! haha

Now not all Family camp was work. We did get to get in the FREEZING water and jump off a cliff. Gunnar, Penny, Me and Alfonzo.

Fonzo went 1st!

I was second! Gunnar said I won major girlfriend points for being the kind of girl that would do thing kinda thing! Score!!

Penny was next!

And Gunnar went last!! The water was so cold it hurt, really bad, but it was so worth the memory!!Gunnar and I after our jump. We were both still shivering. It took me a LONG time to stop!! :)

Tara in costume for a semi pointless interruption!! Her and Eva were FANTASTIC and so so funny!!

Matt, Penny and some kids. The one on the end is Angel and she was my hiking buddy on the way down from the hike. She talked my ear off the whole time and she even made up a hiking song with me!! She was a pretty cool kid!!

Washing dishes, and more dishes and more dishes. Nothing like serving and working together to help get to know someone better!!

The ladies of the kitchen!!! These women were AMAZING and put in so many long hours cooking and preparing for all the 262 people at camp!! Props to them!!

So over all it was such a satisfying weekend!! There were families that will be changed forever after this weekend. There were relationships established that will give HOF staff and volunteers channels into family's lives that will cause families to change and to keep changing from now on! People saved, blessed, taught, and hopefully by just being out in creation away form technology, work and our daily lives these families got a new appreciation of just how big and good our God is and how time spent as a family and making memories like that is something that cannot be replaced.