A Rather Fabulous Week...
February 02, 2025
In the last two weeks I've actually been on a cheeky little 10-day trip away -- A trip that turned out to be spiritually surprising.
I went on my own, leaving Bryce and the boys at home; and I can't believe the things I saw on this trip.
The trip was a ten-day stay at a Christian camp for parents and teenagers, where I volunteered on staff. The camp was designed to help parents and teens improve their relationship by doing various adventure activities together.
While not every parent-teen pair on the camp was Christian, the staff were.
So far so good, and to be honest I was in two minds about whether to go, thinking 'Meh...' But wow. Little did I know.
Here's the camp: JH Aotearoa
There is an American branch of it too: JH Ranch – Everlasting Adventure
Those who go on it frequently say it is life-changing. Having now seen it in action, I can see why.
Anyway, instead of taking my own teen on it, as I said, I arrived as staff. I duly got given a gorgeous group of five mothers to look after: all with daughters age 18.
This group of mothers was colorful, diverse, bouncy, and delightful. And they kept me on my toes as we talked about the ups and downs of mothering.
I also got another job, however, that felt more serious, and this was the most impactful part: I got put on the prayer team. This job involved about eight of us meeting twice a day to literally storm the heavens for these parents and their children.
When I say storm the heavens, that's what it felt like. We didn't put time limits on our prayer time, and so we would linger as long as it took. We would pray, and pray, and pray, and pray ... We prayed specific things for certain parents and children, and we prayed for them by name. Issues would get brought to us, and we would pray through them. Sometimes we wept tears of intercession. Sometimes the Spirit showed us specific things to pray for specific people. And we saw answers to our prayers.
This went on for days. It was deeply moving.
What happens to a guest when they come into that environment for days? What happens when something is saturated in prayer? What happens when you have worship services every single day for those ten days, as well as teaching and ministry? I began to feel we had an open heaven over us.
Lord, turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers!
That was our foundational prayer, and what we saw, over those ten days were:
(a) Salvations; and
(b) Numerous healed relationships between parents and their teenagers.
It was such a powerful experience for me to see those two things. After all, it can feel very dry when you're in a SUM and you're desperately waiting for just that one all-important salvation, right? Indeed, this experience was so powerful that I have resolved to go back again next year and make this camp a regular part of my life.
Friends, do any of you have a relationship with a son or daughter that you'd like prayer for? Post in the comments and we'll gather round you in prayer.
Love,
Ann
p.s. The photo is of me with three of my staff team-mates. Firm friends.