Author: Katlyn Kincaid

Roger That: The Big Rock of Discipleship

Posted on by Katlyn Kincaid

 

Columnist Writer

Hey Everyone! I’m Roger Hamilton and I oversee the training and development of our Eagle Lake staff. I have been with the Navigators for 33 years! I love helping our staff grow in their knowledge and love of God and the Bible. One thing I don’t like are blogs. So, I prefer to call it a B-Log, as in Bible log. I’ll be back as your trusty Eagle Lake B-logger every other week, at least until you get sick of me. Did you miss the last post? Read it here!

-Roger that!

 

The Big Rock of Discipleship: Devotional

 

A few weeks ago, we looked at young David’s choice to grab 5 smooth stones and his sling to conquer Goliath, rather than the heavy, unwieldy armor of Saul. As we focus on how to help our Eagle Lake staff grow in Christ this spring, we’re highlighting a series of key concepts in discipleship using this theme. So here we go with The Five Smooth Stones of Discipleship.

 

#1 STONE: DEVOTIONAL- the goal is to draw us closer to Christ.

 

Discipleship is all about spending time with Jesus! In Mark 3:14 we read that Jesus, “appointed twelve – designated them apostles- that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.” The big idea of being a disciple was that they were WITH HIM. After Jesus returned to the Father that investment was affirmed in Acts 4:13: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” And while we want to focus on spending time with Jesus on a daily and consistent basis, it really moves us toward the ultimate goal expressed in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “and so we will be with the Lord forever.”

 

You may have noticed that David only needed one rock to defeat Goliath. While we’re going to talk about five smooth stones, the rest are all just providing back up for this one. Everything we do in our personal growth as Christians and our investment in others should point back to this: spending time with Jesus. Jerry Bridges, long-time Navigator and best-selling author, was fond of saying that the Wheel Illustration wasn’t drawn to scale. There should be a really big hub (Christ the Center), with very little spokes (all the things we do to know Christ better).

 

My fondest memories from my college days are of the personal retreats I took with my friend Dave. On a bitterly cold Wisconsin winter night, Dave would load up his tiny Toyota and take me out to a peaceful farm in the country. We would trudge through waist-deep snow to a little one room cabin with a wood-burning stove and a small sleeping loft. Keeping warm by the fire, with only a Bible and a journal, Dave taught me the importance of spending time with God. It was so impactful that for years after I would take men I discipled to that same cabin.

 

Whether we call it a Quiet Time, Daily Devotional, or something else, a daily time with God is essential for any follower of Christ. We may need the encouragement ourselves, or we might be thinking how to help someone else. Either way, It really doesn’t matter how long or how sophisticated we make it. To get started, consider 7-10 minutes following this simple formula: Pray-Read-Pray:

  • Pray before you begin reading, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the Father’s character to you.
  • Read a verse or paragraph or chapter, whatever you have time for.
  • Pray again, either telling the Father what stood out to you, or if nothing did (it’s not failure, it happens!), praising what you know to be true of His character or asking for guidance.

 

If the only thing I ever do with a young believer is to help them spend time every day praying and reading the Bible, that will be a win! Of course, we’re going to learn to go beyond that as we move them toward maturity in Christ. But daily connecting with God and abiding in Christ is THE big rock in discipleship.

Read questions and Journal!

 

1. Have you developed the habit of spending time each day with God? Try using Pray-Read-Pray with a chapter each day in the Gospel of John.

 

2. Do you have a favorite format you like to use? CLICK HERE FOR A RESOURCE YOU COULD TRY.

 

3. What about a reading plan? CLICK HERE FOR A READING PLAN IDEA.

 

4. Have you considered a prayer guide or journal? CLICK HERE FOR PRAYER JOURNAL RESOURCES.

 

5. Have you considered a monthly or quarterly Day Alone With God (DAWG) or half-day (HOTDAWG)? CLICK HERE FOR DAWG RESOURCES.

Roger That: Five Smooth Stones

Posted on by Katlyn Kincaid

 

Columnist Writer

Hey Everyone! I’m Roger Hamilton and I oversee the training and development of our Eagle Lake staff. I have been with the Navigators for 33 years! I love helping our staff grow in their knowledge and love of God and the Bible. One thing I don’t like are blogs. So, I prefer to call it a B-Log, as in Bible log. I’ll be back as your trusty Eagle Lake B-logger every other week, at least until you get sick of me. Did you miss the last post? Read it here!

-Roger that!

 

5 Smooth Stones

 

“Then David took his shepherd’s staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath.”

– 1 Samuel 17:40

 

My favorite part of the David and Goliath story in 1 Samuel 17 has little to do with slaying a giant. And no, I’m not intrigued by the mention of stones because I have a Geology degree! I love the fact that young David knew what he needed to get the job done. As a shepherd he spent long, lonely hours watching over the sheep with only a few basic tools to help him: his staff, his sling and some stones. They were the RIGHT TOOLS for the RIGHT PERSON at the RIGHT TIME.

 

Isn’t it funny (or pathetic) that King Saul tried to give his armor to David? Saul was unfit to be king on many levels, and here we see that he wasn’t willing to use his own armor to challenge Goliath. Yet he thought it was a good idea to give his gear to a scrawny, impetuous kid instead. Certainly in later years King David went into battle with his own version of “Saul’s armor,” but in this instance, he went with what he was used to.

 

It’s also important to point out that there is nothing magical or mystical about FIVE smooth stones. After all, David only needed ONE to kill Goliath. This story is way more about the glory of God and the courage of David than anything else. In verses 45-47, David confidently confronts the giant with what God is about to do. And in verse 48 we see, “David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.”

 

As our Eagle Lake team prepares for an amazing summer in 2022, we’re exploring what it means to focus on five smooth stones rather than Saul’s armor. We want to encourage our staff to think about the right tools for the right person at the right time. What does that mean for our personal relationship with God, our Bible study leadership and our Discipleship relationships with others? Let’s find out together in the days ahead!

 

Read questions and Journal!

 

  1. What work does God have you doing right now? Growing as a student? Growing young minds as a stay at home mind? Think about where God has you, what work he wants you to do there, and then consider: are you trying to do it with ill-fitting armor or are you leaning into your five smooth stones (how God has equipped YOU for the work you’re doing!)?

 

  1. David could have viewed guarding the sheep as unimportant and never practiced his sling-skills, yet it was his faithfulness to develop his skills in those small areas that allowed him to do big things later! What small things could you practice faithfulness in today?

 

  1. Study 1 Samuel 17. What stands out to you in this passage?

 

Is Camp REALLY Worth THAT?!

Posted on by Katlyn Kincaid

This past election cycle, Colorado passed a new law that will increase minimum wage over the next three years.

Not only do we have to comply with the law, but we’ve also committed to do everything possible to ensure we provide the best counselor experience for your child. This means:

  1. we keep our counselor-to-camper ratio well below state requirements to make sure your camper gets plenty of individual, personalized attention
  2. we will be increasing our summer staff salaries to draw only the highest caliber counselor to serve your child

(We feel that it’s important to note that we are not increasing our full-time staff salaries. Moreover, our full-time staff will continue to personally fundraise a percentage of their salaries to help Eagle Lake keep the cost of camp down.)

However, it’s very important to us that no family is denied the opportunity to experience Eagle Lake because of price. So we wanted to share three programs we have in place to serve you:

  1. REFERRAL PROGRAM:

    You can save big with this program! For every new friend you refer to an Eagle Lake overnight camp, we’ll take $50 off your 2017 registration. We’ll also take $50 off your friend’s registration. The more people you invite, the more you’ll receive – invite more friends for more discounts. (You could even potentially come for FREE!)

  2. EARLY REGISTRATION PROGRAM: 

    Simply decide which week you’d like to return to camp by November 1, 2017, and receive $50 off your registration – the discount will be automatically applied!

  3. CAMPERSHIPS:

    We also offer camp scholarships (camperships) to campers on a needs-basis. Click the link above for an application.

Thank you so much for choosing Eagle Lake! Because we value you as our customer, we are working our hardest to ensure our prices reflect the value of our exceptional day camp and overnight programs. We look forward to sharing our signature brand of contagious, enthusiastic fun as we make life-long memories with your camper. See you next summer!

Is An Overnight Summer Camp Really the Best Choice for Your Child’s Summer?

Posted on by Katlyn Kincaid

Did you know…

  • children spend an average of 20 hours/week online?
  • children only spend an average of 4 hours/week playing outside?

 

HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO REMEMBER THEIR CHILDHOODS?

Eagle Lake (Rez)ident Camp is everything you could want for your child in an sleepaway summer camp.

We know that playing outside is key to fostering creativity, problem solving skills, social development, and a love for God’s creation. So we provide an exciting array of activities in the Colorado mountains sure to engage your children’s interest in the people and world around them from the first hour of camp until the last.

At Eagle Lake, campers get time to romp through the woods and run through the trees while playing big and small team games like Capture the Flag. They get time to enjoy beachfront activities like the Blob and waterslide, and a bevy of canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards to splash around our lake on; and skills workshops like crafts, riflery, and archery. And they get time to simply be: time to play games like Gaga ball; time to build friendships with their cabin mates; and time around a campfire to laugh and share stories while building s’mores and life-long friendships.

We work hard to balance structured and free time. This allows us to train and equip campers to work in teams through group competitions and in how to do Bible study, quiet times, prayer, and scripture memory. It also develops their sense of independence as they decide how they want to spend their time: in skills workshops, beachfront activities, or simply soaking up the Colorado sun while building sandcastles, playing beach volleyball, or enjoying treats with friends at out store.

We’ve discovered that playing alongside campers allows our exceptional staff to meet your child right where he or she is at. This, in turn, lays the foundation for counselors to build authentic, life-changing relationships as they make time to give your child intentional, individual attention through one-on-one discipleship.

We want to give your child time to play outside and build memories they’ll treasure for a life time! Do you?

 

sleepaway camp fun activities flight simulator

 

overnight camp lake kayaking

 

capture the flag in the forest

 

overnight camp Gaga ball fun

 

Love the idea of camp but want something a bit more adventurous than the ‘traditional’ camp experience?

God’s creation is just waiting to be explored, and our Excursions programs are the perfect way to take the adventure level up a notch.

Excursions is unique from all of our other programs. It harkens back to our earliest days as a premier Wilderness camp. These roots are evident in the exciting and challenging experiences we create for campers to encounter God in His creation.

We provide an array of programs to meet campers at a variety of skill levels. Depending on the program, Excursions campers have the opportunity to brave the rapids of the Arkansas River on a whitewater rafting trip; explore the beauties of Pike and San Isabel National Forests via hiking and backpacking trips; push their limits as they rock climb and rappel off new heights; enjoy kayaking on our lake; develop mad mountain biking skills; learn to trust God in new ways as they traverse our premier 60 foot high ropes course; and build communication and social skills while working through our low ropes course and team building initiatives with their cabins.

Excursions is the perfect blend of fun, challenge, and adventure in a camp setting guaranteed to inspire awe and appreciation for God and His incredible creation in the Colorado Rockies.

 

premier high ropes course at overnight camp

 

hiking a 14er at camp

 

mountain biking

 

eagle lake overnight camp premier high ropes course

 

Did you know:

  •      9/10 teens report being online daily?
  •      1/3 teens feel that technology negatively impacts their relationships with their parents?

 

Our SHOCK teen camp is the perfect reboot for teens heading into another year of high school!

A week of SHOCK provides your teen with an amazing camp experience that gives them a chance to unplug from social media and the internet and connect with the world and people around them, and enjoy the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

As they step away from daily distractions, they have more time to enjoy some good, old-fashioned fun: soaking up the summer sun relaxing or playing volleyball on the beach; splashing around the lake in canoes, kayaks, or paddleboards; flying through the air via our Blob or our quarter-mile zipline; jumping in on food fights or building s’mores around a campfire; or grabbing coffee or ice cream at our store with friends.

Moreover, they’ll be challenged and equipped in their walks with Jesus through Bible study with like-minded peers, as well as through individual attention and discipleship from our exceptional counselors. Through all of this, they’ll have a safe place to refocus on what’s truly important and begin to develop life-long habits and helpful strategies to live out of their core values and return home emotionally and spiritually refreshed.

We’re ready to provide your child with a safe, fun week of camp designed to help him build life-long memories, create new friendships, develop healthy habits, and encourage and equip him for the coming school year! Are you?!

 

summer fun for teens

 

helping teens build strong friendships

 

best camp fun for teens

 

lake fun for high school boys

 

Did you know…

  • 1 in 4 high school students report experiencing a great deal of stress?
  • 1 in 3 high school students note that stress considerably affects their relationships with their families?

High school students! How are YOU handling the constant juggling game of school, friendships, family relationships, work, and figuring out how to authentically live out your faith in the midst of all of these?

If you feel like you could use a retreat from the craziness of life and would like a chance to learn healthy habits for walking with Jesus while serving alongside like-minded peers, then we would LOVE to invite you to apply for Crew!

CREW provides you with amazing opportunities to:

  • BE DISICIPLED. Your counselor will meet with you one-on-one at least once a week to listen to you, encourage you, and equip you to grow spiritually, emotionally, and relationally.
  • GROW SPIRITUALLY. Along with being discipled, you’ll be in daily quiet times and weekly Bible studies alongside peers who are excited to grow alongside you.
  • SERVE OTHERS. A major component of CREW is serving behind the scenes to enable our Overnight camps to run smoothly. You’ll have a chance to serve our overnight camps as you do tasks like cooking, cleaning, building trails, or setting up camp activities.
  • EXPERIENCE TRUE COMMUNITY. There are few places like Crew that foster such intentional community among high school students. You’ll be surrounded by people who – although they have different backgrounds and giftings – have come together for a common purpose. You’ll build deep and often life-long friendships with the people you live and serve with.
  • HAVE FUN!!! We are a camp, after all! And we want to make this one of the best summers of your life. So we’ve built in tons of time to play in the lake, lounge on the beach, enjoy treats at our store, and chill in the Lower I (Crew’s basecamp). Even better, we’ve developed weekly game nights and weekend activities you’ll love. From camp-wide Capture the Flag and water balloon wars to Human Clue and white water rafting, you’ll have a blast building life long memories!

We’re ready to equip you for a life-long walk with Jesus while packing your days with crazy fun and great friends. Are you in?

*Crew is by application only. Returner applications open October 1; new applicants January 1. Please note that spots fill very quickly, so apply ASAP once open!

 

camp fun for high school students

 

high school service program

 

water balloon war for teens

 

teen camp Bible study

How God uses Camp to Build Our Faithfulness

Posted on by Katlyn Kincaid

I have just had my one year anniversary of hearing about Eagle Lake. That’s right, Eagle Lake has only been a part of my life for a year and, boy, has my life changed! As I look back now, the only real reason I’m even writing this is because of God. It was purely a God-thing.

I learned about Eagle Lake during my last spring break in college. When I first signed up for the spring break trip with my Navs group, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I was just along for the ride, but it soon turned into something bigger. During the week, Eagle Lake came and spoke with us about being counselors during the summer. My initial thought was, “I’m graduating. I need a real job.” However, two days later, Sean McKelvey came to give us a devo and talked about his role as the Emerging Leaders Program Director. This SPARKED my interest! I thought the Emerging Leaders Program was so cool and immediately wanted to be a part of that.

Before I knew what I was doing, I applied to be a counselor for the On-Location Program and without even thinking about it, said “YES!” to spending my summer in Missouri. But I immediately became hesitant. I was graduating college, I had barely given any more thought to the Emerging Leaders Program, and I wasn’t excited for summer. I was putting pressure on myself to know God’s will even when it was clear that He didn’t want me to know it just yet. So, I went into summer with my head in the future.

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

Camp quickly took me out of my head though. The hustle and bustle of being part of Eagle Lake’s Traveling Circus, I mean, On-Location Program, made it so that I was heavily relying on God. If I needed strength: God. If I needed patience: God. If I needed energy: God. If I needed grace: God. I learned that God works, and He sometimes works fast. He took me out of my head, and started to change my heart. Through all the busyness, God showed that where I was, was exactly where He needed me.

I think a lot about last summer and the campers that I had. But I always come back to my first, FIRST week with my camper Blake. My first week was a mega week, and I was so worried that I was screwing up camp. The kids were running wild, I wasn’t used to the heat, and I was so tired. But Blake was one of my saving graces. He was one of the reasons why I knew that no matter what would happen, the next nine weeks were going to be great and I would succeed as a counselor. I believe that God put him in my group that week for a reason. That reason was to show me that I wasn’t at camp to pass the time until I got a “real job”; I was at camp for God and His Kingdom.*

As I went through the rest of the summer, I gave everything to God – jobs, ELP, relationships, struggles, everything. I knew that He had me and that I just needed to be faithful for what He was having me do. After that, He’d show me where I needed to go. I can plan, but ultimately the Lord will establish my steps (Proverbs 16:9). And the great thing is, He ended up calling me to serve on ELP, and I get to spend another two summers serving Him in this fun and crazy and exciting way!

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

*Disclaimer: Working for Eagle Lake, whether during summer, full time, or in ELP, is a real job. I learned so many skills that I will take with me for the rest of my life!

 

How God Uses Camp to Speak Tenderly to Our Hearts

Posted on by Katlyn Kincaid

I remember when I first drove up bumpy Rampart Range Road, my heart pounding. It was the sort of soul-splitting pound that happens only when the Lord calls me to show up and be bold. What I didn’t know in that moment when I arrived, Chacos on my feet and butterflies in my stomach, was that the Lord would use those mountains and the little hands that held mine as we hiked up and down them to entirely change the way I knew Him.

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

I discovered the book of Hosea my first summer during a quiet time. I spent hours pouring over its pages about redemption, rescue and grace. For the first time, I saw God as Rescuer and Redeemer—a Father knew me, even though my earthly father never truly did. Hosea 2:13 pierced me in the soul:

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.” 

 

I began praying that God would use camp to draw girls into the wilderness so that He could speak tender words into their hearts:

 

You are loved.  

 

I am with you.

 

I am enough.

 

And He did. He spoke so clearly and tenderly more times than I can count. And for getting to be a part of it, I will never stop praising Him.

 

I spent three summers under the same brilliant, star-studded sky at Eagle Lake Camps—two as a Rez Counselor and one as a Crew Counselor. Eagle Lake brought me to my best friend, showed me how to serve and to lead, but what I am most thankful for is that it brought me to my knees before Jesus. I learned to ask expectantly and that our God cares more deeply, is fighting more valiantly, and loving each girl way more perfectly than I ever could.

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

I saw campers fall head-over-heels in love with God’s word, their hearts and minds being transformed by His character, His power, and His grace. I saw God bring sin that laid in darkness into His glorious light and whisper, “you are loved, you are loved, you are loved” in their ears and in mine. I saw campers hear directly from the Lord about big plans for their lives or the lives of those they loved. I saw girls raise their hands high in worship and praise God for who He is for the first time. I saw God use the beautiful redemption story of the cross that wasn’t burned by the fire that surrounded Eagle Lake to bring campers closer to His heart. I saw girls proclaim truth to each other and watched in awe as highschoolers mopped floors, did dishes, and cleaned toilets day in and day out, singing worship songs and reminding each other that everything we do is for God’s glory. I saw my own sister come to know Christ for the first time when she came to camp.

 

In the mess that is program scheduling, bathroom cleaning, living in a tent with a dirt floor, and seeing the same people all day everyday for an entire summer, I saw God’s goodness more clearly than ever.  Eagle Lake Camp, a “thin place between heaven and earth”, is a place where God’s whisper became more audible to my stubborn ears because I saw Him time and time again in the echoing of kid’s laughter as it reverberates across the property.

 

At camp, memories are best kept scribbled in journals, not on social media feeds. Kids get to be themselves and they get to be loved. They get to stare at the mountains and wonder how the same God who made them in all their majesty, would handcraft their little hands and their little hearts, creating each part with care and precision. There’s a certain magic to the simplicity of camp living and I think it’s because there’s a part of each of us that feels whole in being there—as if our hearts are saying, this is how we were made to be: in community with each other through celebration and tears, praising and singing, without need for the “quick fix” modern day inventions, listening for God’s voice in all things, and sleeping under the stars.

 

After all of these years, I know full well that camp matters.

 

Why? Because God changes hearts at camp, He revamps lives, He convicts, He guides, and He speaks tenderly to us there.

 

But, most of all, camp matters because God uses it to rewrite the stories and touch the lives of others who don’t know Him, who have never been to Eagle Lake, who are far from Him. Because those who have had their hearts changed in the wilderness can’t help but shout His glory and bring His light to those in the valleys.

 

If there’s one thing I’m certain of about God’s sweet desire to allure us into His wilderness, it’s that once you’ve been swept up, taken to the wilderness, had your heart filled by a Jesus who loves, who rescues, who sees you, there’s no other choice than to go and tell.

 

It’s what the Samaritan Woman, after encountering Jesus’ genuine love for her, an outsider, can’t help but do. She goes to her village and she tells. She tells of His love, of His grace, of the way He saw her, sin and all, and had compassion for her. She tells of His promise to quench the thirst she has had her entire life. And do you know what happened after she went? Many Samaritans believed. They heard of His wondrous works and they believed.

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

My sweet camp friend Eliza continually wrote and spoke of a phrase in 1 Peter 2:9 this summer that I’ll never forget: proclaim His excellencies.

 

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” —1 Peter 2:9

 

God’s faithfulness, the care with which He loved me and showed me how to love my campers, the way He redeemed brokenness and brought light into darkness, are all stories I will never stop telling—and God’s faithfulness abounds after camp because of the ways I continue to see Him working in my campers’ lives to use their testimonies and mine to reveal to others more of who He is.

 

So although the season of my life where I got to prepare meals with highschoolers all day, play capture the flag, eat dino nuggets in the Upper D, hike up to zippy rocks, or bang spoons on the table during Sunday morning pump up, has come to a close, I will never stop proclaiming the excellencies that our steadfast, sovereign, faithful God orchestrated right before my eyes. He drew me and each one of my campers into the maze of tall evergreens and wildflower-laden mountain meadows those three summers because He loves us and He wanted us to see, to hear, and to touch His glory.

 

But, I also think he brought us to camp because He wanted us to feel His love in the beating of our own hearts so closely and clearly that we’d spend our lives sacrificing whatever it takes to tell those who don’t know about a God who loves like that.

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

How God Uses Camp to Meet Us in the Little Moments

Posted on by Katlyn Kincaid

Monday morning games. Who knew that three little words could make every heart at camp beat just a little faster?

 

Campers: nervous about the thought of actually having to play games and get out of their comfort zones with people they met less than 24 hours before.

 

Counselors: exhausted by the mere thought of jumping, yelling, and cheering for three hours about games they play every week.

 

And leadership: counting down the number of times left to explain the same game.

 

Yep, Monday morning games are tough. I can say that as a camper they are terrifying, as a counselor they are tiring, and as a PC they are just boring. But for some reason, God chooses to meet us out there on the angleball field and the nuke em’ court. Rather than using the fanciest games or the craziest activities, God steps into these simple moments and uses them to point hearts towards him. And that, more than anything else, is what makes Eagle Lake so unforgettable.

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

I met Maddie for the first time on a Sunday afternoon. The first thing I thought was that she seemed excited, if not a little nervous, to be at camp. Little did I know that the Lord would soon use this sweet 12-year old to impact my own life.

 

On Tuesday afternoon, chaco-taco in hand, we sat down together on the beach to talk. Before long, we had launched into a full-fledged discussion of dragons. I have never once in my life thought about the different types of dragons, but there I was asking questions and listening intently to every detail. For over an hour. In fact, that afternoon we didn’t talk for a single minute about Jesus or what she was learning at camp.

 

But from that conversation, Maddie knew that she was cared for and that I was there for her. She knew that when she was ready, she could trust me to come alongside her in the tough things she was facing. And over time, after camp ended and real-life began, that’s what happened. Through letters written over the course of the next few months, I was able to encourage her with Scriptures, reminding her that no matter what happens, her Heavenly Father always has, and always will be, right beside her. I got to watch as Maddie began to experience the faithfulness of the Lord and the freedom of His promises.

 

God chose to use this tiny moment to turn both of our hearts towards Him, reminding me that He is completely sovereign and in control. It was clearly not my dragon expertise that impacted Maddie’s life. But the Lord used what could appear to be a trivial conversation to mold our relationship and lead to deeper moments of discipleship for His own purpose.

 

Matthew 13:31-32 says “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

Summer Jobs in Colorado Camps

 

As I have traveled down the mountain and returned to school, I am reminded that God is able to work in these seemingly small ways no matter where I am. A conversation with the cashier at the grocery store, a note of encouragement to a roommate who is hurting, or a quick coffee date with a new friend could make a huge difference in someone’s life, even if I don’t see the fruit of it right away. God calls us to love others. He calls us to listen. And He is faithful to use little moments like these to change lives for His glory.

How God Uses Camp to Renew our Spirits

Posted on by Katlyn Kincaid

Teary eyed, exhausted and broken, an ominous, shapeless feeling of loneliness consumed my soul as I wearily started praying one night my junior year of college.  As the world closed in around me, the Lord came and met me.  He sat with me as I cried and He didn’t offer advice, He didn’t get me the answers, He didn’t even try to tell me everything was going to be okay. He was just there.  In the midst of my pain, I tried to remember the last time I felt God active and moving in my life in a real way.  I remembered Eagle Lake. The Holy Spirit sensed that I was drowning in myself and He offered me a lifeline.  Whatever caused me to think of Eagle Lake, it had unknowingly set me on a path to pursue a personal relationship with my Savior.

I applied that night to work as a counselor at Eagle Lake, hoping to relive my childhood memories as a 21-year-old college student.  For the next two summers of 2014 and 2015, God continued to carry my burden with me.  I felt like a kid learning to walk, as, strangely enough, I was entrusted with teaching kids about what it meant to walk with Christ as I was experiencing it.  The Lord built me up little by little through Eagle Lake, just as he did when I was a camper there.

My first summer I had a camper named Brian who came in on Sunday night with little to no interest in, how he put it, “that Bible stuff.”  I was never offended or hurt when one of my campers showed disinterest in the Word.  After all, I was just figuring out how to put my identity in Christ at age 21.  Towards the end of the week, Brian and I went canoeing and he asked me for a Bible.  I asked if he had lost his, knowing he had had one the day before.  He told me it wasn’t for him, but for his parents, so he could tell them about God.  Whether he knew it or not, his sincerity to share about Christ at age 9, put a deep, unquenchable yearning in my soul to share the redeeming power of the resurrection with anyone who would listen.

Eagle Lake Opportunities

 

I took a break from Eagle Lake to graduate school in 2016 and my summer felt eerily different.  I knew the Lord needed me to finish school but part of me longed for the fresh mountain air, the sounds of canoe paddles hitting the water, and the breathtaking view from the top of the zip line that unknowingly stole my heart at age 10.

After that summer, the Lord called me to Eagle Lake once again to their Emerging Leaders Program.  A program that gives me the chance to work year round for the camp that changed my life and continue to spread Christ’s never ending, infinite love to kids one week at a time, in an environment unlike any other.

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is God’s answer to my prayers.  I prayed for a calling, a purpose, and a direction. Eagle Lake gave this to me in droves.  I begged God to take away the weight of the world on my shoulders and he led me to a verse.

“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” -1 Peter 5:10

God sat with me that night junior year, in the midst of my suffering and provided a way out. He gave me a new hope and He is in the process of confirming, strengthening and establishing me.  He’s using the people and the experiences of ELP to do it.  I am so excited to spend this coming summer sitting with counselors.  I don’t have all the answers, I don’t have the perfect advice and I’m not going to pretend everything is okay. Sometimes people just need someone to sit with them and love them, the same way Christ loved me.

How God Uses Camp to SHOW Us His FAMILY

Posted on by Katlyn Kincaid

I never attended Eagle Lake as a camper. My first experience at camp was as a counselor in the Rezident program in 2013. And I loved it. I came away knowing that I wanted to go back if I could.

Having never been to camp, I did not have many of the established relationships that other counselors seemed to already have at the start of the summer. Some counselors were former campers, excited to be reunited in a new way after attending together as kids. Others came with friends from their college campuses, like the large crew from Colorado State, united in their green and gold. Among the CSU crowd was Michael, a friend I had grown up with since our families were members of the same church. We arrived together, and a little bit late, so the whole staff was assembled in the dining hall, a sea of new faces that I did not know.

It didn’t take long to get connected to new friends, an effort aided by sharing awkward stories and preparing for kids through long, exhausting hours during our first week together. Camp is strange. It’s a bubble in so many ways, insulated from the busyness of “normal” life and the incessant noise of the internet and tv. The separateness allows for fast and ready relationships to form, as both conflicts and connections come up quickly between people who live, eat, work and play beside one another day-in and day-out.

 

Best job ever at Eagle Lake Camps in Colorado

Best job ever at Eagle Lake Camps in Colorado

Best job ever at Eagle Lake Camps in Colorado

 

Not only did we get to spend all that time together, but we also got to spend that time in the context of our shared faith, taking time together in study and prayer for one another. When I discussed this depth of community with a friend, he asked me if I had thought to credit these connections to the presence of the Holy Spirit. In the midst of enjoying the tight bonds that formed over the summer, I confess that I had not, actually, thought to credit those bonds to God’s unifying Spirit. In the midst of spending time together at camp, I hadn’t really noticed that for many of the people I considered new and close friends, the only real thing we had in common was Jesus. Our varied interests and hobbies all fell away as we learned to laugh, cry and love with one another in the unity granted by the Spirit.

Over the course of three summers spent at Eagle Lake, I have only found this to be more and more true; choosing to love one another as members of God’s family, for the sake of that family, built deep and lasting relationships that transcended each of our individual ideas of ourselves, wherever we had come from.

All of this was on top of the cool craziness that is Eagle Lake. Camp is SO MUCH FUN. Where else can you shamelessly wear your hair in any style you choose? Where else can you sport socks and sandals with such pride? Where else but camp can you be a costume? And in the midst of all of that fun, games, wild outdoor adventures, and crazy inside-joke-based antics, the chief thing that stands out to me is the relationships I built and founded in the midst of those summers. The friends I made have continued to be some of the best friends I have, brothers and sisters in Christ that I count myself blessed to know and love.

 

Best job ever at Eagle Lake Camps in Colorado

Best job ever at Eagle Lake Camps in Colorado

Best job ever at Eagle Lake Camps in Colorado