CAMP!

So, as I said in the post before, I'm going to post about what has happened at Grand View Camp in Arizona. First, let me quick explain the properties. There's the Alpine property, which they're currently renting. They're using this for camp while they build on the Grand View Ranch property. This property was donated to them, and all the buildings are brand new. They aren't done building on it yet, but they do have a lot done there. The Grand View Ranch (GVR) property is only several miles away from Alpine, as the crow flies, but unfortunately we don't fly like crows, so it takes almost an hour to get there.

Anyhow, my sister left right after easter to go help out at this camp. It just so happened to work out that she had to be there before the rest of the staff, so she spent a lot of time cleaning and preparing for summer camp. But, as more of the summer staff started arriving, other things were arriving too. Such as wild fires.

And by the time staff training had begun, smoke filled the air. Like, really bad. In fact we had haze here in Colorado because of the fires in Arizona. The fires started getting closer and closer to the Alpine property, and the smoke was so terrible that some of the staff kids were starting to get sick. They decided to evacuate to the GVR property. Right after they decided this, they were mandatorily evacuated. As they drove away, they watched some towers that were 6 miles behind the property burn to the ground.

This was all very disconcerting to me. I could not concentrate on anything, all I could think about was the fires. Did my uncle, aunt, and cousins still have a home, or had it been burnt down? There was another family that hadn't even had enough time to pack before they left, so everything they owned would be gone.

And then they were evacuated from GVR. International Baptist College opened up their dorms to the staff, so they went there. Well, most of them, that is.

While evacuated, they had many chances to minister to others. It was exciting to see all the chances they got to share the gospel with others!

During this time, my uncle went to the Alpine property, and found that all the buildings were there. I'll post a link to his video at the end of this post. At the end it shows how the fire went in between all the buildings, but never touched them. The video shows how close the fire got, but God protected each building.

But the fire danger wasn't over yet, and they still didn't know if GVR still stood. Everything was up in the air as the fire returned to the Alpine Property.

But God would still show Himself real.

And I'm gonna cry about now.

But a while later, the neighbors next to the GVR property called.

The fire split in two "like the Red Sea" and went around the property.

And met again on the other side.

And not one of the buildings was touched.

And the Fire Dept. Said that they weren't going to let the fire get to the Alpine property again. They said the fire had to stop there, because there's a town right behind the camp.

And not one of the buildings was touched.

Well, I take that back. One building at GVR was burned down afterwards. Some flying embers got to the cabin, and it burnt down completely. But it just so happened to be the one old cabin that was there. An old cabin that they wanted to burn down anyway. But this way, insurance paid for it. ;) Speaking of insurance, they also paid for the first two weeks of lost revenue because the fires held back camp for a few weeks.

But they were able to start camp soon after they got back onto the property, and I'll be there week after next! I'm SO excited to be there! It's the best camp I've ever been to! I can't wait to see how God works in my life. And I'll be sure that you all hear a lot about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCjuXolNUW8 (During the part that they are evacuating, it's in the middle of the afternoon, but the smoke was covering up the sun. The smoke spread here to Colorado as well, and was so thick that we could look directly at the sun without hurting our eyes.)

My God is an awesome God!