Distance.

Now that we have been home for a couple of weeks, there is some distance from the trip.

Distance in days.

Distance in miles.

Distance between twenty-four team members who lived together for two weeks.

Distance from camp.

Distance from campers.

Distance from tea. Really good fresh Harry-made tea. Or Jake-made tea. Whichever.

And with that distance comes some ability to reflect truer on the trip. To look back with stronger eyes and rested hearts.

When our team was formed, when all the paperwork came in last October, Tom, Katie B, Justin and I sat down with the applications as smiles crept across each of our faces. Yes, this would be quite a team.

Through the months of meetings and fundraisers, we saw LITERALLY hundreds of answered prayers. We saw LITERALLY thousands of dollars enter our account to assure our travel.

And as we took off on July 9th, I felt such peace. The kind of peace that only comes from being smothered, covered, and chunked in prayers.

The unity our team experienced was uncommon, to say the least. The Lord knit our hearts together, joined us as one team, and helped us to lead a very very successful camp.

Do you realize we went to camp with only about 50 bandaids? Katie B and I purchased a first aid kit at Wal-Mart for $10. We didn't use 1/3 of it. Almost eighty people for a week and no serious injuries? Almost eighty people for a week and no arguments amongst the team or the leaders? Uncommon. And blessed.

The students from camp are still talking about it- on facebook, in emails, even in some snail-mail letters received. This wasn't an American invasion that was cool and lasted for a few days after camp.

This was a Holy Spirit invasion that was WAY beyond cool and it will last the rest of their lives.

Because of you, our prayer partners, we are certain that EVERY CAMPER (except one) went home with the personal saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Family lines are changed forever. Generations of Scottish people will grow up in a Christian home because of your commitment to pray. We were safe. We were healthy. We were loving (which, let's be honest, could easily be the toughest on long mission trips). :)

This is far more than a mission trip. This is an investment. This is a long term relationship. As long as we can, we will invest in this youth group, in this church, until they are able to run a camp on their own.

With each year, the Lord has asked more of us as a team, and as individuals. And each year we have seen more of HIM. Salvations. Believed-for healings. Restored relationships. Restored families. Restored hearts.

And we have YOU to thank. Your constant prayers were felt, appreciated, and depended on. Lives were changed because of you. Hearts were healed because of you. Students and adults were kept from serious injury because of you.

We as a team can not thank you enough. We have prayed many blessings over you, so know that just like you asked God for big things in Scotland, we ask God for BIG THINGS for you.

Sunday, August 24th is Mission Sunday at RiverStone. Where the next mission teams are formed. Pray that God would again hand create our team. That exactly who needs to go to lead camp and facilitate camp would go. Pray that God would speak clearly.

Thank you again. From the bottom of our hearts. From the bottom of my heart. As the leader, I could not, WOULD NOT, have been able to do this without your constant prayer support for me and your people. You have made the difference.

Your prayers covered the distance.

Leaving on a jet plane.

We fly out in a few hours, thanks to much cleaning and packing that had to be done tonight.

Pray for safe travel, pray for good sleep on the plane, and pray that all of our luggage will get home with us!

We'll give you a final rundown after we get home and get some sleep.

With much love and appreciation,
Annie

Late night. Early morning.

We arrived home last night around 1am and are up for our second day of travel to leave here in about 30 minutes.

So we are pooped. For sure.

Pray for Lance and Harry- our drivers. That they would feel rested and ready to go.

Today is not as long- we go to Stirling (which has all the Braveheart-lovin' boys about to jump out of their skin with excitement) and St. Andrews. We are supposed to eat at the best fish and chips shop on the east coast for dinner, so that's exciting.

The baptisms yesterday were awesome. Hopefully tonight we can put the video up for people to see. No Nessy sighting, but we are all changed from the experience, none the less.

We'll be back here at camp around 8pm our time, so I should be able to give a full report.

Thanks for your continued prayers for protection and traveling mercies. We are grateful.

Sincerely,
Annie

Nessy, is that you?

Hey all!

We had a great time yesterday- the church service, the potluck lunch, and then a Ceilidh (said "Kay-Lee"), which is a folk dance that is called like a hoe-down. At the end, the caller said, "You are one of the best groups I've ever seen dance for the first time." We laughed because honestly, so many of the steps are similar to a hoe down! This girl has nothing on Bob Cagle- he's an awesome caller. He's gotta come next year so we can have a hoe-down! But the entire day was great- We had a blast.

Today we are headed into the Highlands to tour around. We will spend most of the day in van, traveling from place to place. Please pray for safe travel and NO CAR SICKNESS. We have a small collection of WEAK stomachs.

About five of us are getting baptised today as well- in Loch Ness! Booyah! So pray for that also.

Thank you for your continued prayers. The shower just opened up and I'm next in line, so I'm outta here!! :)

Sincerely,
Annie

Recapping like crazy.

I am so sorry that I haven't been able to blog more frequently towards the end of the week. Our boys got going on creating the highlight video on my computer, so it limited blogging significantly.

To say that God showed up on our behalf this week. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The worship that these students took part in was so deep and beautiful. Many people got a vision of a river flowing across the front of the room and it really felt that way- in fact, Thursday night, during worship, the students spontaneously being to pray for each other. It was awesome. We got the opportunity to pray for healing for the one student that had been on many hearts throughout the week- and we truly feel that God has healed her.

The testimonies that the students shared throughout the last two days has been unbelievable. When we think about the fundraisers, the hours of meetings, the prayer times- we all look back and say that it was TOTALLY worth it. Some of the students have felt a life calling, many have rededicated their lives, and more than a handful got saved for the first time.

But, because our boys worked SO HARD, I have been able to upload the highlight video for you. Sorry that it isn't the best quality video in the world, but it's just because the only way to upload it was to shrink it significantly. Sorry about that.

As you watch this, know that YOU were the feet that got our hands here. There is not a day that goes by that we do not mention our prayer partners at one point or another. So know that you are seriously appreciated.



Awesome, huh? Just WATCH that worship. Good gracious.

Please do not stop praying for us. Honestly, I as the leader feel that this time is as important to the team as the time of camp. Now is when they get to debrief and really listen for what God has for them. And this is when the enemy loves to plant lies and division amongst the team. We are all tired and many are feeling a bit sick.

So please lift our team up. Pray that each member would be encouraged and feel that they played a significant role in the week (because they did!). Pray also that we would all be rested being that we have tomorrow (Saturday) off with zero plans before 6pm. Last year, we felt a big attack after camp- so please continue to keep us in your prayers until we arrive home safely on Wednesday. Pray that we would really ENJOY our time together the next few days.

My plan is over the next few days to get a few "guest bloggers" to give you their take on the week- some different team members to share with you their own personal experience.

We love you and thank God for you daily.

Sincerely,
Annie

I promise

a good update will come tomorrow.

It's 11:10pm and we are just starting ministry time.

So needless to say, it will be a LATE night.

The main update is that the Kingdom House will not be getting a new pump anytime soon, so we are not going back there. God has somehow worked out a way that we actually get to stay here at the camp until Wednesday. Katie B and I laugh because last year we couldn't wait to get back to the luxury that is Kingdom House.

Today we were both hoping to stay at camp. :)

God's funny like that.

So we will remain here for the next few nights. I can't WAIT to give you a full update.

Please continue to pray us through this night- the Holy Spirit is moving amongst these students, speaking directly to them, and birthing in them a vision for the rest of their lives.

With much love and appreciation for all that you praying folk do, :)
Annie

Tuesday recap.

Sorry that this update did not come on Tuesday night. It was LATE LATE LATE before all these campers got to bed, so I just didn't have the strength to give you an update that would do the day any justice.

We have been blessed with great favor with these students. It has been amazing to watch- the way these 24 team members and these 40 Scottish kids appear to have been friends for years. It is the favor of the Lord and we are very grateful.

As the campers are settling in to this place, the normal small behavior problems are cropping up. The older boy campers are pretty sure they know everything and consider the rules borderline optional. Totally manageable and no big deal, but something worth a few minutes of your prayer time.

Side note- I'm sitting in the room with the small group of girls that are discussing the morning. It is the middle school girls (the "twig girls" as their group is called). When Jenn just asked for prayer requests, Cheryl said, "I'd like to pray that the next two days go slowly so camp will not end." Praise the Lord that He has given them a heart for this place, a heart for Him, and favor for us.

All the adults, Scottish and American, that attended camp last year have the same feelings- that things this year are higher quality and lower stress. Which is totally to be expected since last year NO ONE KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING LAST YEAR!! :) But it is a real relief to feel that things are flowing easier and coming more natural to everyone involved.

So thank God along with us for this ease. We KNOW it is not because we are good or capable, it's because He is on the move in Scotland and letting us take part.

I hope you got to see last night's service. Wow. The prophetic worship that happened was so unexpected but so awesome. I'm not sure it showed up on the video, but about 3/4 of the way through worship the sun began to shine so brightly. Before worship, it had been raining and the sun was setting. So it looked like about 8pm our time (dusk). In about three minutes time, the entire doorway was bright gold- so shocking that it distracted the back three rows. People could not take their eyes off of it. A few of us decided that God's glory must have decided to come in the back door. :)

After a great talk by Tom about the importance of forgiveness, he had a great idea (from the Lord!) to allow the students a few minutes to share something that God had done so far in them this week. One of our team members, Hunter, led the time. It was absolutely beautiful. To see one of our young team members leading such an important part of camp was a highlight for me as the leader. We had the privilege of praying for two different unsaved parents- the students' shared their hearts and what God had done and there is POWER in testimony. One student had us pray that her mother would come to the homecoming service on Friday night. PLEASE agree with us in that prayer.

It's almost lunch time and Harry used our extra eggs from the games yesterday to make us egg salad, which Katie B and I have been dreaming about since we got here. So I don't want to be late. :)

Thank you for your continued prayers. Our service tonight is at 7pm our time, so that would be 2pm US time if you get a chance to watch. We are VERY excited about what God is doing in these students' lives. Pray with us that the things being birthed here in these students would be LASTING. Our heart is not to put on a great camp and then leave the students the same. We want to see transformation that lasts.

Ok, for real, lunch is on. I'm outta here.

Pray your heart for our camp. If the Lord reveals any scripture or gives you a word, do not hesitate to share it- we post all the comments on the wall of the office so that the team members can see.

You are loved and appreciated and depended on daily. Know that it is your work that clears the way for what God does here. You are never far from our thoughts.

Sincerely,
Annie the hungry team leader :)