Dear Church Family,

I got to mix things up a bit this week by being in Junior Boot Camp. It was great! The schedule is different, the games are different, and the kids are different, but the goal is still the same: to point kids to Christ. The beginning of the week was very difficult because I didn't understand where things were and was having a hard time grasping the schedule. I was frustrated and struggling to get where I needed to be at the right time. However, I realized that my need to know everything and have everything go perfect and according to my plan was just pride. Instead of being humble and okay with asking for help, I was determined to try and do everything myself...which never works. God is so gracious to forgive and guide when we mess up! Once I made peace with not having it all together, things went much smoother, we had more fun, and I was able to build more bridges with my campers. Sometimes, you just have to jump in the huge puddles — you can't give up that perfect opportunity!

On Monday, I asked each of my campers to write down on a scale of 1 to 10 how sure they were that they would be going to heaven. After seeing their answers, I started praying that a couple of them would be saved or gain understanding and assurance of their standing with God. I was able to get some one-on-one time with one of the girls on Wednesday, who I read had written a 0, while we were walking back to our cabin. She started telling me about her family and I asked her if there was ever a time where she had gotten saved. She responded with a yes and I asked her to explain to me the plan of salvation. Like any kid who grew up in a Christian home, she was able to give me a clear gospel message, but I still wasn't convinced. Finally, I asked her what salvation meant to her, and she got very quiet. After a minute she looked up at me and said, "It's just amazing. God's love is just amazing. I know my parents love my brother and I, and they would do anything for us; I can't believe that God would send His only Son to die for me. I could never earn it and I don't deserve it. It's amazing how much He loves me." What a blessing! This teeny-tiny nine-year-old totally understood the gospel in a very real and moving way. She wasn't too young to understand or apply the gospel to her life. I looked back later at her card, and she had written "10.0," of which I had only seen the last "0." She's definitely saved, but what a great reminder. May the gospel never get old, whether we're nine, nineteen, or seventy-nine.

This weekend, I've been meditating on Isaiah 1:18 which says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." I love that Christ washes us completely clean — there's not even evidence that there was ever a stain! It's such a privilege to be here and see kids come to Christ and be washed with the blood of the cross.

I so look forward to seeing some of our church family this week. I will be in JBC again, so I don't think I will have any Colonial campers, but I hope to run into as many as I can! Thank you so much for your prayer and support. I am praying for our church family also this week, as I know it will be a week of remembrance, tears, and joy.

Brittany Sherrill

My cousin, Emily, works in the National Collegiate Office of the Navigators in Colorado Springs, CO. Her recent newsletter update included a transparent testimony that served as a very helpful and needed reminder. I've included it below with her permission.

This morning I was listening to the beginning chapters of John and took note when Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does" (5:19). I realized that I often, actually almost always, have the wrong perspective about the work I am doing. When my feet hit the floor in the morning, I cycle through the tasks, meetings, and activities scheduled for the day. And I spend a lot of mental energy determining how to best accomplish my to-do list and get the most out of my day.

According the verse above, Jesus emptied himself of his personal desires and plans for each day of his earthly life and surrendered himself to the plan his Father had established. He went so far as to say he couldn't do anything by himself. He imitated his Father's actions each and every moment of his life.

I realized I rarely approach a day with the thought that I can't do anything scheduled for that day by myself. Instead, I approach each day with confidence that me, myself, and I can accomplish everything slated for that day. As a follower of Jesus, it is wrong, i.e. sinful, for me to approach each day with this mentality. Jesus is more concerned about who I am becoming, not what I am doing. So tomorrow morning, when my feet hit the floor, instead of going through the day's schedule, I will pray, "Jesus, I surrender my plans for this day to you and admit that I can accomplish nothing of Kingdom value in my own strength. I chose to follow your plans and purposes for my life today." Will you pray this with me?