In 2023, my children and I returned with a group from a church where I was serving in California. This time we brought teenagers from the church for mission week. My children, who were 5 and 3 when they first went, were now 17 and 15 respectively, facing a very different set of duties. Once again, we immersed ourselves in cutting wood, repairing and preparing cabins and facilities, decorating for camp, and a host of other duties. Again, we could see that God was at work, this time bringing our group together with the other groups from other states, connecting His people for His work. My children could not stop talking about how much fun they had, and how eager they were to go back. The families we brought with us fell in love with the camp and with the people they met, leading the way for our church to begin supporting the ministry financially. One member of our team even got under conviction that he needed to use his skills and abilities to go back and rebuild the sound system in the chapel to set the camp up for years to come. For me, it was amazing to see how God used our partnership with Camp of the Woods to grow our people, to build their faith, and to expand their view of God’s Kingdom work. In 1996, I heard about how special it was, in 2025, I know from experience. 

Camp of the Woods is one of those “thin places” you go to hear from the Lord, where it seems like He speaks louder and clearer, where His direction seems stronger. Over the years, we have returned because we know that God is at work. As Henry Blackaby has said, “look to see where God is working and join Him.” That is why I love Camp of the Woods. It is a place where God is working, and when we go there, we get to be part of His work.