Skip to main content

Sky Ranch

About four weeks ago, the Lord blessed me with a lovely opportunity through Sky Ranch Christian Camps (Sky) to work, learn, grow, and serve within the small town of Van, TX. The Lord worked powerfully in one year with the leaders of Sky and Dallas Baptist University (DBU) to create a ministry program for post-bachelor students to take part in what is called a Legacy Fellowship. This fellowship enables/funds 12 participants to live, work, and serve at camp, while simultaneously earning their Master's degree from DBU.
I am currently one week into the program, and I am in awe of the Lord's work at camp. Sky serves several people groups: internationals, churches, schools, and families through various programs. One of these programs includes Outdoor Education (OE), which the fellowship specifically works with. All of the OE activities happen within a big, brown barn. The fellows' desks, computers, costumes, and important equipment stays upstairs, while additional class material and leadership offices are downstairs. Each fellow has a separate working space with a computer, walkie-talkie, and cork board. This space will host much studying and class preparation and possibly a few pranks.
The campus itself is woodsy, but not in the typical mountainous sense I am accustomed to in California. Rather, the terrain is fairly flat, freckled with many pine, oak, and pistache trees. The dirt is a reddish brown, which leaves a lovely layer on most clothes and skin. The weather is hot and humid. Prior to arriving at camp, I did not understand the meaning of humidity factor. I knew wind chill factor caused cold temperatures to feel colder, yet, little did I know, the humidity factor causes hot days to feel like extremely hot days. Luckily, the camp is situated right next to a large lake and houses two different swimming pools. The Crazy Pool has two giant slides and nine square in the air. The Party Pool has a mushroom waterfall shallow section, water slide, and trapeze.
In addition to the pools, the camp is creating just a water slide section. The slides should be completed by early fall; however, the process became delayed after the severe rains during the Spring.
The campground also includes miniature golf, ropes swings, a land blob, basketball court, gymnasium, and a human maze. The cabins are dispersed amidst the trees and near the lake. (I will have to post lake/dock photos in a different post when I can capture the extravagance of the sunset) Camp decorations scream Texan pride, with flying flags, Texas stars, and old western equipment...oh and of course a few horses and cattle
The message given today in church emphasized how trusting the Lord changes the outcomes of our hearts. The pastor explained how both the good and bad seasons of our lives reveal the character of God. I am currently in a wonderful season, learning the intensity of the love of the Heavenly Father. The blessing of Sky provided me a new understanding of God's faithfulness and the ceaseless hope which comes from trusting in Him. Isaiah 26:6 says,
"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you"
No matter the season you currently find yourself, may you surrender yourself to Him, trust in Him, hoping in His promises, and obeying His word. May your prayer be that of Isaiah 26:8
"Yes, Lord walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desires of our hearts."

All my love,
Gennavieve

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hampton Court Palace

Today, I toured Hampton Court Palace, an official historic, royal palace. Following are some of the sights I saw, history I learned, and favorites I enjoyed. The guard chamber of King William III. The magnificent display of 2,871 items of armor and weapons displayed a message that William was a great soldier and peacemaker. William's Presence chamber. Only high-ranking individuals were permitted into this room. William would be distinguished by sitting on a Chair of Estate. Those who entered his presence were required to remove their hats and make three low bows to the King, or even his empty chair. I'm grateful to serve an accessible King, who is with me wherever I go. William's eating room. He was expected to dine here on occasions "in front of persons of good fashion and good appearance," in order to display the sumptuousness of his food and to reassure everyone he was in good health. He was served by three servants on bended knee. William's P

Oopsy Daisy

Today I learned a cultural lesson through my daisy chain making. I was just being typical Gennavieve, frolicking in the fields between the rose geranium and picking daisies. I decided to make a chain and, before long, I had quickly assembled a round daisy necklace. I held it for a bit and then one of the workers, Mikeal, came up to our group and I decided to give it to him, so I put the flower garland around his head and it plopped on his neck. Little did I know that my actions meant much more than I had intended. Mikeal's eyes lit up and he screamed in Zulu to his coworkers, proudly showing off his chain. I giggled at first and then after the eruption of laughter from the workers, I realized that I had done something unusual. I swiftly found Pendele, one of the women who I've grown to trust and love who also translates for us, and asked her to explain why the men had been laughing. She began to laugh herself when I told her and after she regained composure she sai

JCR Welcoming Dinner

As part of New College, I was cordially invited to a welcoming dinner in the JCR Private Dining Room at St. Catherine's College. This invitation is considered an incredible honor and, after talking to the presidents, many students never receive the privilege of a formal dining experience in a college hall. The evening called for black tie attire, which meant tuxes for the guys and formal dresses for the girls. Luckily, I packed my sister's pink cotton candy gown. The evening began in a welcoming chamber. We entered and, having been handed a glass of sherry, began making small conversation. After a social bit, we were lead to the dining hall, where we were seated at a table purposely designed higher than the other tables in the hall, symbolizing its importance. The plates had individual name cards, designating seats. I sat to the left of the special, middle head-chair which seated, Deepak Mukhi, our program director. I took one glance at my place setting, noting the multi