Mad Hatter's Tea Party

On Monday night of camp, the evening activity was a Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The marquis tent was decorated beautifully to transport us to Wonderland. The campers and counselors joined the fun by dressing up in character. The festivities started with the White Rabbit leading the way to the marquis.


The campers enjoyed a number of games, including chess and checkers on a giant board, tossing sugar cubes into tea cups, and croquet.

Janet came dressed for the occasion.

Campers playing games of skill and downing sugary snacks!


One of several Mad Hatters in attendance for the evening.

Gaynor was in charge of the croquet game.

Angelica, Justin, and Jordan as variations on the Queen and King of Hearts.


Lisa emceeing a game of Musical Arms.


Daniel's trying to stay alive in the Musical Arms game.



Campers trying their luck tossing sugar cubes into tiny tea cups.

Camp Week Games!!

As happens during camp week, the days have blended together until three days of camp are gone. Many apologies to those who have been waiting to see highlights of camp. Please don't take the lack of updates personally.

This year's camp has included an assortment of games -- some messy, some not -- that have pitted the teams of Owls, Bats and Raccoons against each other to accumulate points that are awarded by our games coordinator, Robert. Some say the points are awarded arbitrarily, but no evidence of caprice has been uncovered.

On Monday, we played the Oreo Game which required players to move an Oreo from their foreheads to their mouths without using their hands. EmJ showed us how it's done!

Working hard to get that Oreo! But the boys can play this game too!

On Tuesday, the campers played "Get me a ...." which required one teammate wearing a duct tape helmet and the rest of the team locating the items that Robert and Annie called out. The helmet that had the most items remain after a proper shake of the head won.

Here is the orange team (the Raccoons) shooting their teammate across the room in the Mattress Pass game.

Glasgow Saturday

Despite our late arrival to Lapwing, we managed enough set-up on Friday night to stay on schedule for Saturday. That afforded us the opportunity to venture into Glasgow for the day. Even though many of us have been to the city before, it is always enjoyable to walk around, take in the sights, and the people walking the streets.

We started the day at the Glasgow Cathedral -- which took about 500 years to build. As Tom noted, "can you imagine that building campaign?!" The structure shows the wear of a building that's been around for centuries, but it's beauty still comes through.

Outside the cathedral is a statue of the famous Scottish missionary, David Livingstone.

After the cathedral, we were released in the City Centre for a few hours to explore the city on our own and do some shopping. Some enjoyed a nice lunch at the Willow Tea Room. (One pastor is believed to have ordered coffee and chili. Sources say he tried to order a corn dog too, but they were fresh out.)

After our free time in the city, we boarded our van and headed over the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum near Glasgow University. The Kelvingrove boasts an array of art and objects covering 22 themes. Among the many exhibits is Sophie Cave's Floating Heads installation which makes quite the impression in person.

The Kelvingrove is also home to some works of the masters, including these two pieces:

Rembrandt's A Main in Armour, circa 1655 or 1659

Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross, circa 1951

All that art left us a bit peckish, but luckily we had reservations at Cafe Salma, our tour guide, Harry's favorite Indian restaurant. There, we enjoyed some great appetizers of chicken tikka, fried vegetables, and lamb kabobs. The entrees were a combination of chicken and vegetable curries served family style, rice, and nan. After dinner, we enjoyed a glass of Moroccan tea which smelled like melted Doublemint gum.

After dinner, we came back to Lapwing and met up with the team from Potter's House and enjoyed some time of prayer and worship in preparation for camp. We prayed for the campers who are coming that they would experience freedom from the chains that bind them and hold them back from what the Lord has planned for them. We also prayed for our new camp assistants who have graduated from "camper" and on their way towards being counselors in the coming years. We prayed that they would not believe any lies that they are "disqualified" from serving this week because of anything they've done in the last year, months, weeks, or days. The Lord loves them and has a task for each of them this week. We prayed that the Lord would speak through Mason Tanner this week and that the Lord's words would penetrate the hearts of these students. Finally, we prayed that the students would dream dreams this week ... for themselves and for their nation!

Well, That Could Have Gone Smoother

Our trip got off to a great start on Thursday night at the sparkling new international terminal in Atlanta. Everyone showed up on time, with luggage that did not exceed the weight limit, and with their passports. The mission trip trifecta!

We boarded the plane, enjoyed a decent dinner -- as plane meals go -- with a choice of steak or chicken curry. After the meal, we settled in for some rest -- chemically induced or otherwise. (Over-the-counter remedies only.) The sleep totals ranged from 1 to 4-ish hours. Once we landed in London, we made our way to the area for our connection to Glasgow. Before we could get to that gate, we had to pass through the UK Border Agency. This is where our day came to a complete halt and chaos ensued.

The border agent wanted to know what we were going to be doing in the UK. Simple, we are here to work with a church in Scotland to provide a youth camp for their students. This is our 6th year providing the camp. OK, you need a visa to be here for that.

No, we don't. We haven't for the last two years. We are "Business Visitors - Religious Workers" which don't require visas. We've paid our own expenses; we are not taking any jobs from UK citizens; we are here for pastoral purposes.

Why did you get a visa in 2009? Because we were told at that time, that we needed one. Why didn't you get one after that? Because we were told that we no longer need one because we fell under the Business Visitor-Religious Worker category. Who told you that? (she asked, skeptically.) The UK Border Agency. I can show you the email that I received from them. Please do. Here you go. OK, we'll take this under consideration.

"We'll take this under consideration" are not exactly reassuring words. So we waited at the Border Agency while she scurried back behind the one-way glass to evaluate the veracity of our story. And I guess contemplated whether the UK should permit our band of proselytizers in to, no doubt, wreak havoc on a nation or two. (God willing, anyway.) And so we waited ... and waited ... and as minutes turned to an hour, it was clear we were not going to make our connection to Glasgow.

The agent emerged from her secret hideout to tell me that she had attempted to call the pastor that we were working with but only reached his voicemail. She needed him to call her back to discuss the issue before she could tell us anything about our outcome. Accordingly, I called the pastor as well -- straight to voicemail. Of course. So I called another pastor I knew on the other side of the country and asked him to make an effort to locate Gary and have him return the call because, at the moment, we were sitting in Heathrow twiddling our thumbs.

Eventually, members of the team needed to ... use the facilities. So, we let them go, with permission from BA (our friendly airline partner -- foreshadowing). One by one, people trickled over and back, passing back through with their boarding passes to our Border corral. About half the group had ventured over and back, and the waiting continued. Our agent popped back up to say that she had spoken to the pastor but that their rules required a visa for our purposes. Again, I reiterated that the regulations do not state that. The email I received from the Border Agency clearly indicates that no visa is required; no visa has been required the last 2 years; and nothing has changed in the regulations. We will certainly take that into consideration -- the fact that you have this correspondence from the agency and that you have been here the last 2 years without a visa. Ahh, those reassuring words again. But for now, please wait, while I discuss this with my manager. Where else am I going to go?

Now, the rest of the group needs to use the facilities. So a group of 5 walks over -- again with BA's permission. While they are gone, our agent comes back to tell us that she has spoken again with Gary and explained to him that visas are required for a group like ours. (Uh, where is she going with this?) There is another program that he can use if he registers for it, but either that program or visas are the only options for a group like ours. (OK, so what about us today?) She says she gave Gary a stern warning not to do this again, but we are going to let your group through today, in part, because you have been here before, but this is the last time you can do so without visas or via that other program. Great! Sweet! Thank you very much. And she meant the part about not letting us through ever again without visas as noted by the "W" written beside the entry stamp. (I think the "W" stands for "Whoa -- do not let this nefarious character through without a visa.)

We now have approval for the group to pass through. I just need the other half of the team back from the facilities. They appear to be held up by a BA agent who now won't let them back into the Border Agency area because between the time they went to the restroom and now, our flight connection left and their boarding passes are for flights that no longer exist. Of course. Even the pleadings of our Border Agent were of no use to convince the BA agent. So that 5 had to walk over to the BA counter to get new tickets. While the 6 of us waited for them.

The 5 were unable to get seats together. Two were on a 6:00 pm flight. Three were on the 7:30 pm one. All 5 had stand-by tickets for 2:15 pm. The remaining 6 still needed tickets. So 11 of us walked to the gate area and the 6 engaged the BA customer service desk inside the terminal. There, when presented with our dilemma of needing 6 rescheduled tickets, we were castigated for missing the flight and causing a delay while they retrieved our luggage off the plane while we were held up at the border. (Customer service with a smile) I explained that it was not our fault and that the border agent held us up. He wanted to hear nothing of it. We would have to pay for the new tickets. Uh, no we won't. It wasn't our fault for missing the flight. We are here -- through the border -- so it was obviously, the border agents' fault for holding us up, as we were ultimately approved to come through. We went through the correct procedure from our London flight to our connection. We did not delay ourselves. And, 5 of our team has already been re-booked ... at no cost. Who approved that?!?! (he asked, angrily and skeptically). The agent at the desk called her manager who approved it because it was immigration's fault. Well, I'll have to call my manager to see about that. Call him.

And more waiting. The 5 went to see if they could get on the 2:15 which had been delayed to 2:45. Eventually, the CSR's manager called back and agreed they had to let us through without additional cost because they had already done so -- not admitting that it wasn't our fault -- but whatever gets us through without paying extra is fine with me. Now, they could only get the 6 of us on the 9:50 pm flight, but they could get us stand-by on the 4:25. Fine.

The 5 returned after being unable to get on the 2:45. But, as luck would have it, when they re-checked their bags a friendly BA agent (they do exist ... just rarely seen ... like sasquatches) gave them business class upgrades which gave them access to the land of milk and honey -- the BA lounge in the terminal. This news was conveyed to the 6 of us sheepishly. As it turned out the 6 were able to get on the 4:25 stand-by and departed Heathrow while the 5 enjoyed the luxurious food and beverage in the BA lounge.

By 10:00 pm, everyone and, amazingly, their luggage arrived in Glasgow and at Lapwing to enjoy some late-night tea and biscuits (i.e., cookies) and sleep!!

What a day! Certainly lived up to the reputation of a Friday the 13th! But we feel blessed that we overcame the resistance that we encountered, as odd as it is to think we are undertaking something that the UK thinks would merit protecting its citizens from. Even with the late arrival, we were able to get some set-up done -- enough not to interfere with our sightseeing plans for Saturday.

But pray for us as we finish setting up for camp and throughout the week -- that we do not encounter any more complications of whatever variety.

We Made It to the Airport

Everyone arrived safely to the airport. The new international terminal in Atlanta is something to behold. All the luggage and bins of supplies are checked in and, we pray, will arrive with us tomorrow afternoon.

The drive into the new terminal is rowed with flags from countries around the world.

This is a classic sign that has been around the Atlanta airport for decades. It's much closer to the viewing public in front of the international terminal.

An historic Atlanta diner has a spot in the new terminal as well. We'll see if this was a good choice for dinner. I know those of us in Row 29 enjoyed it!! Our apologies, in advance, to those in Rows 28 and 30.

Time to Pack

Well, I probably should've already packed. But as you can see from this picture, I have not quite finished. But I'm leaving in a few hours for the airport, so I better get busy!

We Are Part of a Much Bigger Plan

We are a mere 12 days away from kicking off our sixth youth camp in Scotland. We've planned and prayed and prayed and planned some more. Making name tags. Designing camp t-shirts. Organized various activities and talks. The flight to the UK cannot come soon enough to unpack all of the ideas we have and to be a part of what the Lord has in store for us as a team but, more importantly, for the Scottish students who are coming to camp. Amid the busyness of it all, we can get caught up in lists of things to purchase and pack and how many clothes we can fit in one suitcase without exceeding the airline's weight limit. But the bottom line is that we are part of something far greater at work. Something that a woman named Jean Darnall saw in a vision about 45 years ago.

Jean Darnall was a missionary in Thailand with her husband. In 1967, when the Lord called them to Thailand, her husband went on ahead of her. She knew people in England, so she went and spent some time there before going over full time in Thailand. She had no ties to Scotland -- just was a woman who walked with and lived her life through the Spirit. And during that time, the Lord gave her a vision, and here is her account of that vision.

"During those weeks a vision came to me. It appeared three different times, during prayer, and it was the same vision each time. And what I saw was the British Isles, as in a bird's eye view. A kind of haze was over the whole, like a green fog. And then little pinpricks of light began to appear from the top of Scotland to Land's End (south England). Then the Lord seemed to draw me closer to these lights, and I saw that they were fires that were burning. They were multiplying from the top of Scotland to Land's End. Then I saw lightening come and strike those fires, the brightest spots particularly, and there was a kind of explosion, and rivers of fire flowed down. Again, the sense of direction was from the top of Scotland to Land's End. But some of those rivers of fire didn't stop there. They went right across the Channel and spread out into the Continent."

Phase One: The Glowing Fires

The Lord impressed it on my heart that those fires I saw were groups of people whom He wound make intensely hungry fro New Testament Christianity. They would start reading their Bibles and saying, for instance, as they read the book of Acts, 'Well, where is this happy church? Where are these people so full of the power of the Holy Spirit? Where are these miracles? Where is this growth, this vitality, this courage, this boldness that these people had? Is that for today-can we have it today? Should the church be this way?'

And these questions were being planted in their hearts, the Lord Jesus said He would make them very hungry for the Holy Spirit; He would fill them with the Holy Spirit, and out of those gifts would flow ministries that would enrich the Body of Christ. The whole concept of the Body of Christ would come alive, and barriers between denominations and different types of Christians would break down as people met each other. The Lord said He would move these people all over the country. After he had taught them gifts, He would move them to another place where they would carry that fire, and where they would meet others also who were being renewed by the Holy Spirit. He would put them in different situations from what they were used to, so that they would get to know people of other denominations, other cultures and other classes, and be able to communicate to them the blessings that the Lord had given them. And then He told me that during that time He would also test them. There would be great testing of faith, great waiting times. He would teach them spiritual warfare. He would show them the meaning of the power of the blood of Jesus, the Name of Jesus, the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Phase Two: The Coming of the Lightening

Then I asked the Lord, 'What does the lightening stand for?' And He said, 'Unlike the first part, in which I will be speaking to Christians and preparing My church and renewing it and reviving the saints, the lightening represents a second part of the vision, in which I will bring a spiritual awakening to the nation that will be a witness to the unsaved, to the unchurched, to the non-Christian.

Through these believers I will bring a witness to this land. They will be an army of witnesses. And I will begin to release their ministries so that when they give their testimonies there will be apostolic signs following and accompanying their testimonies. Where ears have been deaf and hearts have been hard and eyes have been blind, I will touch the people of this land and they will begin to hear the testimony of My people, they will begin to see the manifestations of My power, and their hearts will begin to believe. Thousands and thousands of people are going to come into My kingdom through this army of witnesses, through this people movement - not characterized by any particular evangelist or great organization at the front, but just My people rising up, led by My Spirit and beginning to move forward with a new faith for evangelism, a new zeal to share Jesus with others. And as they give their testimonies, I will release their ministries of healing and miracles, and there will be signs and wonders accompanying their ministries. So many people will be saved, in the villages as well as in the cities, in the schools, in the government, in media, in industry. It will affect the destiny of this nation; it will determine the course of the times.

Phase Three: Streams across the Channel

Then I said, 'Lord, what about these streams that go on across the Channel into Europe?' And He said, 'That represents people who will rise up in the midst of this people movement, this army of witnesses in Britain, whom I will make My communicators.' Now I hadn't used that word very much before in my ministry I said, 'Lord, what do You mean by communicators?' And He said, 'They will not only be people endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with strong faith, but they will also be people talented in the arts. They will be writers, musicians, singers and actors, and also technicians in television, radio and the mass media. I will call and send them and put them in strategic places. I will bless their natural talents with My Spirit, and they will be good: they will excel. They will be leaders in the media, and through them I will release the Word of God very fast in Europe. The result will be another wave of a spiritual awakening, with thousands coming to Christ throughout Europe.'

A Revelation From Heaven

And one day, between lunch and the afternoon session, I said to our team, 'Let's just pray before we go upstairs. Suddenly the Spirit of God came upon me. I began to weep and weep, and strong crying came upon my heart, real, deep sobs. I knew that the Spirit of God had brought the Lord's burden upon me. And I said, 'Lord, what is this? It's something very important.'

One word He spoke to me: Scotland."

Jean maintained that the young people of Scotland would play a huge part in the fruition of this vision. We have a part to play in that during our short stints in Scotland. We come each year expecting the Lord to do mighty works in the lives of the students at camp. And He does. Even when things don't go the way we thought they would, we have peace because we know that we are part of a much bigger plan.

One Month to Go

It's June 12, 2012, and we are 30 days out from leaving for another youth camp in Scotland. For the sixth straight year, we have partnered with our friends at The Potter's House in Stewarton to plan 5 exciting days for the students age 11-17 who will attend. We crossed an important threshold yesterday with the purchase of the team's plane tickets. We still have a bit of fundraising to go for our ground costs (i.e., food, lodging, camp supplies, etc.), but the Lord is faithful.

Please join us in praying for the students who have already signed up to come to camp and the ones who need/want to come but, for whatever reason, have not registered yet. Scotland has a rich history of revival and awakening and missionary sending. There is a generation in Scotland who we see that are ready to claim that heritage and dream big for the Kingdom. This year's camp theme is Dreamers, and the verse is Acts 2:17 ("In the last days, God says, I will por out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.").

You can follow us throughout the next month before we leave, and throughout our time in Scotland, right here. Thanks for lifting us up in prayer.