Mosquitos, Algae, and Worship

We made it. Missio Dei Church has completed its seventh annual all-church camping trip. Some have walked away with countless mosquito bites. Some are recovering from lost sleep due to a crazy lady walking around camp grounds and being picked up by the police at three o’clock in the morning. Others are glad to be in air conditioning with the luxuries of their own home. Yet, I believe we all walked away excited to have re-connected with members of the Missio Dei Church family as well as reflecting on God’s faithfulness to us.

This year had its fair share of unique stories. The mosquitos came out in full force both Friday and Saturday night. Kids were “eaten alive” and the adults could not put enough bug spray on or swat at mosquitos fast enough. Yet, each night we prevailed to make the typical s’mores and pudgie pies.


We were also greeted by a young women in the middle of the night. A huge thanks goes out to Paul Vroom and Pat Meyers for handling this intoxicated woman (we are guessing it was something more than just alcohol) so well. After a loud ‘knock, knock, knock’ on the Vroom’s R.V, Paul and Pat came out to see what the woman needed. This woman was later visited and questioned for an hour and twenty minutes by the community service vehicle, DNR, and the police. This woman was then taken to the family campground area where the police did not go home until sunrise. Needless to say, our families did not get much sleep on Friday night and early Saturday morning.

camping 2013-tossing kids
Saturday turned out to be a great day. Flapjacks, sausage, links, and coffee filled our bellies as we headed out to the beach. During our time, adults and parents would toss kids in the water, play catch, and watch the little ones build “sand castles”. The lake this year contained blue/green algae which heightened the importance of not drinking the water and enforced the showing after rule.

Saturday night ended spectacularly with a ground of men walking to a circle surrounded by trees and light up by numerous stars. This has typically been a very informal “event” in years past, but the conversations have become richer over the years. This year we opened it up to any guy who was still awake. Nine guys made the trip to this circle for a great time of reconnecting with brothers on a deeper level. Needless to say, this year was even richer.

camping 2013-worshipSunday morning we worked though the questions that were posted last week. We heard responses about God’s faithfulness to families in carrying them through various transitions in life. People shared how God was doing a mighty work in a couples devotional life. We heard how Missio Dei supports families in the little things - but are powerful in huge ways for families. We closed our time singing 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman. A powerful way to close our out time in sharing God’s faithfulness.

My prayer is that we would not be a church that leaves these memories and connections at Potato Creek State Park. Rather, that we would use this past weekend as a spring board to further deepen relationships and bring other people into the Missio Dei family. Until next year Potato Creek...

Click here to see pictures from this trip.

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