A Mighty Fortress

Check out this song...I posted the lyrics below. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4H-iWayY5M

Our God is, a consuming fire,
A burning holy Flame, with glory and freedom
Our God is, the only righteous judge,
Ruling over us with kindness and wisdom

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You

A mighty fortress is our God
A sacred refuge is Your Name
Your Kingdom is unshakable
With You forever we will reign

Our God is, jealous for His own
None could comprehend, His love and His mercy
Our God is exalted on His throne
High above the heavens
Forever He's worthy...

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You
So we can set our hearts on You
Lord we will set our hearts on You! 

Christ Is First IN Everything

Wow, it's been forever... I think I forgot how to blog! jk jk... :P

Anyways, I decided I would finally get back on here and update what has been going on in my life since the last time I posted:

I am home from Tapawingo - I've been home about six weeks now. Another summer ended well, many lessons learned, and great friends made. Back to school and work now for the past six weeks, which has been keeping me busy.

There have been a few changes in my life since I've been home that were rough to adjust to...I guess the most predominate one would be my being an "only child." Yes, it's true...all my siblings have gone and left me! It's weird being the only "kid" at home, but I'm excited for my siblings and what they get to do. It was definitely an adjustment and I felt lonely a lot, but things are getting better as the semester goes by.

Anyways, I have been learning a great deal about the Lord and really just have this desire to serve Him! A couple of weekends ago I went to the Ekklesia Conference in Jupiter, Florida (great conference!!!), and I believe it was Rick Holland who said something along the lines that "Jesus is to be number 1 in everything in your life, not just above everything." - I've been thinking a lot about my life and if Jesus is number 1 in everything...it makes me think of the verses in Romans 6:15- 18 where it talks about being slaves of sin or slaves of righteousness; and in Matthew 6:24 where it says that you cannot serve two masters. Who is the Master that you/I want to serve?? It should be evident in our lives. Just something to munch on.

Sunrise

The sunrise at 5:20 last Monday morning...one word: beautiful.

Surprise Visit ...

Well, I don't have much time, so this will be short, but I wanted to update. I've had a great two weeks of camp so far - my cabin has been great (and we even won cabin clean-up this week and had an ice cream party!)! That was pretty exciting! However, the most exciting part of the end of these two weeks was that my sister and mom came to visit! I knew Emily was coming, but I was surprised to see mom! I'm really glad that she made it up here this year...and that she was able to keep it a secret from me! Unfortunately they could only stay a couple of days, so it was sad to see them go.

Session 3 is starting this afternoon! I can't believe I've been up here for 5 weeks already...it doesn't feel like it's been that long - but I have 6 weeks left.

If I had to choose one thing I liked most about Tapawingo, it would be growing in the Lord. I've learned a lot even just these two weeks of camp and am excited for the next six weeks. I've probably learned most about just the Lord's faithfulness and provision. He has provided various ways that I wouldn't expect...He is awesome.

Well, I've got to get ready to go back to the island... I'd love to hear how everyone at home is doing, if you get the chance to send me letter :)

The end, yet the beginning...

I don't even know where to begin... Well, staff training has come to an end and campers are coming on Sunday - wait! that's tomorrow! time does fly by... Let me rewind a little bit:

The last three weeks we have had staff training which includes, but is not limited to, welcome program planning, hiking, activity area training (sailing, tennis, camp-craft, wildlife, etc...), lost swimmer/camper drill, work crews, some staff did lifeguard and WFA (wilderness first aid) training, four other girls and I became archery certified, the barge drill, wisdom walk, co -pairings, pre-season banquet, and finally we ended training with banana-boating. I'm sure I'm probably missing lots of things that we did, but this is just a taste of what my life has been like the last three weeks.

So, yes, I did get archery certified and I have successfully hit the bullseye more than once! Okay, it hasn't been in the exact middle, but still in the bullseye! :) A few of the girls and I ended up with stellar bruises on our arms from the string snapping against our skin as we released the arrow. I guess we've all learned our lesson to roll our arms/elbows down. I also shoot left handed because I am left eye-d. (I wondered why I was so bad all those other times I had tried to shoot before...!)

Another fun time was the barge drill scenario - two counselors didn't know what was going to happen and the rest of us pretended that the barge caught on fire. We made a big scene including jumping off the side of the barge while it was still moving at a good speed, hiding under the bench because of the "inability to swim," and I "lost" my life-jacket after getting in the water and pretended to drown, and the boat boy (who didn't know this was going to happen) found out it was a "pretend fire" and just walked off the boat. Anyways, it was just a big lesson on what to do if there's an emergency on the barge.

One of my favorite parts of training is the Wisdom Walk. That is where we split up into different groups and walk around to different stations on the island where different admin are. The admin share some wisdom and encouragement with us from God's Word.

Yesterday afternoon we found out what cabin we were in and who we were cos with. I am yet again in Winnebago (11-12 year olds) with Becky!

Finally, we had our pre-season banquet last night. It was rainbow themed because of the reminder of God's promises. All the counselors received awards of promises. I received the promise of Philippians 1:6 - which is kind of ironic because I had been thinking about that verse throughout staff training! Obviously God knew all along!

With the conclusion of the banquet, the boat boys took us banana-boating, which, for those of you who don't know, is a banana-shaped tube/boat.

Anyways, I cannot express how much God has already taught these three short weeks, but it has been good. I am excited for what He is going to teach me the next eight weeks as I will be pouring into campers. God is so good - He's always been faithful to me.

P.S. Here's a link to some pictures!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=220065&id=729082455&l=ad2ab4a832

First week of training :)

One week down! It has been so great to be back here, but so strange at the same time! I've been having a lot of fun getting to know the new staff and reconnecting with the returners. This week we went on our 3-Day hike to Puffer Pond and then climbed Chimney Mountain almost as soon as we stepped out of the woods from Puffer. We had a great time of bonding...especially since in it was raining and freezing! But for the most part we stayed dry and warm. :) For Chimney Mountain we climbed up at our own pace, but as fast as we could...we just had to push ourselves. Chimney is about a 1 mile steep climb, but the view is totally worth it! Last year I made it up in 31 minutes and 10 seconds, but this summer I did it in 28 minutes and 18 seconds....I improved!!! But anyways, we are now on our day off, starting last night. We had a great adventure with doing laundry (for example: figuring out where we could do laundry since the place we were told was locked, getting more coins, and the laundromat flooding!) but aside from that, it was fun! - not that those experiences weren't fun... :) Anyways, it's about time for lunch, so I best be heading up to the Hill to eat. I'll update soon!

Hasta la Vista, Mis Amigos!

It's about that time of year again...summer! Well, I guess I've been on break since school ended back in April, but it's starting to dawn on me that I'll be leaving for the rest of the summer. This Sunday, June 6, I will embark on a journey back up to the little island of joy in God's beautiful creation. As I think about it, mixed emotions rise up all around engulfing my thoughts. I'm stoked to go to NY, but I'm also sad to leave Jacksonville and all the lives I've been involved in here. However, I know that this is all part of God's plan, and ultimately I hope this experience will bring God the glory only He deserves. I do want to keep in touch with everyone while I'm away, though, so please keep me updated on your lives!

There are a few things that I will ask y'all to pray for this summer...

• first of all that God will be honored and glorified in all that goes on throughout the summer
• secondly that we as staff will work together and get the island ready for the campers
• thirdly for the campers - that God will do a work in their hearts now and that lives will be won for him this summer
• and finally for me personally that I will continue to grow in my walk with the Lord and also, I will be speaking to the girls at Vespers session 4 Monday night (July 19, I believe). Just pray that the Lord will speak through me, that it will be His words, not mine.

If you find some time to write me a letter or shoot me an email, please do so! My address for the summer is:

Camp Tapawingo

Hannah Sanders

P.O. Box 250

Speculator, NY 12164

Also, if you're inclined to send a care package, use this address:

Camp Tapawingo

Hannah Sanders

C/O CAMP-of-the-WOODS

RT. 30

Speculator, NY 12164

I'm going to miss y'all a bunch.

~Hannah