Meet Anna!
I started coming to camp a lot later than I often wish I had. I worked a summer on staff in 2022, and while I considered myself a “Christian” I had no idea of what it was to have a real and true relationship with God – what it was like to have real Godly community who did not look down on me and constantly disregard my sense of self and my trust. Working from May until early August on a handful of acres out in Marble Falls with a group of people who were all there searching the Lord, pouring into kids and simultaneously each other meant more than I could say as a very very shy gal who was looking for purpose.
My best memories were working at Day Camp with the younger kids and getting to teach them the Gospel: letting their eyes light up with understanding on a chalk covered pavilion floor. Then going and playing with them in the trees and hearing them discuss it with one another was the coolest moment ever.
After that I came back for a year of the Arrows internship, where I had predetermined to throw myself into getting as close to God and understanding His character the best I could. Having Bible studies with my fellow Arrows and full-time staff showed me how to grow in the Lord. My favorite Bible verse is John 15:9 “As the Father has loved me, so I Love you, Abide in my love,” is also echoed throughout camp, with a community abiding in the Father’s love, and spreading that to the world around them!
The past two years I got to come back as a second year counselor and my first year as day camp director in 2024. My favorite story in all my time there was my last cabin with a young group of 11 year old girls. Me and my co shared the gospel with them daily but, for one specific girl, it kept feeling like it wasn’t hitting. One day, all our girls were hot and tired after a walk to the barn and to cheer us up, I did a devotional on Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. The girls asked if they could wash our feet with the barn hose, which was an incredibly special moment. That night we walked back to our cabin under the stars and the girl who had been struggling asked me to hold back on the nature trail. She asked me what God would wash dirty feet, and if the story was real. After a long talk she gave her life to God that night.
Camp Peniel, compared to anywhere else I have been, is a place where you can truly meet the Lord face to face. It’s not just a cliche. That is why I’m so excited to come back in 2025 for my final year as Day Camp director, to help give an environment for boys and girls to meet Jesus face to face, for their counselors to meet Jesus face to face, and to grow with Jesus with those I love.
Meet Caleb!
I grew up going to church but I never understood it fully. I also grew up coming to Camp Peniel from day camp to res camp to Work Crew. I always loved summer camp and how they talked about the Gospel. In my high school days, when I bounced around schools, camp was my constant until my family settled in Marble Falls in 2020.
It was then, as I was struggling with the move from Houston that I realized I had a lot of personal problems to deal with as well. That year of camp was when things shifted for me. Although I had always enjoyed the testimonies and bible studies, it was that summer that I realized how undeserving I was of God’s love and grace that we talked about at camp. So, during my last year of the Work Crew program, I surrendered my life to Christ on top of the Fence Shed.
As the program went on, God began helping me understand him through Bible studies and conversations with staff and other Work Crew. A few days later, on my 18th birthday, I began by praying in my hammock when the Holy Spirit entered my life, and I was in a permanent relationship with God. He filled the void in my heart with love and peace so overwhelming that I tried to pour it out to my fellow Work Crew. From that moment I saw not just how he blesses me, but that I have been blessed by him for all my life. I’ve seen his protection and provision for family and his faithfulness to correct me when I stray. This favor the Lord has shown to me throughout my life, even when I was undeserving, cannot be explained by anything but God’s hand. This is one of the reasons I believe the Gospel to be true.
A relationship with God can be hard to maintain, but he has never left me and loves me the same every day no matter what happens. Camp community has helped me grow in my relationship with God significantly since becoming a Christian. Since then, I have spent two summers on staff and found a heart specifically for the day camp program. I saw in my past summers on staff that even young kids can have a heart for God and get engaged in faith. We can’t wait for Day Camp 2025!