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Spiritual Markers For Youth

In this episode of the Stronger Family Stronger Church podcast, Daniel Sumoge, the youth minister for the OC Church of Christ, and his wife Savannah share about some spiritual markers for children growing up in the church. Daniel and Savannah share personal stories, practical tips for parents, and insights into how Youth and Teen Camps can serve as significant spiritual experiences for kids. The episode aims to help parents cultivate godly families through meaningful spiritual milestones, celebrating incremental growth and the long-term journey of faith.

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast

01:02 Meet Daniel and Savannah Sumoge

03:01 Personal Spiritual Journeys

05:47 The Importance of Spiritual Markers

07:24 Experiences at Preteen and Teen Camps

08:30 Defining Spiritual Markers

09:09 Personal Stories of Spiritual Markers

12:02 Encouragement for Parents

14:22 Biblical Foundations of Spiritual Markers

16:52 Savannah's Camp Experiences

22:13 Daniel's Camp Experiences

25:00 Relationships Built at Camp

25:50 Cherished Camp Friendships

27:33 Spiritual Investments and Expectations

29:27 Shifting from Expectations to Hope

31:43 Celebrating Small Victories

37:56 Post-Camp Tips for Parents

48:09 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Transcript
Marcel:

Welcome to the Stronger Family Stronger Church podcast.

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My name is Marcel Hall, and in this

podcast we aim to equip parents of all

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ages with tips and resources to grow

Godly families because we strongly

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believe that if you have stronger

families, you'll have a stronger church.

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Today's episode is

about spiritual markers.

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Daniel Sumoge the youth Minister for

the OC Church of Christ and his wife

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Savannah, will share about spiritual

markers for kids growing up in the

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church, and specifically the impact

of our kids going to summer youth

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and teen camps put on by the church.

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Now this episode is actually a

recording from the OC Church's

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Youth and Family Night.

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So here is Daniel and Savannah

Sumoge on Spiritual Markers.

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Daniel: Well, it's awesome.

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It's great being here

with you all tonight.

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Uh, with the parents.

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I feel like this is unfamiliar

territory for Savannah and I, we

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usually don't speak at youth and family

nights like this, but we're really

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excited to speak to you all tonight.

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Um, just because it really has something

to do with what's really dear to

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Savannah and i's hearts, uh, because

we grew up in this church as well, we

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grew up in the LA church, and it has

to do with just investments, right?

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Spiritual investments, you know, spiritual

markers for preteen and teen camp.

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All right, so that's what we'll be

talking about tonight is talking

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about the spiritual markers.

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And before we kind of get into it, uh,

Savannah, I don't, you go ahead and you

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wanna say, pray for us and before we.

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Dive in.

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Savannah: All righty.

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Uh, father God, thank you so much

for allowing us to be here tonight.

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God, thank you for, um, keeping

us safe during the rains.

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God, I pray that, uh, even

after when we go home, that

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you keep us safe driving home.

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Uh, God, I just pray for, um, the

lesson tonight that you are able to

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speak through Daniel and I and, uh,

just, uh, allow us to speak vulnerably

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God, um, through this topic that we,

we really do feel passionate about.

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Uh, we love you so much.

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God, I pray that everyone here just

has soft hearts and is open, um, and

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um, that we just have a discussion and

we talk about these, uh, these topics.

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God, that we love you so

much and Jesus may pray.

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Amen.

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Daniel: Amen.

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Thank you, Savannah.

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Well, I have to be honest talking

to Savannah, we were a little

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nervous speaking to you all tonight.

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Uh, one of the biggest reasons,

and really the only reason is

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we're not parents, all right?

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So it's kind of hard to talk to parents.

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And for you guys to listen and

probably truly like, wanna engage

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when we're not parents ourselves.

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Right.

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You know?

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So that's one insecurity that we have.

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However, I do think though we do somewhat

bring value because like I said, we

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did grow up in the church, right?

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So we do know that what your kids

are going through and probably what

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they're experiencing, and obviously

it may be different, but the heart, no

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matter what, is still the same, right?

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They're still going through stuff as well.

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And just a little bit about ourselves,

uh, for myself, my, uh, I grew up

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in the metro LA region, so I didn't

grow up here in oc, but I was

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part of the Kids' Kingdom program.

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I was part of the preteen, uh, the

junior high, the teen ministry.

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It was actually, uh, my sophomore year

of high school, as you see right here.

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That's where I became a disciple.

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I know this was 10 years ago.

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Yeah, this was, yeah,

this is me right here.

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Oh no.

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I stepped on the cord.

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Alright.

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Hopefully, hopefully it comes back.

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Doesn't come back.

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All it's back.

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Just so you know, I'm a Kingdom kid

because I mean, we're getting ready.

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I'm here getting ready to

perform for a Christmas program.

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I know, right?

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Nice tie there.

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Uh oh and true.

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This is Angie.

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For those who don't know, she's in

North, but yeah, she's there too.

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I grew up with her.

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Uh, but yeah, I got baptized in the

teen ministry my 10th grade year.

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That was about 10 years ago.

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Uh, been part of a, I was part of

the campus ministry there for a bit.

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And then I moved here to OC in

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share a few about herself as well.

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Savannah: Um, so I grew up in

the lifeway region, which back

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then used to be called Central.

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Um, actually I remember a little,

my older brother was in the

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teen ministry when Marcel and

Karina were, uh, back in Central.

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And I remember one of the biggest,

I had a T-shirt and I said, uh.

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C squared, I think it was

Christ Conviction and Connection

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or something like that.

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Speaker 3: You're almost there.

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What is it?

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I

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Savannah: was like wrong, so I dunno.

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Um, and uh, so I grew up there for

most of my life and then when college

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came around, I actually ended up

moving to Virginia for a couple years

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to pursue, uh, criminology degree.

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Um, unfortunately that

did not work out for me.

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I had to come back home,

kind of reground myself.

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Um, and then I actually, uh,

got baptized, sorry, backwards.

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I got baptized before I

moved out to Virginia.

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Uh, it was like a two week turnaround.

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Um, and that was a crazy

experience on its own.

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Then came back home and was a part

of the Lifeway, um, campus ministry.

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Um, and then after about a year of being

home, I got a call from Jessica Steffen,

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who's downstairs right now with the teens.

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And uh, she asked me if I was interested

in moving out to Orange County because her

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roommates were moving out due to Covid.

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And I said.

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Sure.

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What the heck?

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Why not?

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Um, I'm not really doing

anything and decided to move.

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So in the summer of 2020, I

moved out to Orange County

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and I've been here ever since.

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So, yes.

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Awesome.

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Yeah.

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Daniel: Worked out.

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We moved here during the same time and

we started dating here in Orange County.

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We got married here in Orange County.

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So that's very exciting there.

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And as you see, as we share, you know,

we, we have different stories, right.

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You know, I, I got baptized in the

teen ministry, Savannah, she didn't

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get baptized in the teen, she got

baptized going into her campus ministry.

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Right.

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And I, we, I share this, you know, I

point that out because I think when

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I look around the room and I look

at the kids, you know, the kids are

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all in different spots spiritually.

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Right.

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We have some who are disciples,

some who are not disciples, but

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they're interested in learning more.

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Some who are just here for the

friends or maybe for the pizza only.

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Right.

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But wherever you guys, your children

are at, I just want to tell you guys

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first and foremost that it's okay.

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Yeah.

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Mm-hmm.

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That, and I don't know if

you guys hear this much.

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But you guys are doing a great job.

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Mm-hmm.

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You know, as I was working on this

lesson, I was telling Savannah, I was

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just like, wow, I'm so grateful for my

parents, you know, that I wasn't grateful

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for them in the moment, you know, as

a teen or a pre-teen or junior high.

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But looking back, I'm just like, wow,

I'm so grateful for my parents really

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instilling some values in me for loving

me unconditionally, for praying for me.

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Mm-hmm.

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And I know that you all have been

doing that for your children as well.

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So for that, I just wanna say

thank you guys, that you guys are

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really doing a tremendous job.

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All right?

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I really want to encourage

you guys in that.

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All right?

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Just to keep doing what you're doing.

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Do not lose hope.

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Wherever your child is at that it's okay.

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God is working through them.

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You know, as I mentioned before that

Savannah and I we're not parents, right?

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And our team leaders downstairs,

they're not parents as well.

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But I believe that you all the parents,

that us, the team leaders, anyone who

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helps involve in your child's life, that

we all have the same goal in mind, though.

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Yeah.

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Right.

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We want to help guide your children

and grow it in their faith.

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We want them to build godly friendships.

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Hopefully they're doing that

downstairs right now, or maybe on

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Sundays and Wednesdays and Fridays.

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We want them to develop a

strong foundation that will

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carry them through life.

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You know, one of the ways we really

strive to do this as a church is

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with preteen camp and Teen camp.

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You know, I wanna ask you guys

this, who here has been to

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either preteen camp or Teen Camp?

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Either as a counselor or a staff member.

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Okay.

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That's, that's a good majority of us.

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All right.

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Lemme ask this.

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Who here has been to preteen camp?

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Or teen camp As a camper.

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Okay.

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No, no one.

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All right.

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There's no problem.

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Right.

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But Savannah, we had the honor and

privilege of attending camp as campers.

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For pre-teen and teen camp, we are

the honor privilege of serving as

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counselors in both camps and also as

staff members, uh, at pre-teen and

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teen camp, or at least at teen Camp.

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And we can tell you this, that

firsthand, that pre-teen camp and

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teen camp, it is such a fun time.

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Mm-hmm.

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All right.

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Your kid will have so much fun.

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They'll have plenty of that.

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But outside of having fun, they'll

also have an environment where they

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can grow in their faith, where they

can build meaningful friendships and

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they can powerfully experience God.

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You know?

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And camp is an opportunity for

your preteens or your teens

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to have a spiritual marker.

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Raise your hand if you guys ever heard

the term spiritual marker before.

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All right.

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Some of us have.

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That's great.

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Here is a definition

of a spiritual marker.

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A spiritual marker is a significant

event memory or physical object that

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serves as a reminder of a time when

someone felt a strong presence of

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the divine or experienced significant

spiritual guidance in their lives.

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I mean, think about that.

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We all have had this moment, we

had this moment, a spiritual marker

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where maybe it was a a, a memory or

an event that happened that where

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we felt a strong presence of God.

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Am I right?

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Mm-hmm.

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You

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know, just to share a little bit from

my, my spiritual marker, I think back

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in the time in 2019, back when I was in

Metro la, you know, uh, for those who

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don't know my church, the l the Metro

LA church went through a terrible split.

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You know, our leader left.

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He took some of our, uh, members

as well and, and those members,

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some of those members were some

of like deep and closest friends.

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And I remember throughout that year, in

:

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way you can comfort me during this time.

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You know, the friends that really

invested in me and the friends that

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invested in my parents, they're all gone.

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And there's no way, God, you can comfort

me during this time or my family.

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And, you know, me and my family, we were

really strive, we were really fighting for

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a relationship with God during that time.

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And then.

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Few months later, later on that year,

in:

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And then during that time, I just

remember thinking to myself, once

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again, God, I know I'm not gonna

be comforted during your time.

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There's no way.

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You know, all my friends, I feel

like I've had, they're all gone.

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So as we're going to the hospital,

we're driving there as a family.

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It's 2:00 AM on a Wednesday night.

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We were praying, and I just remember

for me, I was just praying, obviously

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for my dad to be healed, but I

was mostly praying for comfort.

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I was like, God, I just want to

be comforted during this time.

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I just want you, you know, your people

to just, I want you to comfort me.

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I also wanna be comforted from others.

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It's really hard to be comforted

from my family during this time.

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So as we're in the waiting room, it's

about 2:30 AM and we're just, you know,

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I'm just going through it in my head.

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I'm just like, God,

there's, is there a way?

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Is there a sign?

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Please give me something.

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And I remember I shot a text out

in my, uh, campus group chat.

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I said, Hey guys, I know it's late.

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But my dad's in the hospital.

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We're here in Carson.

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Like if you guys can come through

right now, that would be great.

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Now I sent it out just

thinking, all right, whatever.

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Let's just send it out.

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Let me be out in the light.

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Lemme be open about this.

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And then about an hour goes by, I'm just

like, all right, God, there's no way.

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Once again, like this is why I

think this is my straw right here.

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But then I see campus sister walk in and

she brought her family with with her.

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So then I was like, wow, God.

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Then I see a campus brother come

in, brought his family as well.

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Then I see another campus

brother bring his family as well.

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Next thing you know, there's about

40 of us in this waiting room

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and we're just praying right now.

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And it's three 30 on a Wednesday night.

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And these people, the parents, they

had job, they had work in the morning

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and yet they were there for me.

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Amen.

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And I just thought, wow,

God, this right here.

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This is the body like

your, your words man.

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When one part of the body suffers,

the whole body suffers as well.

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And I just remember, God, this is

the moment right here where I know

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that, you know, whatever I go through,

any of my friends go through, I

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want to be there for them, just like

how they were there for me as well.

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You know, that right there is

a spiritual marker that I have

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carried with me to this day.

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And I would say even that moment

helped me stay faithful and

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fight the fight even longer.

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And when I think about spiritual

markers as I shared mine, I know

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you guys have some as well, right?

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You guys have some spiritual markers.

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Some of you all have been

disciples for over 20 years.

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Some of you guys just

became disciples by the way.

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There were spiritual markers where

you had, where you felt God compelled

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you either to study the Bible, to get

baptized or even uh, an event where it's

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something where God's faithfulness shows.

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And if you don't mind me, I just wanna

hear from a few of you guys, what are some

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spiritual markers that you all can think

of right now off the top of your head?

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Where you just figured, wow, God,

you were faithful to me during this

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time, and you just remember it.

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As we see, no matter how these spiritual

markers come about, right, there's

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something you remember, like for my stuff,

I think about how like I, spiritual Mark

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for me, when I was at teen camp, I was

serving, Savannah was serving as well.

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We didn't know each other.

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I knew the halls, so

I knew their children.

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Savannah was watching them

and I just go up to the kids,

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I say, oh, what's up Soniya?

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What's up?

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Desiree and Savannah's looking at

me all crazy like, who is this guy?

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And years later, she's my wife.

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So I think about that and one of

the marker I think about is like,

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alright, no matter if I reach out

to someone, even regardless who they

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are, you don't know what happened.

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God, I don't know what happens.

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Right?

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I would never know what happened

if I never reached out to Nia

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and Desiree during that time.

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And Savannah looked at me crazy and,

and then we see each other years

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later and we're like, oh my gosh.

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Like you're the word de okay there.

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It's right.

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Yeah.

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You have to say all that.

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But we see when we think about your

spiritual markers though, right?

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Even if you're thinking about it

right now, like those are some

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of the, the memories, the stories

that kind of keep you going, right?

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You kind of think about that

often, maybe when you're in

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a rut or wherever you're at.

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You know, with that, that spiritual

market you think of, you know.

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What if I took, you know, your kids

can have those markers as well, right?

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Even if they're not a disciple, even

they have no interest in being discipled.

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They can still have those markers as well.

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You know, we have, you know,

as a church, we try to provide

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markers in different ways.

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Your children can experience it

through Sundays when we have youth

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class for them through Wednesday,

and we have Midweeks Friday events

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for divas, no matter if it's boring.

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'cause the event's really what, it's

not all about what's really, it's

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about the relationship right there.

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Mm-hmm.

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Right.

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And even one of these ways we can have

spiritual markers for your children

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is through preteen and teen camp.

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You know, in Joshua chapter four, verse

47, reading the New Living International,

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uh, new Living Translation, sorry.

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Uh, but before this, the

Israelites, what's going on here?

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The Israelites, they've been

wandering the deserts for 40 years

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because of their disobedience.

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And now they're under Joshua's

leadership and they're about to

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experience the Promised Land and God

stops the water of the Jordan River

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allowing the Israelites to cross

just like he did with the Red Sea.

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And in it, it reads here, it says,

so Joshua called together the 12 men.

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He had chosen one from each

of the tribes of Israel.

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He told them, go in the middle

of the Jordan, in front of

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the Ark of the Lord, your God.

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Each of you must pick up one stone

and carry it out on your shoulder.

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12 stones and all one for each

of the 12 tribes of Israel.

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We will use these stones to

build a memorial in the future.

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Your children will ask you,

what do these stones mean?

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Then you can tell them.

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They remind us that the Jordan

River stops flowing when the Ark

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of the Lord's covenant went across.

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These stones will stand as memorial

among the people of Israel forever.

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These stones, right?

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These simple stones were a physical

memorial to remind future generations

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of God's faithfulness to the

Israelites and what he has done.

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And I love what it says here in verse six.

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It says, um.

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Uh, in the future, your children will

ask you, what do these stones mean?

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Right?

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I love that.

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'cause it shows that God doesn't

want the story of his faithfulness

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to stop just with you guys.

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He wants it to continue on to their, to

your children and hopefully your children

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can share with their children as well.

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You know, just like the stones served

as memorials for the Israelites to

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remember God's faithfulness camp can be

a spiritual marker in your child's life.

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A moment when they look back as a time

they experience God in a real way.

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You know, as I shared, you know, we

try to have these markers for, for

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your children, obviously with Sundays,

Wednesdays, and Fridays and all these,

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I think they were great and all, but I

think really the, um, the big one really

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for us as speaking from experience

from uh, being children and the kids'

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ministry and all that, and being part

of camp was teen camp and preteen camp.

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You know, those were the

moments where I look back on

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for sure and be like, wow, God.

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You, you are working right there.

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Those are the stones in my life.

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When we have kids, I'll share

with them, man, God has done

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so much for me at Preteen Camp.

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At Teen Camp Heck, even in

Kids' Kingdom and all of that.

384

:

Right.

385

:

And I think I'll have Savannah

share, don't you go ahead and share.

386

:

Yeah.

387

:

Savannah: So, um, you know, being

at youth camp, I'm, start there

388

:

'cause I went there as well.

389

:

I think I had a really interesting

experience because my dad was a

390

:

counselor there, so I felt like I could

never really get away from like home.

391

:

Um, but uh, my dad was always, uh,

he was kept his distance from me

392

:

too to help me experience what camp

was and making sure that I wasn't

393

:

babying him or he wasn't babying me.

394

:

And, you know, I had,

uh, time with my friends.

395

:

Um, he usually just gave me like a dollar

or two to go to like the snack shop.

396

:

So, um, but for youth camp, I

think when I think back on it,

397

:

the biggest thing I remember.

398

:

Learning from that is how to worship.

399

:

That was like my first encounter

with, um, having this full live

400

:

band just like totally rock

out and singing praises to God.

401

:

Like I was just so in awe of

that and seeing how no one in the

402

:

audience really cared what you looked

like or how badly you're singing.

403

:

Um, and I just remember just having fun

and realizing like, oh, this is what

404

:

probably that scripture means when it

says like, to have a childlike spirit.

405

:

You know, or, or something where

it says like, you know, having fun

406

:

or like God has a sense of humor,

you know, just little things.

407

:

I started making those

connections just from worship.

408

:

Um, and obviously I can't have that

worship band 24 7 every day of the

409

:

week, but when I decide to become a

disciple and when times got harder

410

:

for me spiritually, honestly, and

even to this day, I really do.

411

:

Close my eyes and I think back to

when I was like 11 years old and how

412

:

that worship made me feel and how

much like, like just kind of that

413

:

emotional rawness of like, this is God.

414

:

Like I, I'm so honored to

have experienced something.

415

:

So one of a kind for many, many

years for a week straight, you know?

416

:

Um, and so I think that's probably

the biggest takeaway for me when I

417

:

think about my time at youth camp in

specific, um, obviously for teen camp

418

:

it was a little bit more, uh, different

because, you know, you're kind of

419

:

growing up, you're in high school, you

have a little bit more responsibility.

420

:

Um, don't be sure about that too.

421

:

Yeah.

422

:

Um, and so at team camp, I think

one thing that really hit me was

423

:

realizing how prideful I was.

424

:

Not because the lessons necessarily

talked about pride or, well, they

425

:

did talk about sin, but it really.

426

:

Hit me like a ton of bricks because I had

grown up thinking I'm way more mature.

427

:

I have it together.

428

:

I take care of my younger siblings.

429

:

Um, you know, I basically run the house

at home, which is an exaggeration.

430

:

Um, and so I just have a responsibility.

431

:

I feel like none of my peers really

relate to me because, you know, they're

432

:

all like spoon fed and they get whatever

they want, and I didn't really have that.

433

:

Um, and so learning about who God was

during teen camp made me realize that

434

:

I'm nowhere close to being the woman

that God wants me to be or the type of

435

:

life that he has planned out for me.

436

:

Um, and that was really hard to

swallow, especially when you have like.

437

:

A team leader or um, a counselor there

to kind of like, oh yeah, um, yeah,

438

:

you tend to do this and that too.

439

:

And it's like, oh God,

like don't put me there.

440

:

Don't put me in the spotlight.

441

:

Um, but it was helpful because then

they had something to work with me

442

:

with when I came back home from camp.

443

:

Um, and I think also another

thing, major thing I learned

444

:

from teen camp was the D groups.

445

:

I actually learned how to have a

meaningful conversation with my friends.

446

:

Um, not just my church

friends, but my school friends.

447

:

Right.

448

:

Um, because you go to high schools

and middle schools and you realize how

449

:

superficial these conversations are.

450

:

Like, let's be honest, they talk about

boys how crappy their teachers are and the

451

:

grade they thought they deserved, like, or

how they don't wanna run the mile at pe.

452

:

Right?

453

:

Yeah.

454

:

And so, but going to camp and kind of

seeing how my counselor was able to.

455

:

Read the room, come up with

questions and engage with one of us.

456

:

Like to our, each of our levels

really helped me to see, okay, like

457

:

I can have friendships that aren't

just about these superficial things.

458

:

I can ask my friends like,

how are you really doing?

459

:

Like, hey, like, you know, even at

church, I knew some of my friends were

460

:

having a hard time with their parents.

461

:

Like, Hey, how's your, how, how's

your relationship with your mom?

462

:

Like, do you just wanna come

over and have a sleepover?

463

:

Like if it gets too much, or,

um, how about we get like ice

464

:

cream after church on a Sunday?

465

:

Like, um, and so that really helped me

too, to kind of, and I didn't know at

466

:

the time, but it was a marker for me.

467

:

I, wow, this is gonna be with

me for the rest of my life.

468

:

Um, and I think that's so

simple when you think about it.

469

:

Like, okay, you know how

to have a conversation, but

470

:

really, like, that's a gift.

471

:

Mm-hmm.

472

:

Like to really be insightful and

like see that someone is saying, I'm

473

:

okay, but really they're not like.

474

:

It takes a lot of practice.

475

:

Um, and so I think for teen Camp, that was

really, really helpful, um, to practice

476

:

those things and to see that happen

daily for a whole week, um, or five days.

477

:

Um, but yeah.

478

:

Daniel: Yeah.

479

:

Thank you.

480

:

Yeah.

481

:

I mean, I pretty much

ditto what Savannah says.

482

:

I mean, I mean, a little different for

me, obviously, when it comes to this.

483

:

I mean, when I was at preteen

camp, I'm gonna be honest, I'm

484

:

gonna be vulnerable here, right?

485

:

Don't make fun of me.

486

:

Well, I don't care if you make fun of me.

487

:

But my first year I was homesick.

488

:

I was in the infirmary, so my

mind said, oh, I'm homesick.

489

:

Lemme go to the infirmary

and get that taken care of.

490

:

Basically, I was a mama's boy.

491

:

All right.

492

:

I'm gonna be honest, I'm a mama's boy.

493

:

I loved my mom.

494

:

I still do.

495

:

I I love her too.

496

:

I love her still a lot, but.

497

:

Obviously when you go to preteen

camp for the first time, your

498

:

children may experience this.

499

:

It's gotta, at least my experience,

it was almost like bootcamp.

500

:

I was like, what is this place?

501

:

Oh, wow.

502

:

Okay.

503

:

It's hot, man.

504

:

I, I gotta drag my suitcase all the way

up these hills while these girls just

505

:

drag it right here down there, you know?

506

:

So I'm like, oh, this is tough.

507

:

It's still hard.

508

:

Yeah.

509

:

Yeah.

510

:

The place where I stayed

in, man, oh my goodness.

511

:

I still vow.

512

:

I'm not gonna be a counselor.

513

:

All right.

514

:

I don't wanna be a

counselor at preaching camp.

515

:

The food, the bathrooms, I mean,

people were pooping in the showers.

516

:

Oh.

517

:

And I just remember, I was

like, mom, come get me.

518

:

I don't wanna be here, mom.

519

:

So that was my first year, but after that,

my second year, that's where I feel like I

520

:

kind of matured a bit, maybe a little bit.

521

:

I just learned how to be in awe of God.

522

:

Right.

523

:

I think the, the, the theme was

indescribable and we sang this song

524

:

called Indescribable Out of All Things.

525

:

And I just remember looking at the stars

and looking at the fire and looking at

526

:

the fields, and I was just like, wow, God.

527

:

I, I'm a city boy, so I'm not

really used to being in the woods.

528

:

So I'm just like, man,

this is awesome, God.

529

:

Like, you really, you really are awesome.

530

:

You created all of this.

531

:

Mm-hmm.

532

:

Then I got to teen camp.

533

:

I, that's where the maturity comes in.

534

:

I learned how, like Savannah

says, how to be in a D group.

535

:

I learned how to, you know, be open with

my friends not being, like, being afraid

536

:

to be judged, I guess to say the least.

537

:

I learned about his real

truth, his grace and his mercy.

538

:

Uh, you know, I learned all of this

and I still carry it on to this day.

539

:

And as we share this, you know,

we don't share this because we're

540

:

saying you're camp, you're camper,

your student or student, your child.

541

:

I'm so sorry guys.

542

:

We're not saying your child is gonna

experience the same markers as us.

543

:

They may experience very

little or maybe this, uh.

544

:

Not the same, but they may experience

different markers that we have.

545

:

By, by the way, they're still markers,

they're still spiritual markers.

546

:

There's something they're gonna think

about back when they're older, you know,

547

:

whether decipher, they're like, wow,

I remember when God showed me this.

548

:

Right.

549

:

Just like how you remember how

God showed you faith when you

550

:

were younger, even today still.

551

:

So as we talk about spiritual markers,

you know, I kind of wanna transition,

552

:

well actually I'll have Savannah

share about the relationships of

553

:

camp with spiritual markers as well.

554

:

Mm-hmm.

555

:

Um, so why don't you go

ahead and share about that.

556

:

Yeah.

557

:

Savannah: So, like I said, grew,

growing up in Lifeway, um, very tight

558

:

knit group of, uh, friends I had.

559

:

Um, I had like my best friends and I

had my friends, and then I had people

560

:

I would just see on like Devo, right?

561

:

That would come on every so often.

562

:

But one of them was.

563

:

Jessica Steffen, and this is us,

a real life photo of Preach camp.

564

:

They could tell, um, we're

coming back home with our

565

:

goodies that our parents said us.

566

:

Um, and so one thing I really do

appreciate about Jessica, um, was

567

:

how she has, I'm gonna get emotional.

568

:

She has truly been faithful,

a faithful, faithful friend.

569

:

Um, she has actually seen me grow up, um,

from being this very unfashionable little

570

:

girl, um, to graduating high school.

571

:

That's her.

572

:

And, and to being counselors, to being

right next to me on my wedding day.

573

:

Um, and you know, I think about my

relationship with Jessica and how she

574

:

was not in my cabin at Youth camp.

575

:

At Teen Camp, um, but it was just the

mere, um, shared experience of being.

576

:

Together in the same region, at the

same camps, at the same retreats,

577

:

um, that truly brought us together.

578

:

And it really wasn't until I graduated

high school, my senior year that

579

:

we really became best friends.

580

:

Like I remember a whole

summer, it was actually this

581

:

summer, I just was never home.

582

:

I was at Jessica's every single

day for no reason except for the

583

:

mere fact that I just wanted to

be around her and her family.

584

:

And, um, so, you know, even though maybe

you, your kids, you see the relationships

585

:

they have now with certain people and

their best friends, and that's great.

586

:

Um, but definitely don't

underestimate, uh, the other kids

587

:

that you guys see your kids around

as well, because you never know.

588

:

You might have a Jessica Stephan

for your kid and, and, uh,

589

:

you want to, uh, water that.

590

:

You want to definitely, um, have your kid.

591

:

Had their own Jessica Stephan.

592

:

Um, yes.

593

:

Daniel: Yeah, no, that's awesome.

594

:

And then even like for myself,

like I think about Matt Sanchez,

595

:

he's downstairs as well, and we

grew up in the same church, but we

596

:

didn't see each other every Sunday.

597

:

But going to camp, you know, being in his

cabin each and every year, man, those are

598

:

memories we still talk about to this day.

599

:

Like we remember at Teen Camp

where our counselor threw us at

600

:

all of us in the bathroom and told

us, you guys are being too loud.

601

:

Come on out when you're quiet.

602

:

And we still remember that.

603

:

We're just like, bro, you

remember when he did that?

604

:

Oh, why did he do that?

605

:

Man this.

606

:

So those like markers right there,

once again, and this is a spiritual

607

:

investment you make in your children

when you send them to preteen camp.

608

:

Tote camp, right?

609

:

But just like any

investment we make, right?

610

:

Whether it's financially or spiritually.

611

:

We're very quick to wanna return.

612

:

Right.

613

:

You know, I'm not really personally

involved with the stock world and the

614

:

investment world, but my old roommate,

max, he, he did that for his job.

615

:

So I remember him waking up early

5:00 AM checking the stocks, you know,

616

:

moving money, doing all this stuff.

617

:

And I remember for some reason at

the end of the week, he would always

618

:

just be frustrated, like, oh my gosh,

like why is this stock going down?

619

:

I put so much into this stock and

nothing is getting a return to me.

620

:

I should have never invested into,

was it Dogecoin or uh, Bitcoin?

621

:

Something like that.

622

:

Right.

623

:

I think, yeah.

624

:

Right.

625

:

That's too right there.

626

:

Right.

627

:

So, but I think sometimes maybe as

parents, I know for myself as a team

628

:

leader, it can feel the same way.

629

:

Maybe when you send your child to

camp, you know, we make a spiritual

630

:

and a financial investment and

when we don't get the immediate

631

:

change, it can be frustrating.

632

:

You know, sometimes we think that

the returns when they come home

633

:

is that they become a disciple

immediately right after camp.

634

:

Right.

635

:

We might hope our child comes

home just being on fire for

636

:

God and wanna stay the Bible.

637

:

And, and when that doesn't happen, you

just, oh, I just invested into you.

638

:

Why aren't you?

639

:

Or maybe it's jumping

straight into a Bible study.

640

:

Hey, you've been to camp

for this many years.

641

:

Maybe it's your time to go

into a Bible study right now.

642

:

And when kids don't do it, you

become bitter, maybe towards God,

643

:

toward, towards leaders, towards

maybe your own children at time.

644

:

Or maybe you, your child comes back

from camp and you expect them to be

645

:

a completely different person, right?

646

:

Oh, man, you, you, you had

no technology for a week.

647

:

You've been in this bubble.

648

:

Oh, you better come home ready

to clean and do all this stuff.

649

:

And, you know, no, they're, they're just

like, man, I just wanna play video games.

650

:

All right.

651

:

I just wanna nap.

652

:

I wanna do all this.

653

:

Right.

654

:

But transformation, it takes time.

655

:

Yeah.

656

:

And growth is gradual, you know?

657

:

I think that's where we have to shift our

perspective and maybe even our wording.

658

:

From expectations to hope.

659

:

You know, as parents, it's natural to

have hopes and desires for your child's

660

:

camp experience, and you might hope

they'll build stronger friendships and

661

:

they deepen their faith or even take

steps toward a relationship with God.

662

:

You might desire for them to open up

spiritually where they haven't before.

663

:

But hopes and desires are different

from expectation because, oh, no,

664

:

let's talk about spiritual markers.

665

:

I'm sorry about that.

666

:

Unhealthy expectations, I'm sorry,

I'm really terrible with slides, but

667

:

expectations demand a specific outcome.

668

:

You might say, I spent, so I sent my child

to camp, they should come back home on

669

:

fire for God, ready to change everything.

670

:

But when those expectations are met, can

lead to disappointment and frustration.

671

:

On the other hand, we have hope and

desire and that leaves room for God

672

:

to work in his own way and timing.

673

:

So you may say, I hope my child grows in

some way at camp, but I trust that God is

674

:

moving even if I can't see it right away.

675

:

Okay.

676

:

You know, this shift

right here is so crucial.

677

:

You know, if we focus on the expectations

and they're not being met, we miss out on

678

:

the very small minute little victories.

679

:

Right.

680

:

The winds the quiet, gradual growth

that happens beneath the surface.

681

:

The surface.

682

:

You know, I think about my football team.

683

:

I'm an LA Chargers fan.

684

:

All right.

685

:

Any Chargers fan?

686

:

No.

687

:

Okay.

688

:

All right.

689

:

All right.

690

:

All right.

691

:

Here we go.

692

:

But I'm a Chargers fan.

693

:

All right.

694

:

And us Chargers, we are known to, to

blow games even when we're ahead by

695

:

like 20 points we're known to lose.

696

:

We're known to either miss field goal

kicks last minute when we get in field

697

:

goal position, but this past year we

actually started winning those games.

698

:

We usually lose.

699

:

We actually made it to the playoffs.

700

:

Wow.

701

:

I didn't expect, you know, going

to the playoffs, nonetheless,

702

:

going to the Super Bowl.

703

:

I didn't expect any of that,

but yet we made it to the

704

:

playoffs and yes, we got creamed.

705

:

But guess what?

706

:

I'm really looking forward to see

how my chargers are gonna build

707

:

off of the season they just had.

708

:

Okay.

709

:

The same is true for your kids.

710

:

Maybe there's small wins at camp and that

is praying for the first time in a group.

711

:

Think about, that's very scary

for us growing up in kid skiing.

712

:

When someone says, pray for

the food, we're all like, oh,

713

:

that can be a scary thing.

714

:

Maybe it's them open up to a counselor,

one of their roommates, for the

715

:

very first time about something.

716

:

Or maybe it's just feeling

like, man, I just wanna be here.

717

:

I feel belonging here at church.

718

:

I belong here to this church.

719

:

You know, these victories, they

may seem small at first, but they

720

:

lay a foundation for future growth.

721

:

Yep.

722

:

That's good.

723

:

Instead of expecting an

outcome, ask yourself this.

724

:

What do I hope my child gains from camp?

725

:

What small step forward can I

celebrate the small step forward?

726

:

You know, when we place expectations

with trust, we allow God to work in

727

:

ways never expected, and that's when

real longing and lasting change happens.

728

:

That's why instead of focusing on

expectations, we focus on hope.

729

:

Hope that our children will take

one step forward no matter how

730

:

small, because they're still moving.

731

:

Mm-hmm.

732

:

You know, instead of expecting a

dramatic overnight transformation, focus

733

:

on just one way your child can grow.

734

:

It might be simple like learning to

pray, developing a deeper friendship

735

:

in the church, gaining confidence

in sharing during a Sunday class,

736

:

or a devotion stepping outside of

their comfort zone during worship.

737

:

You know, these small victories they

add up over time and it's just like

738

:

learning to walk before you run.

739

:

And that's something Savannah

and I, we, we kind of, this is

740

:

kind of our philosophy is walk.

741

:

Crawl, run, crawl, walk,

run, crawl, walk, run.

742

:

Sorry about that.

743

:

Walk.

744

:

Crawl.

745

:

Yeah.

746

:

Sorry.

747

:

Sorry.

748

:

Backwards, crawl, walk, run.

749

:

I was looking at my notes here.

750

:

I was like, oh, that didn't look right.

751

:

That look right.

752

:

What about the niner season?

753

:

All right.

754

:

They didn't made the playoffs or USC.

755

:

Sorry about that.

756

:

But as parents think about it, we

sometimes want our kids to be sprinting

757

:

before they even learned how to crawl.

758

:

Some kids may come home eager,

wanting to study the Bible.

759

:

Amen.

760

:

While others may want to be coming

home, just wanting to have spiritual

761

:

conversation, a victory in and of its own.

762

:

Mm-hmm.

763

:

Some might take notes during

lessons for the very first time.

764

:

Yeah.

765

:

While others gain the

courage to pray in a group.

766

:

Once again, as I mentioned, some

may just be comfortable being

767

:

away from home like myself, which

can lead to spiritual growth.

768

:

Instead of feeling discouraged if

your child isn't running spiritually,

769

:

right away, celebrate the steps.

770

:

They're taking, you know, I share for

myself, obviously at preteen camp.

771

:

My first year I was homesick.

772

:

I cried every night, right?

773

:

And I called my mom this

week and I was like, mom, you

774

:

remember how I was homesick?

775

:

She started laughing, and then

my sister started laughing.

776

:

But then we finally, after they were

done laughing, I asked Mom, what was your

777

:

goal or your hope for me my second year?

778

:

And she said, Daniel, I just

wanted you not to be homesick.

779

:

I just wanted you to be independent.

780

:

That was simple.

781

:

I was like, that's all like, you

didn't want me to learn how to pray

782

:

or to remember a certain scripture.

783

:

She was like, no, I just

wanted you to be independent.

784

:

I just wanted you to feel comfortable.

785

:

And I was like, wow, okay.

786

:

And then I asked her, okay,

what did you want my third year?

787

:

And she was like, well, that I just

wanted you to focus on the lesson.

788

:

And because of all that, I mean,

because I wasn't homesick, I

789

:

was able to focus on lessons and

worship and being in awe of God.

790

:

And I just thought about how, man,

if my mom just listened to me by

791

:

saying, mom, I don't want to go back.

792

:

I was homesick.

793

:

If she were to be like, all right, Daniel,

if you're not going to camp, I would've

794

:

probably never experienced any of that.

795

:

Mm-hmm.

796

:

Once again, a spiritual

marker right there.

797

:

Just like, wow.

798

:

Just those small steps,

those small milestones.

799

:

Every child is on their own journey.

800

:

Some will come back from

camp with a stronger faith.

801

:

Some will come back with deeper

friendship, and some may come back

802

:

being more confident in themselves.

803

:

Amen.

804

:

All of these, they're dubs.

805

:

They're a win for you guys.

806

:

So ask yourself, what do I

hope my child gained from camp?

807

:

Maybe that's, they would experience one

moment where they feel God's presence,

808

:

that they would have fun and wanna

return next year, that they would open

809

:

up to their counselor, you know, their

cabin about something real, that they

810

:

would learn how to be away from home.

811

:

All right.

812

:

Notice how I'm interjecting myself.

813

:

Maybe your kids have experienced

it, I'm not sure, but I just

814

:

wanted to be clear about that.

815

:

But if we have hopes and desires

rather than expectations, we'll

816

:

be able to truly celebrate.

817

:

God shaping our children

one step at a time.

818

:

Yeah.

819

:

By focusing on the small personal

victories, you know, these small personal

820

:

victories can sustain for, uh, it

can be a long, um, sustainable growth

821

:

or it can be a short lived moment.

822

:

Which one do you guys wanna

have for your children?

823

:

Because once they come

back home from camp, right.

824

:

Like I said, being at camp, it's amazing.

825

:

It's kind of like being in a bubble,

but once you come down from that

826

:

mountain or from a PU, that bubble

begins to, to pop pretty much, and

827

:

they're back into the normal reality.

828

:

To the normal, the normalcy of life.

829

:

Mm-hmm.

830

:

You know, in one Corinthians chapter

three, verse seven through nine, it

831

:

says, so neither the one who plants

nor the one who waters is anything,

832

:

but only God who makes things grow.

833

:

The one who plants and the one who

waters have one purpose, and they

834

:

will be e They will each be rewarded

according to their own labor.

835

:

For we are coworkers in God's service.

836

:

You are god's, uh, field.

837

:

God's building, and I love this because

we are coworkers in God's service.

838

:

We want what's best for your

children, the leaders, us parents.

839

:

We need to plant and water and

God will make the plants grow.

840

:

You know, like I said, Sundays,

Fridays camps, they're, they're best

841

:

way to plant God in their lives.

842

:

But we don't just stop at planting, right?

843

:

If we want to plant to grow, we don't

just plant the seed and walk away and

844

:

just hope for rain like every day,

which we don't get here in California,

845

:

but we need to water the plant as well.

846

:

Mm-hmm.

847

:

You know, watering could mean praying

together for the first time, right?

848

:

As a family.

849

:

Maybe it's having conversations at home.

850

:

Maybe it's encouraging to

stay in their youth group.

851

:

But here are some tips I

think for, for post camp.

852

:

And ways to continue that

water for your children.

853

:

This are some ways that kind of helps

Savannah and I, uh, as we thought about

854

:

it and we kind of asked our parents,

I dunno if I have a slide for it.

855

:

Oh, I do.

856

:

All right.

857

:

Here it is.

858

:

First one, post camp.

859

:

No matter if it's pre-teen camp or teen

camp, meet where your child is at, right?

860

:

Spiritually that is obviously

you wanna pick them up.

861

:

So you wanna meet them to pick 'em up.

862

:

But spiritually as well, you, no matter

if you had a great time or a bad time, you

863

:

know, I think about how my first year at

camp, I had a terrible experience, right?

864

:

And my mom listened to me.

865

:

I was like, mom, I hated this.

866

:

I hated all this.

867

:

I don't, but then my mom asked

the question, she was like, well,

868

:

what's one thing you liked about?

869

:

And I was like, I like the

water warrior preteen camp.

870

:

Okay, well aren't you?

871

:

That'll be fun to look

forward to next year.

872

:

Okay.

873

:

Yeah, you're right.

874

:

Yeah.

875

:

That is something to look

forward to next year.

876

:

Right.

877

:

So she didn't, you know, she didn't

say anything about, but Daniel, why

878

:

didn't you learn about the lesson?

879

:

Or Daniel, how come you don't

remember this scripture?

880

:

Or Daniel, why not?

881

:

She met me where I was at.

882

:

I dunno if you wanted to

add anything to that there.

883

:

Savannah: Yeah, I think, um, one

thing I really appreciated, um,

884

:

that kind of kept me accountable

was my dad being a counselor.

885

:

And so if I was not as, uh,

talkative, he'd be like, oh yeah,

886

:

well, do you remember that lesson?

887

:

Remember what they said?

888

:

Oh, yeah.

889

:

Oh yeah.

890

:

And then we'd talk about it and he'd kind

of just ask me questions about like, oh,

891

:

how do you think that would affect your

friendship with, you know, so and so?

892

:

Well, I guess I could be nicer,

like, yeah, that's good, that's good.

893

:

Or, you know, how about, um.

894

:

At home, like, you know, your

responsibilities and what

895

:

you have to do for chores?

896

:

Well, you know, I, I probably

shouldn't have a grumpy heart about it.

897

:

Like, so it was very, uh, my parents

definitely, especially my dad, uh,

898

:

just approached me with a lot of

curiosity, um, and asked me a lot of

899

:

questions about what I did learn or,

um, what I didn't like and what I

900

:

looked forward to for the next year.

901

:

So.

902

:

Daniel: Amen.

903

:

Awesome.

904

:

So the first you wanna meet where your

child is at spiritually for Postgame.

905

:

Second, try to surround your child with

the body, meaning like, with some of

906

:

their friends throughout the summer.

907

:

I mean, summertime is the best way.

908

:

Uh, I mean, everyone's free, all

their friends are free to hang out.

909

:

Uh, I know for myself, I was thinking

about some of my friends, I wish I had

910

:

pictures, but I thinking about Jared

McNeil and, uh, Jason Wade, I remember,

911

:

I mean, we grew up in church together,

but every year after camp, for some

912

:

reason we were like Savannah with Jess.

913

:

We were just over each other's houses.

914

:

Right, no matter how much the distance

we're, I mean, our parents, some of

915

:

them work, so sometimes we're able

to get a ride from our parents.

916

:

Other times we'll just bust it to their

house or, Hey, we will meet at the mall.

917

:

Let's do this.

918

:

I remember one time I was telling

Savannah we got in trouble because

919

:

me, uh, me and my friends, we busted

all the way to Santa Monica from LA

920

:

and we couldn't find a ride back.

921

:

So we had to ask my mom to pick us up.

922

:

But like, stuff like that where

I know my mom was mad, but in the

923

:

end she was probably like, you

know what, this is great Because

924

:

look, they're building memories.

925

:

The memories that, you know, the, the

markers that you guys remember, like these

926

:

are some of the markers they can as well.

927

:

And even thinking about, uh, they're

gonna make friends at camp, right?

928

:

And they're gonna wanna, you

know, hang out with them.

929

:

And I think about, I don't

guys remember the Hawks family.

930

:

Uh, I, I was close friends with her

daughter Amber Hawks, and I remember

931

:

meeting her at camp, and me and

my friends, we were cool with her.

932

:

And this is when she lives

in like San Bernardino.

933

:

So now it's about an hour and a half

from where we live in LA And she had

934

:

a birthday party and I asked my mom,

mom, can me and Jared and some of

935

:

my buddies, can we go to her party?

936

:

Like, and can you give us a ride?

937

:

And normally, you know, it can be very

hard because they, you're like, man,

938

:

it's a Saturday, I just wanna relax.

939

:

It's far.

940

:

You want to say no, but my mom said yes.

941

:

Like, I'll take you.

942

:

And then she got, uh, my dad as well.

943

:

They had a little date on San Bernardino.

944

:

We had fun at the birthday party.

945

:

So stuff like that where it's like,

wow, you wanna make sure that if

946

:

they really have friends outside,

you wanna try to get them uh, with

947

:

their friends as much as you can.

948

:

'cause those right there, they

can really help each other.

949

:

They can really spur

one another on as well.

950

:

The next one is you wanna keep spiritual

rhythms after camp and even on vacations.

951

:

I know summertime, oc I know the culture.

952

:

Summertime, I probably won't see

half you back until September.

953

:

Right?

954

:

But you guys wanna try to keep

spiritual rhythms, you know,

955

:

think about it, your child.

956

:

They've been waking up

at 7:00 AM for five days.

957

:

They were having quiet times.

958

:

They were praying together.

959

:

You know, try to keep that.

960

:

Now obviously, I know it's gonna be

hard to try to wake your child up

961

:

at 7:00 AM you know, in the summer.

962

:

In the summer.

963

:

But when they do wake up or when you

do come home, try asking, Hey, like,

964

:

do you wanna read a scripture together?

965

:

Do you wanna pray?

966

:

Do you wanna worship together?

967

:

I remember my mom did that with me and it

was awkward, but I still remember that.

968

:

But I was like, this is awesome.

969

:

This is so cool.

970

:

And especially when you go on

vacation, because usually on

971

:

vacations, I get it, you want to

decompress, you wanna make memories.

972

:

As a family, I get it.

973

:

And there's nothing wrong with that.

974

:

But I think if you go right after camp,

right after they have these rhythms

975

:

and they're probably, you know, maybe

on that, that have that little spark,

976

:

I wouldn't say on fire, but they,

there might be that little spark.

977

:

We don't wanna be the

ones to get in the way.

978

:

Right?

979

:

We don't want to try to diffuse it.

980

:

I'm not saying vacation is bad,

but if you do go on vacation,

981

:

I really wanna plead to you.

982

:

Try to keep some of the spiritual

rhythms that they have there.

983

:

And then lastly, try to, you know,

get time with the counselor, you

984

:

yourselves, but also your kid.

985

:

Get time with their

counselors right after camp.

986

:

I mean, think about it, at

camp, the counselor saw the

987

:

very worst in your child, right?

988

:

And yet they still loved them.

989

:

They didn't run away.

990

:

They didn't call saying, all

right, someone else got a fill in

991

:

because this kid is outta whack.

992

:

No, they were there.

993

:

Mm-hmm.

994

:

And sometimes your child may even

look up towards their counselor.

995

:

They might not say it.

996

:

I know for me, I didn't say it.

997

:

I thought some of my counselors, I

mean they all were kind of quirky, but

998

:

some of them were also really cool.

999

:

And I just remember my parents

made a great effort in having

:

00:43:48,983 --> 00:43:50,213

them over for dinner after camp.

:

00:43:50,213 --> 00:43:51,323

I was saying thank you.

:

00:43:51,593 --> 00:43:54,593

But then also they would check in

on them regularly every Sunday,

:

00:43:54,593 --> 00:43:56,033

Hey, how, how are you doing in this?

:

00:43:56,033 --> 00:43:56,034

Mm-hmm.

:

00:43:56,308 --> 00:43:58,163

Oh, like, Hey, why don't

you come over for dinner?

:

00:43:58,163 --> 00:43:58,373

Like.

:

00:43:59,153 --> 00:44:02,753

Stuff like that, where it really goes

a long way because they'll, they've,

:

00:44:03,233 --> 00:44:04,673

they've seen the worst in your child.

:

00:44:05,183 --> 00:44:07,913

They probably share things that they're

probably scared to be open with you

:

00:44:07,913 --> 00:44:10,343

and, you know, that's okay, but as

long as they're getting open with

:

00:44:10,343 --> 00:44:13,313

you, you wanna try to keep them in

your child's life as much as you can.

:

00:44:13,733 --> 00:44:13,823

Mm-hmm.

:

00:44:14,183 --> 00:44:14,393

Savannah: Yeah.

:

00:44:14,393 --> 00:44:18,743

I think something that was really

important to me was, uh, having these

:

00:44:18,743 --> 00:44:25,043

times with my counselors after camp

and, uh, they, I had expressed to

:

00:44:25,043 --> 00:44:28,223

them that I didn't have an interest

in studying the Bible after camps

:

00:44:28,223 --> 00:44:30,383

and, you know, anything like that.

:

00:44:30,413 --> 00:44:35,423

Um, but I was interested in just talking

about what, what Christianity was like.

:

00:44:35,543 --> 00:44:36,413

What do you mean?

:

00:44:36,413 --> 00:44:40,493

Like evolution and, you know, all these

like, random questions I would have.

:

00:44:40,493 --> 00:44:43,493

And that was just our time,

like, just to be curious.

:

00:44:43,583 --> 00:44:47,603

And, um, yeah, like Daniel said, you

know, like there is a time at every camp

:

00:44:47,603 --> 00:44:52,583

where a kid really kind of sees like their

sinful nature and gets open about that,

:

00:44:52,583 --> 00:44:56,633

you know, and shares at some point, uh,

the struggles that they've had, uh, at.

:

00:44:56,933 --> 00:44:57,833

Whatever age they are.

:

00:44:58,103 --> 00:45:01,823

Um, and, uh, my parents definitely,

like Daniel said, would have

:

00:45:01,823 --> 00:45:05,693

them over for dinner or, um,

my dad always would thank them.

:

00:45:05,723 --> 00:45:10,163

Uh, we'd give them gift cards, you

know, um, and to really just keep

:

00:45:10,163 --> 00:45:16,013

fostering that relationship because

actually one of my, uh, counselors

:

00:45:16,043 --> 00:45:21,023

actually was, is Daniel's best friend's,

older sister, and wow, what the heck?

:

00:45:21,023 --> 00:45:25,283

Like, I would've never imagined that Jared

McNeil's sister would be my counselor.

:

00:45:25,553 --> 00:45:28,703

And, um, you know, she was

someone who was in campus at

:

00:45:28,703 --> 00:45:30,023

the time, one of my teen camps.

:

00:45:30,023 --> 00:45:33,203

And, um, I just had

this nice relationship.

:

00:45:33,203 --> 00:45:36,623

I would often talk to her and catch

up with her from time to time.

:

00:45:36,653 --> 00:45:40,733

And then it came time for me to go to

like campus retreats and I would see her.

:

00:45:40,733 --> 00:45:45,803

And that was a great bridge for me to

feel more comfortable going into campus

:

00:45:45,803 --> 00:45:49,913

and being like, okay, I'm still not a

disciple, but I see her and I see like,

:

00:45:50,213 --> 00:45:53,513

uh, the friendships that she has and

I can go talk to her and her friends.

:

00:45:53,513 --> 00:45:56,423

And so I met her friends and now her

friends are starting to, you know.

:

00:45:56,858 --> 00:45:58,058

No, me and my family.

:

00:45:58,058 --> 00:45:59,378

And so it just kept going.

:

00:45:59,648 --> 00:46:05,138

Um, and obviously years later I knew

that, didn't know Daniel was his little

:

00:46:05,138 --> 00:46:08,048

brother was the best friend, which

ended up being cool because then we

:

00:46:08,048 --> 00:46:10,118

went to her wedding and I was like, wow.

:

00:46:10,628 --> 00:46:11,468

Full circle moment.

:

00:46:11,468 --> 00:46:14,468

Like it was just, and so it's just,

you just never know, like these

:

00:46:14,468 --> 00:46:18,398

little moments you wanna really, uh,

just keep fostering them post camp.

:

00:46:18,488 --> 00:46:18,758

Yeah.

:

00:46:19,208 --> 00:46:19,598

Daniel: Amen.

:

00:46:19,598 --> 00:46:21,158

Well, I know we're going a

little bit long, I'm sorry.

:

00:46:21,158 --> 00:46:21,668

Stay with me.

:

00:46:21,668 --> 00:46:22,568

We're closing out here.

:

00:46:22,568 --> 00:46:25,778

But just some practicals to think about

before sending your child to camp.

:

00:46:25,778 --> 00:46:29,678

Just something we've noticed even as

campers, but now even seeing with some

:

00:46:29,678 --> 00:46:35,498

of the kids, uh, try not to have their

summer school overlap with camp, right?

:

00:46:35,498 --> 00:46:36,578

I mean, this is so big.

:

00:46:36,578 --> 00:46:40,688

I know maybe some of them are looking

forward to, you know, trying to get ahead

:

00:46:40,688 --> 00:46:45,398

in school, or maybe some unfortunately

failed, but try not to have summer school

:

00:46:45,428 --> 00:46:47,408

overlap with their experience at camp.

:

00:46:47,408 --> 00:46:51,848

And we share this because we see how

it takes away the child from camp.

:

00:46:52,088 --> 00:46:55,958

You know, I, we see how some of

their friends are like, where's.

:

00:46:56,453 --> 00:46:57,113

Where's Johnny?

:

00:46:57,143 --> 00:46:59,573

Oh, he's in the library doing homework.

:

00:46:59,573 --> 00:47:00,023

Summer school.

:

00:47:00,023 --> 00:47:02,183

Well, when are we gonna see him at night?

:

00:47:02,183 --> 00:47:03,113

Like before we go to bed?

:

00:47:03,263 --> 00:47:03,833

Stuff like that.

:

00:47:03,833 --> 00:47:07,313

And if, if they have to, I just say,

if they really have to do summer

:

00:47:07,313 --> 00:47:11,783

school, I, I maybe this is probably

not, you know, the place to do it.

:

00:47:11,963 --> 00:47:14,423

'cause this is really a time to

really want them to experience God.

:

00:47:14,423 --> 00:47:16,643

So if they have school, any

type of school, try not to have

:

00:47:16,643 --> 00:47:18,893

it overlap with it as well.

:

00:47:18,983 --> 00:47:24,773

Um, uh, another thing is, I mean, even

before camp, get your hearts ready.

:

00:47:25,433 --> 00:47:28,103

Don't be mad if the investment's

not paid off immediately.

:

00:47:28,463 --> 00:47:28,913

Right.

:

00:47:28,973 --> 00:47:32,243

You know, Savannah and I, we just opened

a Roth I array and now you're just like,

:

00:47:32,393 --> 00:47:37,613

man, this has a lot of similarities

to pre-teens, to junior high to teens.

:

00:47:37,613 --> 00:47:40,493

'cause with Roth IRA's, you

wanna start early, right?

:

00:47:41,033 --> 00:47:41,963

It's great to start early.

:

00:47:41,963 --> 00:47:43,853

You wanna keep investing in that.

:

00:47:44,213 --> 00:47:46,403

Because over time when you keep

doing it and you don't mess

:

00:47:46,403 --> 00:47:47,153

with it, you don't touch it.

:

00:47:47,153 --> 00:47:51,083

You don't try to like take out money of

it, man, that money grows exponentially.

:

00:47:51,083 --> 00:47:54,053

And then you look at it, there's

gonna be fruit barred from it.

:

00:47:54,743 --> 00:47:58,523

And then lastly, just to build off the

momentum, don't destroy, like I said, a

:

00:47:58,523 --> 00:48:00,653

kid's whole week, they have structure.

:

00:48:00,923 --> 00:48:02,423

Try to continue that structure.

:

00:48:02,483 --> 00:48:05,903

Be prepared to continue that structure,

whether that's praying together, reading

:

00:48:05,903 --> 00:48:07,193

the scripture, just spending time.

:

00:48:07,193 --> 00:48:09,383

Just be prepared for that.

:

00:48:09,923 --> 00:48:10,913

You know, as you come in for a landing.

:

00:48:10,913 --> 00:48:14,603

I just really wanna reassure you

all that God is going to move.

:

00:48:15,263 --> 00:48:17,633

He's gonna move here in

Orange County with your child.

:

00:48:17,963 --> 00:48:19,118

He's gonna move that camp.

:

00:48:19,118 --> 00:48:20,348

He always does.

:

00:48:20,348 --> 00:48:25,238

And we can testify it and we can trust

that when we send our children to camp,

:

00:48:25,328 --> 00:48:29,378

we're giving them an environment where

God's presence can shape them and they

:

00:48:29,378 --> 00:48:34,208

will counter him in ways that will

leave a very lasting impact on him.

:

00:48:35,048 --> 00:48:35,348

Amen.

:

00:48:35,348 --> 00:48:36,818

You guys are doing a great job.

:

00:48:36,938 --> 00:48:38,618

I just really want to point

that out one more time.

:

00:48:38,618 --> 00:48:41,918

Really wanna stress to you, because

I was telling Savannah I didn't tell

:

00:48:41,918 --> 00:48:45,188

my mom enough at a young age, but now

I'm really grateful what she's done.

:

00:48:45,188 --> 00:48:48,578

And trust me, your children, they're

gonna be so grateful for you guys as well.

:

00:48:48,788 --> 00:48:50,228

It probably won't hit

them when they're 18.

:

00:48:50,228 --> 00:48:53,348

It might hit 'em when they're

25 like me or 30, but they're

:

00:48:53,348 --> 00:48:56,648

gonna remember, wow, mom death,

thank you for sending me to camp.

:

00:48:56,738 --> 00:48:56,828

Mm-hmm.

:

00:48:57,098 --> 00:49:01,808

This truly was a life changing experience,

whether they're a disciple or not.

:

00:49:01,808 --> 00:49:04,208

'cause we gotta remember when

it comes to youth and you

:

00:49:04,208 --> 00:49:05,708

guys are off to a great start.

:

00:49:05,918 --> 00:49:08,528

If this was a Roth IRA, you

guys are off to a great start.

:

00:49:08,528 --> 00:49:10,238

I promise you, because.

:

00:49:10,703 --> 00:49:12,443

With youth ministry, it's the long game.

:

00:49:12,503 --> 00:49:12,653

Mm-hmm.

:

00:49:13,133 --> 00:49:15,383

We're not playing for the short term,

we're playing for the long term.

:

00:49:15,923 --> 00:49:16,433

Amen.

:

00:49:16,613 --> 00:49:19,313

So, with that, uh, wow.

:

00:49:19,313 --> 00:49:22,223

We're so sorry we went very long.

:

00:49:22,223 --> 00:49:25,883

I hope this was helpful for

you guys during this time.

:

00:49:25,963 --> 00:49:29,773

Marcel: We wanna thank Daniel Savannah

Sumoge for sharing their experiences

:

00:49:29,773 --> 00:49:33,703

and insights with us, and also thank

you for listening to The Stronger

:

00:49:33,703 --> 00:49:35,443

Family Stronger Church podcast.

:

00:49:35,773 --> 00:49:38,833

We hope this episode will be a

blessing to you and your family.

:

00:49:39,073 --> 00:49:41,953

If you want to get connected to

us or wanna donate to the program,

:

00:49:41,953 --> 00:49:45,253

click on the link in the podcast

player or in the notes section.

:

00:49:45,463 --> 00:49:48,553

We also have a Facebook group of

the same name, stronger Family,

:

00:49:48,553 --> 00:49:50,143

stronger Church that you can join.

:

00:49:50,323 --> 00:49:53,683

A lot of great articles on there

that can help you, whatever stage you

:

00:49:53,683 --> 00:49:55,963

are in and it's shareable content.

:

00:49:56,293 --> 00:50:00,553

So join us next time for our next episode

of Stronger Family, stronger Church.

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About the Podcast

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Stronger Families, Stronger Church
Welcome to the Stronger Families, Stronger Church podcast, a resource for the North OC Church of Christ Family Ministry. Here you will find insightful episodes essential for parents of children of all ages.

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