Hey everyone!

I want to thank you so much for praying for me while I was away in the Bahamas for three weeks on a mission trip this summer. I am sorry I didnąt get back to you sooner with stories! This is just one example of what God did this summer in the Bahamas :

Three hours earlier, I had been absolutely exhausted, desperate for God and His strength, knowing that ANYTHING that happened in the upcoming week would be because of Him and not because of me. Then? "Snowball fight!" I declared, and it was on... one counselor, three campers, and some random passers-by caught in the crossfire. The third group of campers at Camp Bahamas had arrived, and I would have been lost if it were not for God, His strength, His creative ideas, and His blessing. (Who else but God could have put together a snowball fight in the Bahamas ?) After our war resolved itself, two of the Bahamians built a snowman in the freezer with the remaining frost, and the four of us ended up soaking wet after playing in the rain.

Later in the week, God gave me another idea. That night in worship, the camp director had challenged the youth to "go back to your rooms with your counselors and talk about what may be in your life that doesn't please God." I went back to the room, threw pillows everywhere, turned the lights off, leaving a couple of lamps (which God provided) on, and put on some music. "God come," I prayed before inviting the girls back into the room to spend some time with God and check out their own lives to answer the director's challenge. My prayer for the whole camp had been that God's presence would come, and my desire was that these girls would begin to seek Him with all they had, because if they would seek Him, they would find Him. (Jer 29:13) The day after that, one of my girls came up to me. "Last night was amazing!" she said. I thought she was talking about one of the games, but it turns out she was talking about the time they had with God. "God has never spoken to me like that before! I was flipping through the Bible and all these verses were standing out to me! And I think I wrote a song!" She had realized the need for change in her life, and she had met with God. She shared with me later that she was going to have to give up some of her friends to live for God. We prayed together, and as she prayed, tears rolled down her face. "I just feel so... happy!" she said. Part of Psalm 16:11 says, "In Your presence is fullness of joy." She experienced the presence and joy of God! God worked in her life! Later, we were praying in a group and she prayed that everyone would feel what she was feeling.

Thank you for praying for me! What I discovered in the Bahamas was far beyond what I expected, and far beyond what comes to mind when the " Bahamas " is named. Sure, I found beautiful ocean waters and a million stars, but I also found broken-hearted youth, abandoned by their fathers and family. Youth who attend schools that police won't even approach for fear of their lives, where violence leaves even teachers and staff unprotected. At such a young age, in some cases, the youth at this camp have seen friends die, or been stabbed themselves. One girl told me no one talked to her at her home. Another one told me she was the "Cinderella" of her family. Bahamian girls are treated, well, not as princesses, and some of them learn to be very tough to protect themselves. One of my girls had been beaten by a man she didn't know at the age of four or five, molested at the age of five or six, fought over in a drawn-out custody battle, and left to live with her grandparents after her mother became bi-polar.

I have never really left my heart anywere before. I've never really had a desire that I can remember to return to any country I've visited. But the Bahamas ? I want to go back! Not all of the Bahamas is so rough, I'm sure, but these youth need the love, healing and hope Jesus longs to offer them every day. I pray that the youth that attended camp this summer would give their everythings to the One who gave His everything for them.

This camp left an impact on me too as I spent time with fellow counselors. I came back with a determination to do what God had been telling me to do since the summer before... seek Him, love Him with all my heart. So it impacted me too! As I have begun to seek Him more, He has opened up some incredible doors to share the gospel. I work at MCC as a lab instructor, and, amazingly, I have been able to talk to two different lab classes and one person I work with about Jesus.

I love you all! Thank you for supporting me!!

Sarah Elizabeth