ITS OVER... for now.

The summer camp season ended on Saturday. But that doesn't mean that work is over. For the last few days I have been part of the after season work. I have caught up on orders, cleaning, and other AV work. Now it is time for me to depart until I start my drive up. It has been an eventful summer. I have seen many prayers answered. And with the end of summer comes the longing to become more involved in the lives of these campers. Many struggle with home life, alcohol, drugs, depression, cutting, and much more. Others have it easy. But no matter what, many of them just need someone to love on them. With the internship starting up, it is a chance to explore what can be done to connect with these campers. More to come soon...

ITS OFFICIAL

As we are finishing up our last week of summer camp at Victory, the realization of "what is next" is hitting most counselors. Most are worn out, and others are read for more. Some will go back to college, and others, jobs. For a few of us, it is getting right back into the grind of things. Near the beginning of the summer, I was given the opportunity to try a different way to start life in ministry. Instead of going into full time ministry headfirst at Victory, why not go through the internship program here. I accepted the idea, applied, and now, I will be moving up to Alaska at the end of August. It is very soon, and for most, we saw this coming. There has been a lot of prayer behind this. I think a lot of my hesitation is doubt in financial support. But I believe this is where God is wanting me to be. Last night was a good reminder of that as I talked and prayed with various campers that I had as campers five years ago, and continue to see every year. I see the need for the development of a followup program that is trying to get started here.
The internship program is going to go from August 22nd-the end of next camp season. Each intern is going to learn what it takes to run a camp, not from the text book side of things, but from the hands on, work every part of the camp side. We will be given a chance to work every part of the camp, learn the responsibilities to those areas. These jobs range from working the front desk, the mechanics shop, the kitchen and more. The interns will also be developing programs and various activities that are going to be run throughout the off season of camp, but the conference centers on season.
As an intern, I won't have too many expenses. I will however have to raise support for what you might call the equivalent of tuition, and other various expenses that might come up. A requirement of $8,000 by the end of the term. My goal is to try to raise at least $12,000 to cover other various expenses sure as insurance, traveling, and other various expenses that might come up during the term. With the little time that I have home this fall, I plan on returning to the lower 48 on December 15h-Jan 5th to talk to anyone or any church that might be interested in supporting the work I will be doing, and/or to hear about the work being done at Victory.
If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at djhoward_est1985@hotmail.com.
If you know anyone the might be interested in supporting through prayer or financial means, feel free to pass this on. A more formal letter will be ready when the internship starts.
Thanks for all those that have kept me in your prayers over this decision and for those that supported me in the five summers that I have worked here at Victory. Thanks again.

God Bless,
Daryl J. Howard

Good Morning, Good Evening and Good Night. Where ever you may be, greetings from Alaska. Another week is coming to a close here. This is week SIX! The biggest so far. Last week was all young campers. It was a refresher having older campers here. I missed doing my lesson on devotions and connecting with past campers. No words can explain the joy I feel when I get a chance to just chill with some campers and listen to anything they say. Since I'm not a counselor, it is rare for campers to come up to me. But knowing a bunch of campers from previous years and seeing a few from earlier in the year has been a good experience.
Next week is even bigger, and with two weeks left, it seems that everything is going by faster. Family camp is around the corner as well, and we don't know what to expect. Plans are always changing around here. There is much anticipation for different loved ones visiting (My mom on Monday, and other various parents and relatives visiting). And there is also a buzz over the newly created internship program here at Victory. More news on that to come.
Health here as been interesting. Injuries are a norm. But some weird cases have come up this summer. Just be praying for various staff that have left due to different medical reasons. I have also joined the injury list. My back has not been in the greatest of shape that last week. Monday's Frontier chapel greeted me with sharp back pain and difficulty in playing the drums. Even with the pain decreased, I still have issues with discomfort, pain, and decease in ability to play the drums at times. So, I gave in and I am getting my back fixed Monday. Since I have no insurance at this time, I am going on a prayer to a Christian Chiropractor. I'm more worried about my back and the issues that it is creating than the price. I'm sure God will work out some things.
Well, it is getting late here. Most of you are probably already asleep. So I wish you all well. More news to come on the events of tonight, my mom visiting, my back and much much more.

God Bless

Good morning, good evening, and good night. Depending on where you are at the time of reading this, greetings. It has been a whirlwind of a time lately. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. The delay in this post comes from me taking a break from technology during my staff break. We took off to Seward, and my computer and all internet activities took a break from me. So now I come to you rested and ready to update you.
Due to the 4th of July, week four was shortened by one day. That way the campers could be home on the fourth. The idea worked. Campers went home happy, numbers were higher than last, staff got an extra day of rest, and the weather couldn't have been better.
Last Monday opened with an amazing experience. Now, I have seen amazing things here in Alaska. God hand is very evident here. Every morning is an experience that makes me in awe of the creator. Last Monday was just that. During chapel practice. I saw something out the window. At first I thought it was a raven. But it turned out to be an eagle diving at the water. My first reaction was to stop playing drums, and sit in awe. A few other people saw it, and the eagle had moved on by the time I could get outside. But alas, after chapel, a few of us were headed up to the office when we saw the eagle just sitting in the top of a tree by the play ground. It was amazing just standing there below the eagle. Just watching it, and snapping photos. It flew to different locations,and we proceeded to follow it to two other locations before calling it a night.
The rest of the week was an interesting time of talking to some campers, planning and looking ahead to some important changes in life. On Wednesday, the campers went on camp outs. Two events that highlighted my week had to have been a lightening storm (rare up here), and the number of campers that just wanted someone to talk to. It is sad to see the number of campers that are holding so much baggage, and just want to share it with someone. Its depressing but yet joyful to see that they want help and to get rid of all the baggage they carry. On Thursday, we had 31 campers come forward during a time of accepting Christ as Savior and dedication time. God was working. Some campers remained seated, but you can see the battle within their heart taking place by watching their movement and expressions as they sat there.
This week is our short week. Wednesday through Saturday is the camp week. We are in our second day already, and with the whole camp being younger campers, it becomes very draining trying to keep up with them. Already we can see exhaustion on the counselor's faces. But the joy is also evident. Be in prayer as the counselors work with this younger group.

Other prayer requests:
- With three weeks left after this:
- Family Camp
- The internship program that is being started here
- Strength for the summer staff
- State Fair

Week three is over already. I can't believe how fast the summer is going by. It seems like just yesterday I flew in. That was almost two months ago. But week three was an interesting week.
It all started Monday. I was sitting in the office and waiting for the campers to arrive. My computer had been having some issues due to some corrupted files, so I was working on backing up all my files. There was a noise as if a furnace was kicking on. But It was too warm for that, and the furnace in the main building doesn't make that kind of noise. I felt a little disoriented and felt a tremble in the floor. As I looked around the office, all of our computer screens were shaking. It lasted maybe 10 seconds. My first reaction was freeze. My second was cool, I just went through an earthquake.
It was an amazing week of trials and fun. The devil hit hard on Tuesday, but God worked in the hearts of over 30 campers that professed their faith in Christ. Friday was even more amazing as 62 campers came forward to say that they have either accepted Christ as their savior, or were going to live for Him 100%. I cannot explain how awesome it was.

WEEK1

PART1:
Last night as a few of us were having a conversation about how to set up chapel for what will be the SAR (SALT, Alpine, Ranch) Chapel, we realized that it is already Friday. Where did this week go. And it was just the other day that I celebrated 1 month of being here for what is the summer camp season. And that 1 month has flown by. I also saw that in my fifth summer of being here, this was the best start so far. We had some bumps, but all in all, it was the best.

PART2:
Ok, now it is Monday. The weekend went by too fast. Saturday we went in to do some bank stuff, get some needed things, and to get some PA Turkey Hill Iced Tea. We couldn't believe it when we saw it. So we bought some, then e-mailed Turkey Hill. Response positive.
In other news, UP was amazing.
So campers arrived, and God kept a rain storm away until the campers were inside. Then it poured. Then we prayed. And as the campers were leaving chapel, it stopped. God at work.

PART3:
So far, the number 1 thing on the campers favorite list has been water front. When week one ended, Chapel took the #1 spot. It was amazing. The band, in which I am the drummer for, has taken worship to a whole new level. We put out so much energy into the music, and God continues to fill us up. Today was the first day that I felt drained. I hurt. A few of us are drained. We know that the devil is trying to take us out, but we have been praying continually for strength and wisdom.

PART4:
The weekends were once a time to get away, and when it came time for our Sunday evening prayer and praise, many people would want to skip out. But lately, we took the weekend to another level. With movies, outings, good food, and now a prayer and worship, we don't really want to leave. Sunday "connections" time was only scheduled for about an hour, but after three hours, we just wanted to keep going on in worship, prayer, and fellowship. It was truly an amazing time of reconnecting with God and praying for each other.

The Final Countdown

Its about that time here. We realize that it is Friday, and "OH NO, CAMPERS COME MONDAY!" I look at my list of "To Dos" and notice that it hasn't shrunk as much as I wanted it to. With my puppet scripts written (soon to post an excerpt), I feel much better and relieved.
Ok, so I might not have explained the puppet dialogue I wrote. For each day that the Frontier (2nd-6th grade) Campers are here, I have a dialogue between a Narrator and a puppet named Link. During this dialogue, they share a Bible story that deals with connecting with God through Trusting, Obeying, Listening, and Praying. During the last day, we review the previous days and present the gospel. Ok, now back to what I was writing before.
With the scripts done, I just have to memorize them and get down the puppet voice. Then it is on to training the ministry team in skits, mimes, puppets and dramas. A lot of work to do in a few days. But I believe it can be done. I can't wait to see what God will do. The first week is going to be a little rough, but once we get into the groove of things and, the ministry becomes confortable with the material, we are going to have a great time.
For all of wondering... do they really go swimming up there? The answer is yes. I was going to go in with the ice still on the lake. A cold took that off the list of fun things to do. But today was the annual staff needs to take their swim test day. So, with little fear, and people on the dock shivering from the cold air, I bravely faced the water. It wasn't too bad. A little chilly, but good.

Prayer Requests:
-Chapel
-Setup and decorating - still to be done
-Ministry Team - learning teaching tools
-Staff - Preparation for camp
-Campers - Monday is the BIG DAY!