iRock Ministries

intentionally Reaching Our Community Kids

Camp Wannahockalugie

Wondering where the name came from? Mount Wannahockaloogie is the mystical monument inside the dentist’s office fish tank in Finding Nemo (2003) on which Nemo is initiated into the dentist’s fish tank.
“Nemo, newcomer of orange and white, you have been called forth to the top of Mt. Wannahockaloogie to join in the fraternal bonds of… tankhood.”

Spelled slightly different, Camp Wannahockalugie, won’t be taking place in a fish tank but rather in the West End of Hagerstown MD, July 7th through 10th.

I’ll be working with LIFE House West and NO LIMITZ youth group to conduct a 4 day long camp for the community kids. Arriving at 9:00 am and departing at 5:00 pm each day the campers will be involved in off-site activities such as swimming, karate, a visit to city park and Wacky Water Day. They will also attend daily sessions such as crafts, music, recreation and Bible study. NO LIMITZ youth team will be leading the sessions, acting as chaperones for each group and helping to serve breakfast and lunch each day.

It is the desire of LIFE House West, the host church, that the community will be ministered to through this camp and that this week would be an extension of Jesus’s amazing love.

Join us in prayer that God will be preparing the hearts of the kids that will be attending that they will be open to the gospel and that their families will be touched by the love and the caring spirits of the people that will be ministering to the kids that week. We are expecting eternal change to take place in the lives of kids during Camp Wannahockalugie.

Camp Orchard Hill

Balaam and the talking donkey
Balaam and the talking donkey

As an angel stands in the way of his passing, Balaam reprimands his donkey for making a fool of him by laying down in the middle of the road. It’s not until the donkey speaks that Balaam’s eyes are opened and he sees the same angel that is preventing the donkey from passing by. How often are our eyes blinded to the things that God is trying to reveal to us. It’s not until our eyes and hearts are opened that we can hear and know God’s voice. img_0185-copyEach night as I shared a message with the campers at Camp Orchard Hill I could see their eyes opening to what God had to share with each of them. Children’s hearts were opened to the message of Jesus’s love and forgiveness. Over the week over 75 children made personal decisions to follow Jesus. Others made a renewed commitment to pray, listen, read their Bibles and trust Jesus more in all their decision making. On the last night we sat next to the lake as the sun was setting. A camp fire provided the only light as we worshipped the Lord and reflected on the past week. Here are a few of the testimonies that the kids shared that evening.
“I realize that Jesus is always with me and will never leave me.”
“I realized that I can have joy even though my dad just died because I now know that he is in heaven and I’ll see him one day.”
“I didn’t really believe much in God but now I know God and asked Jesus into my heart and I want to live for Him forever.”
“I learned that when I trust in Jesus I can stand firm and be strong even when things get tough.”
“Now I know that Jesus will provide for me and now I don’t need to worry about those things anymore.”
These were just a few of the testimonies shared that evening. I was encouraged as I heard what God had done in the lives of the kids that week and was humbled that God used me to establish and grow their relationship with Him.