Have you ever ridden a "Power Swing"?

Wow!  What a day!

Today at Shiloh I had the privilege of serving a church group from Livingston, NJ.  The group of about 50 had a chance to do some crazy-fun stuff on the challenge courses.  Jonathan Frank (the camp director's son) taught me how to run the "Power Swing" (Sometimes affectionately called "The Flying Squirrel").

The swing consists of two heavy gauge steel cables attached to two trees about 30 feet apart.  The cables come down in a "V" shape to meet in the middle.  This is where the kids get harnessed in and from where they will swing.  After this they are pulled up about 40 to 50 feet in the air and they get to release themselves and swing down at high speeds.  Talk about INTENSE! 

I was amazed at how brave these teenagers were.  Out of the entire group only one person was really a screamer.  We even had one teen who posed for pictures like Spiderman hanging upside-down from a strand of his web!

As we finished up on the power swing, the kids moved on to some other challenge course elements led by Jon Frank (the camp director) and George (one of the other men on staff at camp).

After a short water break George and I led the teens on a beautiful hike overlooking the Monksville Reservoir and Dam.  Though some of the kids were complaining they were tired and didn't want to go on a hike, once they saw the beautiful views they were all glad they came along.  On the top of the mountain George also challenged each of the teens with a great devotional about sharing our faith with others and praying for God's help in reaching out to those who need Him most.

God really blessed me this weekend by allowing me to be a part of this groups special retreat.  I look forward to sharing God's love with more kids, teens, and even the group leaders in the coming weeks.

Lastly, our support is coming along.  At this point I am still working three days each week at Sears, but I can hardly wait until I can give my full attention to the needs of Shiloh.  God is blessing us and surprising us along this journey, but please continue to pray for our financial support.  We still have quite a bit to go before we reach our goal. 

God Bless,
-Tim