Camp and the United States Christian Commission

The last week has been great. Monday through Friday morning we were at a Christian camp in Ohio. Wow. I would just like to point out that the camp "executive" was on fire for God's Word and work. I heard one of the best quotes on modesty I've ever heard this week (this was a high school camp). "If your clothing is meant to frame your body, it's not pleasing to God. If your clothing is meant to frame your face, it's pleasing to God." Besides the great messages, there were also the fun times, like trail riding and the big thunder storm during the talent show the last night (two of our girls are scared of thunder and lightning). It took the kids just about all week to figure out that we were there and WANTED to have fun with them. Finally, on Thursday we got challenged to a water-drinking contest and carpet ball tournament, both of which we lost. We made up for it Friday morning, though, by challenging the entire camp to a juice/water drinking contest and winning.

We just finished two days of singing for the God and Country festival in Gettysburg PA. It was hosted by the United States Christian Commission. I had never heard of it, most people actually haven't, but I really wish that I had. It was founded during the Civil War, and was comprised of Christians who went to the battlefields, not to fight, but to heal and share God's Word. They went to the most seriously hurt soldiers first, while the surgeons started with the least serious cases. I heard so many stories of battlefield and deathbed conversions that were both humbling and encouraging. The organization was run by volunteers and off of donations. They took clothing and bandages to the wounded, and most importantly, Bibles. They said that a soldier's Bible was so sacred that no one would dream of taking a dead soldier's Bible. They wrote their names in them and always carried them with them. Then when a soldier died, the Commission would take the Bibles and send them with letters about where the soldier died to his family.

I learned so much information from this weekend, I can't begin to remember it all. Most importantly was the quote from Lincoln saying that he was saved and dedicated his life to Christ when he visited the Gettysburg battlefield. The most amusing and interesting was that the Commission used coffee to minister to the troops. They actually had a coffee wagon that made something like 500+ gallons of coffee every hour that they served to soldiers. Kind of like the first Starbucks, but for war-time. I thought some people would appreciate that thought.