Thank you to everyone who came out for our final night of Base Camp 2014: DELIVERED! We had a great time wrapping up what we learned this week and sharing a little of it with our families. Speaking of sharing, it seems that it was the point of our time with the archeologist, shopkeeper, Golden Sisters, and friends. It was only after a new stranger spoke with them about how some things have more value when they are shared that our group shifted their focus from keeping as much for themselves to how much others could benefit from their find too. In fact, our new stranger reminded us about the value in knowing Jesus and how God wants us to share His truth with everyone. Have you ever told anyone about Jesus? It can be scary, but it is what God really wants. God wants EVERYONE to know about Himself and the truth of Jesus.

Well, our skit led straight into our time with Pastor Craig who shared the truth about Jesus: how we are all sinners, how Jesus came to save us, grace, forgiveness…. I know he mentioned, but if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. There are no silly questions or concerns!!! It may make you nervous to ask, but anyone at FHBC would love to talk with you.

To wrap up our time looking at Moses and “Egypt’s Got Talent”, our duo took one last chance in front of the judges. What did you think of their song? Did you think they were going to sing the song from Frozen “Let It Go?” It certainly seemed that way, but our duo took it straight to the story of Moses and Pharaoh!

After our group time together, I think we all had a blast eating dinner, talking, and enjoying fun activities outside. I know that all your Base Camp staff loved having you all here this week, and hope you enjoyed it too. If you are interested in other activities for kids and families, please check out our website at http://fhbcgr.org

Evening photo highlights:

I don’t know much about Egypt, but I really think that Base Camp has TALENT! I have to say that I was totally amazed by “The Ten Commandment Boogie,” and I think you all were too. The crowd certainly went wild! I’m not sure how the judges could not let even our duo move on. They all have my vote!

Beyond the Boogie, tonight was just another amazing night in itself! The most amazing part was what we learned, though. Do you remember the big, most important, fact from the week? I sat in with our oldest campers again as Mr. Scott shared more about Jesus and the cross. While it is amazing and true that God used Moses to deliver the Israelites from Pharoah, it is even more amazing and true that Jesus came to deliver us from sin. I think a lot of us have heard about Jesus for so long that we forget or don’t really understand how amazing and what a wonderful gift it is! Imagine being in prison and then getting out. You can finally move around, see the sun…. How do you think it would feel? I think it would be pretty incredible. Well, Jesus has freed us from sin. We don’t like to think about it, but we ALL really do sin. And, well, sin is something that keeps us from really living life and enjoying all the things God has in store for us. It keeps us from Him! What do you think about that? Do you know Jesus? Have you really accepted Him? If you have, have you maybe forgotten just a bit and fallen into some old habits? No matter where you are, God knows it! He knows your sin. He knows my sin. He knows the sin of your friend next door. He knows our biggest need, and Jesus came to take care of that need!

After Base Camp tonight, I heard that our 1st grade girls talked a bit about choices. Do you know that we all have a choice? We can choose to stay in prison chained to sin, or we can choose to let Jesus set us free. God doesn’t force us even though He wants nothing more than to see us choose to come to Him. I have a feeling that Pastor Craig is going to talk to us a bit more about that tonight. If you have questions, I hope you will ask any of your Base Camp staff! And, remember, just like with Moses and the Egyptian he killed, sin likes nothing more than to make us ashamed and scared. Even if you know Jesus, it is okay to tell someone else about it. It makes it a lot less scary and helps break those chains. Someone else can even help you pray with God about it. God already knows, so there is nothing you can say to Him that will change how much He loves you!

Whew, I need to get going, but I hope to see everyone tonight. (Yes, I am just a bit off again in posting….) We also get to see the conclusion of our story with the archeologist. What fun!

Okay, so we didn’t experience real plagues (other than at snack time!), but I can honestly say that we have been “plagued” by plenty of smiles. If I had to choose, I think it is a pretty great thing with which to be plagued!

Anyway, I can hardly believe that tonight was our third day of Base Camp: DELIVERED! Every night seems to hold something new. What did you think of tonight? Did you have a favorite part? Personally, I love it all, but I really like the worship time. It is great to see you guys all smiling, singing, and enjoying praising God.

Tonight our teaching time focused on Moses, Pharaoh, and the plagues, but most importantly how God’s power was made known. God really does seem to have it all in control! If God cares that much about Moses and the Israelites, do you think He cares about us like that too? Do you think He is in control even when things seem a bit scary or even crazy? One of our teachers mentioned how her class talked about ways we see God’s power all around us. God doesn’t have to part the Red Sea for us to see Him work. We can see Him in our everyday lives and even in things like a thunderstorm. How do you see God? Get your parents’ permission to share your ideas below. I’d love to hear them!

Early in the evening we also watched as the friends, archeologist, shopkeeper, and Golden Sisters snuck into the cave. Do you remember what they were after? What do you think will happen next? Were you surprised by the scream from our archeologist? Some of our kindergarteners thought he sounded a bit like a girl! It certainly was high pitched and different than most of us probably expected.

Speaking of unexpected, we got to see another interesting talent from our duo. What did you think of their talent? One of the judges liked it so much that she cried!

Well, it is way past my bedtime, so here area few photos until tomorrow!

Well, I think we are definitely in Egypt this week! Did you see the sphinx, pyramids, and even a sarcophagus or two? Our friend, Grace, drew me a picture of what she thought Egypt might be like. What do you think – was she right? It certainly looks that way to me!

Anyway, welcome to Egypt! It seems like we are off to a fun-filled start. Singing, dancing, snack, games…. What was your favorite part of the evening? Take a few minutes to tell mom, dad, or a friend about your thoughts.

Let’s take a look at some highlights….

We met Callie and Juma as they were tossing a ball. Were you surprised when their ball ended up in a cave and they found a mysterious jar? I was surprised to learn that it was dried silly putty. Maybe I just have never left my silly putty out for so long, but I don’t think it has ever looked like that! Do you think it was really silly putty? Do you think they got a good deal when they sold it? It will be interesting to see what happens next, and I am curious about the archeologist with the Hello Kitty bucket. I bet he has a part to play in whatever happens.

One of the things I asked in a previous post was what the word “Deliver” can mean. Miss Jodi shared with our youngest campers that it can mean to rescue. In our case, we are learning about Moses and how God used him to rescue the Israelites. Since the Israelites were slaves to Pharaoh, I am pretty sure that is why we have traveled to Egypt!

Talking about Moses, Mr. Scott and our oldest friends discussed what a leader might look like. The funny thing was that Moses didn’t really look at all like the words we came up with, or at least not at first! God had a plan, though, and He made Moses into the leader Moses needed to be. If you were in Mr. Scott’s class, do you remember who he said Moses paralleled? Jesus. Yep. Moses delivered the Israelites out of slavery, and Jesus delivers us from slavery to sin. I am pretty sure we are going to be learning more about that this week!

Game time was terrific, and then we headed back upstairs for closing. What did you think about Mr. Luke and Pastor Craig being on “Egypt’s Got Talent”? What did you think of their talents? Would you vote for them to move to the next round? I think it could be a close call, but my vote would be to let them continue. I want to see what other hidden talents our duo might have!

I hope you had a ton of fun tonight, and don’t forget that it isn’t over. We have four more nights in Egypt, and there is still time to bring along some more friends!