Lancaster

Well, here I sit in a Panera Bread in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is so hard to believe that camp is almost over. We have just one last evening here in Pennsylvania and then just two weeks of camp after that. This is the part of the summer where everyone is exhausted because we have been on the road for the last seven weeks, yet the excitement level cannot change. For the students that come to camp next week and then for our final week of camp in Georgia, that is their ONLY week of camp. They weren't there as we served exhaustingly the first six camps of the summer, they only get to see either our camp in North Carolina or our camp in Georgia.

Next week, we have the largest camp of the summer for the ministry. We will have about 190 students (almost 50 more students than any other week). We are going to have a large staff team for next week and it is extremely exciting. We really love large camps and I hope next week will not be an exception. We will be on the campus of Wake Forest University, which we have been on for many years, so we are looking forward to that.

A quick update on a few things, the family of our faculty member is back with us after her father died. We are so grateful and happy that she is back with us. It just is not quite the same without her. So, that is great for her and for us.

Also, wanted to pass along a quick update on the structure of our camps. As many of you know, we have been looking for the opportunity to expand our camps during the summer from two teams (one on the east coast and one on the west coast), to three teams (one on the east coast, one on the west, and one on mid-west). We are currently praying through that and seeking if this is the correct time to make that step and continue to grow the ministry. We are very excited this time around about the potential of this becoming a reality for next summer. If this does occur it would mean us opening somewhere in the ballpark of five new camps for the summer of 2009. We want to be good stewards of not only our finances but also we want to be wise in this decision. Please pray for this specifically as we seek the Lord's will in this specific matter.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We are so blessed to have you on our team with us as we train high school students around the nation to think Biblically and live consistently with a Biblical worldview.

Mike & Angela Tiland