Merry Christmas from the Stephensons!
Wow, what a year this has been! January found us in the highlands of Papua New Guinea wrapping up our last few months of service as volunteer missionaries there at the hospital mission station. Danielle had the privilege of teaching the highschool-aged missionary kids and offering them specific insights on preparation for the transition to college in America. Morgan used his incredible ability to fix almost anything to impact the day-to-day workings of the mission station, and his love for the people around him to impact the lives of the men he worked alongside. Theron and Lula won friends and hearts at every turn. We are so thankful that God allowed us that wonderful experience during the last year and a half, and that He has continued to lead us forward this year as we have explored what He has in store for us next. Thank you, our friends and family, for your ongoing support and encouragement as we have followed God’s calling to the ends of the earth and back again!
In March, we returned to the States to serve for the summer at Golden Bell Nazarene Camp in Divide, Colorado, where we had spent some time before leaving for Papua New Guinea. My (Danielle’s) brother and his wife served there with us as summer staff, as well as some other close friends of ours, so congratulations to Golden Bell for surviving that whole crowd of adult Missionary Kids serving this summer!
Our summer at Golden Bell confirmed our deep love for and desire to continue in Camping Ministry. In an increasingly fast-paced world, Christian Camps provide a much-needed place of retreat with God and life-changing experiences for the kids, teens, and adults who come through our doors. A series of connections that could only have come from God led us this fall to LifeChange Camp in Clinton, Missouri, where we moved at the beginning of November. What an amazing place! We are so thankful to God for leading us to “the desires of our hearts” here in this beautiful little camp in the Ozark woods, where we are close to family, we can serve as a family together at the camp, and we get to be a part of an amazing ministry team.
LifeChange Camp began 11 years ago with the dream of founders (and current directors) Bill and Carol Anderson, to provide a Christian Camp with an atmosphere of care and attention to detail. Guests feel as though we, the staff, have invited them into our home to take care of them. It now is a gem of adorable cabins, a tiny lake (with, to Theron’s delight, BOATS), meeting areas, camp sites, an RV park, and hiking trails. We provide an intentional place to slow down, breathe deeply, and meet with God and others. Morgan is serving primarily as the Facilities Director, while Danielle fills the position of Guest Services Coordinator. As is always true with Camp Ministry, though, we all do everything! The kids have even been “helping” with cleaning, cooking, and (mostly) taste-testing any and all snack materials. Come visit us!
LifeChange is a Partner-Supported Ministry, in which all staff members are committed to helping raise awareness and support as we work together toward our vision: to proclaim the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ to children, youth, and adults, raising up the next generation of spiritual leaders through Christian Camping. We do this by inviting partners to join us - the Spiritual support of the vast Christian community is essential to what God is doing here. Your financial partnership goes directly toward our salary/support package, making it possible for Life Change Camp to keep costs low, offering Christian Camping experiences to kids and ministry workers at a price they can afford.
Our current target support goal is $500 a month, or 20 partners at $25/month. We are asking you, our family and friends, to prayerfully consider what God might be asking you to contribute towards this goal.
How to give:
- Send a check with our name in the memo line to:
Life Change Camp
351 NE 831 Rd
Clinton, MO 64735
2) Donate online at http://www.lifechangecamp.org/get-involved/giving
LifeChange is a 501(c)3 organization, which makes all donations tax-deductable.
Also extremely important, and a big part of the reason we are asked to raise support, is prayer support. However, prayer support goes both ways: we don’t need it any more than you do! So, we would like to pledge to you that if you pray for us, we also will pray for you. Please keep us updated as to the things we can be praying specifically for you, and we will pledge to do the same for you! If you would like to be involved in this way, write and let us know.
We are so thankful for the incredible support system God has given us in all of you. Thank you for partnering with us as we move forward into this ministry. We hope to be here a very long time!
Serving Him with you,
Morgan, Danielle, Theron, and Lula Stephenson
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