Hello, Forest Home Family:
My name is Tyler Riffey, and I am the Program Manager of Children’s Ministries here at Forest Home. We have just finished our Winter Camp season for 2018! It flew by so fast, but each week was so rewarding as we got to see 210 campers accept Jesus Christ as their Savior for the first time, and 2447 recommit their lives to Jesus or make other faith decisions over the course of these past 9 weeks.
Among the campers at Children’s Winter Camp, one story stood out that I would love to share with you. We had a camper who attended one of our break out group sessions on the topic of grief and loss. She let our staff member know that she had walked in on her dad having a heart attack, and she was struggling with believing that God would take her dad away from her. She decided to recommit her life to Christ after hearing from our speaker that God is with us all the time. After having this camper meet others who also had struggled with the same kind of things, she told her counselor that she knows her dad is with Jesus, and that is a happy thing!
We have campers of all ages at Forest Home who carry all kinds of weight on their shoulders as they arrive, getting out of cars or buses. As a staff, we pray for each and every one of their smiling, and sometimes nervous, faces, but we know that it is truly only God who can bring healing and the kind of unconditional love that brings us all running towards Him.
It is a privilege and an honor to get to work in Children’s Ministry at Forest Home. Everyday, I get to see and hear about kids, in all sorts of communities, coming to know the Lord. I am sad to see this winter season end, but I am thrilled to be jumping right into planning Christ-centered, fun, nature-filled experiences for our kids this summer! I hope to see some of you there, and thank you for your many prayers as we continue our work for God’s kingdom.
Many blessings from the mountain!
Tyler Riffey
