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What Can One Week Do for Me?


I'm home from a week at a Directors training with Royal Family Kids which is a camp for abused and neglected children!  They experience and see a real family in action and have the opportunity to feel God's love! 

My training began Saturday night with an intensive curriculum based on the most recent brain research and evidence based practice.  Sunday afternoon we were taught by a social worker who had her Doctorate and is a professor at college with a heart from God for children and who co directed the camp we were at. 
 
We trained intensively but what we experienced was truly from God.  The camp is set up from beginning to end with such intentionality and love.  I want to share my own experience today and then tomorrow will share what I saw.

I had the honor of meeting and spending countless hours with Wayne and Diane Tesch who are the founders of Royal Family as well as four of their amazing people and 16 director trainees from Colorado, Ohio, Brazil and Nebraska.  (Go BIG Red!!)

People from all walks of life and backgrounds brought together with the same heart for kids.  Seeing the body working as it is meant to work to minister to orphans and widows.  God is so amazing.  Plus they were fun!  These folks are gifts and treasures from God!

To begin with, another Pastor's Wife and I were supposed to be resting BUT... we crashed a wedding nearby as well as a school reunion.  Bringing cheer of course to whomever we met!  It was amazing how friendly people are with complete strangers!  

Next we were invited to participate in the church sponsoring us and enjoyed the young Pastor's heart and the college worship team and then drove to the campground and treated like royalty...literally.  

A host couple's entire job was to love on us-the trainees!  Can you imagine?!  It was so precious.  

When asked to write a letter on the last day about our experiences and feelings and what really impacted us personally from the week was when our tears really poured from our very broken hearts.  

One emphasis at camp is on our names.  The trainers model that for us as well.  My name means cover of beauty which really bothered me.  When I think of myself beauty is not one of the descriptive words I would use.  What in the world does cover of beauty mean anyway?  And yet God gave me that name.  

So he might have used the song, "Oh Heather Honey..whose love is sooo fine," to trigger the name but He named me and gave purpose to my life.  Beauty from ashes.  

What can one week do for a person?  

Set a fire in her soul!  Release the captives.  Bring sight to the blind.  Place orphans in a family.  

Put a cover of beauty over my heart!








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