you said.

Last night was a rough night. The day was going so well, then something happened that rocked Clydehurst. Our dear friend Lauren, the wrangler, the amazing one who is in charge of the horses, got a phone call. Her mom had been out walking (in Ohio where she is from), and was tragically hit by a car. She passed away instantly. This is never a phone call you want to hear. I was working in the coffee shop here, when they told us to gather in the office. I though we were all in trouble, but this was not the case. The news hit most of us pretty hard. Me being one of them, as in I have also lost my mother. It hit another also hard, who lost his dad at a young age, who also got an unexpected call to find his dad sick and dying. All of us had no idea what to do. She was packing up and heading home. I quickly wrote a letter, hoping to encourage her if possible. But as I wrote i began to become a little angry. More so, i became scared of being angry. With God? maybe. More angry that now she has to go through what i did and still am. I was able to see her before she left. I can't even explain what it is like, but i felt for her. At this point i wanted to run, just get away. My best friend Chrita and I went to check on 2 of our friends, who had gone to chop wood as an outlet for the distress. Christa and i went running. the whole time we prayed, crying out to God. God met us there. We asked why? we wondered what to do. We prayed for an attitude change. God says ask, and we did. I am trusting in His love. It is going to be a trying adjustment for us as a staff, but God is good, all the time. I am looking forward to seeing how He works in this.

Ps. we by far have the best summer staff ever!

One a lighter note, here are a few pictures from my family being here :) so fun.
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me working the coffee shop.
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field riots!!

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me working the hunger hut!
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my a.m. running group :)
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lastly, please be praying for Lauren and her family.

hillary.

rise. shine. and give God the glory.

Hello! i feel like it's been awhile, though it probably hasn't. I hope everyone is well. This week is the 2nd week of family camp, and my dad, Beth, Andria, and her friend are here as campers. So great! it was kinda hard at first, finding that balance between spending time with them, and still working and serving the campers as well. But it has been so great seeing them! i had yesterday afternoon off and was able to go on a hike with them. I think they are having an awesome time, and i love seeing them!

This week has been incredibly hard on my part. Family camps offer alot more free time for us counselors. Though there is still stuff to do, there is still free time. This allows me more time to 1)sleep, and 2) think. This could be good, however this week i have found myself thinking alot about things that are bothering me. I seem to notice all my flaws: how selfish i am, what things other people do that irritate me, how jealous i can be at times, how much i havent been in God's Word, and how much i haven't been praying for others when i say i will. I was really frustrated by this. I knew i needed to take a night and catch up, rest, pray, and be with the Lord. Last night i did this, and am way more refreshed. I read Luke 11:9-10, which says, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." This is so true, i realized. God wants us to bring our requests to Him. So i prayed this: Father, i am coming to you expectant, with faith that you will give me a better attitude. Give me strength when i am tired, and Your love to serve and encourage others. Help me to trust in Your work here. May Your word be spread, and may i be used for Your glory. I love you Lord. Amen

miss and love you all!
hillary.

how great...Your love for us.

So family camps have started, and it is a LOT different. One obvious difference is the amount of free time i have. I have enjoyed the time to catch up on sleep. Our duty as counselors is also really different. The biggest struggle now is that I don't feel as needed, in a spiritual sense at least. During youth camps, we were on the front lines of what was happening in the kid's lives, and we could see God working, at least for the most part. Now I am just hoping that what i am doing is being used for God's glory, and somehow i am making a difference.

One thing i have enjoyed is late night running. At about 11:30 pm, my friend Christa and I run to Mile Rock and back, in the pitch black with only the stars and sometimes moon as our light. It is such an awesome time. The first night we ran, we were a bit scared (those lies creep into our mind about bad things happening), so the entire time we recited Scripture. I was amazed at how it just flowed, and the presence of God was felt mightily. It was soo awesome. This has become a routine; a time for us to really talk one on one and just stand amazed by God. I have loved this verse for some time now : Ps. 73:26- My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.


♥
hillary

Behold He comes.

Oh man. Today is a big day. It is the halfway point of my summer at Clydehurst Christian Ranch. The youth camps are over, and we are preparing for family camps to come. I cannot believe it. I haven't been on in awhile, so this may be long. I feel the need to fill you in on alot.

First of all, 2 weekends ago we went to the Big Timber Rodeo. It was soo much fun, especially watching the guys try to saddle a cow :) I love spending time with counselors. Then we has jr. highers. I had 7 girls in my cabin. It was great but a challenging week. My girls had a hard time truly grasping what it means to be a Christian. They said they "believe it", but then asked what they believe the say they don't know. This was very frustrating. But i have to believe God is working in their lives, even if I can't see it right now. Then on saturday we went to Billings for the 4th of July. We left right after the campers left in the morning, went to a baseball game, and went to a carnival for food and fireworks. I love fireworks! The bummer is that it was raining for a bit, but it turned out to be a great staff outing.

This past week was crazy. Alot happened! Well to start, i only had 6 girls in my cabin because 2 didn't show up. On tuesday we went to the Boulder Fields. We took 4 buses to get all the campers there. On the way, on of the buses went off the edge and tipped over. Thankfully, the fall wasn't to far, and it only tipped on it's side, rather than rolling, or worse rolling into the river. I was not on this bus, however about 40 campers were. Thankfully, nobody was injured more than some scrapes and bruises! Praise God. All the details for the accident have been working out smoothly, but continue to pray that the reputation of the camp stays strong.

High school camp is a whole different ball game. The kids are way more mature from jr. high, and it is almost scary. I can remember back to high school, and i feel the innocence level has dropped dramatically. Some kids just are out of control, no respect, no care, down right mean, and it was crazy the sense of evil i felt i was around. At the same time, you have kids who are soo eager to grow and learn about the Lord, and are desperate to break out of societies low expectations and norm. Chapel this week was about the storms of life that we go through. I had the opportunity to share some of my testimony in front of the whole camp. It's crazy how much the kids love hearing the counselor's stories. They can connect and understand so much more. Through my testimony, i was able to share how through a storm you have to first acknowledge the pain. If not, the consequences will come later for holding it in. Also i shared how you absolutely have to place trust in God and not yourself. Taking control yourself does not work. Without Christ as your Solid Rock, there is no hope during a storm. I was able to talk to this girl about what she was struggling with, which was such an encouragement to me. All these kids have insane stories, some that i will never experience. But through my storms, i can show how God has been faithful to me, and that can bring comfort to them. 2 Cor. 1:3-4 says "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." Know that in any trials you go through, God will use you to comfort others if you allow Him.

God is so mighty to save. I learned that I can't do anything on my own. He alone will work in their hearts. Only He can save. He can move mountains. Even if I were not to praise Him, even the rocks would cry out!

I know you may want to see some pics. I miss you all and will respond to all written letters soon!
the rodeo.....
jr. high....baseball game.
...Boulder Fields....High School....

Bye :)

another success.

hey! so this will be short..i don't have a lot of time..first of all..HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!! wow..what a week..i can't believe another has gone by..and successful once again..campers just left..we're leaving at noon today to go to Billings and to a baseball game..then to a carnival for fireworks! not much of a break..but so fun. I didn't have time to upload pictures..so that will have to wait for today..a few recaps of the week..last weekend we went to the Big Timber Rodeo..which was fun watching some of our guys try to saddle and ride a cow. This week was the jr. highers. I had 7 girls in my cabin..all so great! They are definitely at a hard age, where they have a lot of questions about belief and what is real or not. I had a lot of free time it seemed..because they like to be independent. One thing i learned is to trust that God is working in their lives even when i can't see the outcome myself. I also really enjoy fridays..when we have water wars. Pretty much you get all wet..and there is lots of whip cream involved! It rained alot this week..which means lots of beautiful rainbows!! I miss all of you, and hope to talk to you soon! Keep in prayer this week, which is the last youth camp (high school). It's gonna take alot of energy, but i can't wait!

"God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me."

Bye :)