- Broken Down Cars, Baby at Family Camp, Seeing Problems as Opportunities -
It was time for family camp weekend, and I(Todd) decided to pack my 2001 Pathfinder full with baby supplies, camp equipment and 2 high school boys for a 2.5 hour ride through the hills of Costa Rica(Alicia drove the newer car with Selah). The "scenic route" winding around cliffs, climbing to peaks and descending down to rivers eventually caused my car to overheat. We were only halfway to camp in unknown territory. Little did I know there was a leak in one of the coolant hoses preventing the car from maintaining a good temperature in the hills. The boys walked a few minutes away to find water at someones house to pour into the coolant lines, but we found it kept flowing out below. As uncomfortable as I was inside I remained calmed and continued to say, "Dios con nosotros" or God with us. We got the car going again for about 500 meters until we had to pull into a random persons driveway. I'm amazed by the people of Costa Rica and how helpful they are to respond to need from anyone at anytime. Immediately our new friend Oscar, who owned a car detailing garage, called up the nearby mechanic to examine our car. Unfortunately, it was going to take all weekend to fix. Instead of calling this a problem or a failure God turned it into an opportunity. I notified our church staff and others on the way to camp. The Body of Christ showed up to use their gifts to help our needs. Within an hour we were picked up by a few other church members to head to camp! As much as I don't want to get into this situation again, it enabled others to serve and respond to a problem. It challenged by ego a bit, but it was a joy to see our church work together so sacrificially in the middle of the mountains.
After doing camp ministry for many years, bringing Selah to camp brought us a whole new unique experience. Eight months ago we were at this same exact camp but Selah was still in the womb. It was so special for Selah to be with us at a family camp as we intend to make these experiences foundational for her faith and development.
This was Horizon Church's first camp for all generations. All ages came together for worship, goofy icebreakers, outdoor adventures, yummy camp food, and encouraging teaching about what it means to be the family of God.
Alicia did a phenomenal job with helping Selah sleep and eat well in the rustic environment, even though it was difficult to miss certain events.
As the family grows our lives may sometimes feel more difficult or complicated. We are seeing challenges and surprises as opportunities to grow. I'm finding more often Jesus is using our "bumps in the road" to not make us miserable but transform us into the people we're meant to be. Because of this we are grateful.
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