Back from a Week of Camping by the River of God

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 Some decidedly Pentecostal moments from River Camp.

A lovely little boy bouncing in the mud puddles. Another one cheerfully calls, “Malachi, there’s more water here.”

Malachi. We looked around, startled. One of the themes of River Camp is Sonship and the Father Heart of God (Romans 8:15) so we’ve been hearing Malachi 4:6 rather a lot!

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Soaking Prayer. As we leave, we heard a lady tell her friends in excitement. “The anointing! It fell on me in the tent. I couldn’t stop shaking.” And she shows them. She is indeed shaking.

I am reading a book called The Anointing by R.C. Kendall, and am very interested in it. I suspect though this lady was using “The Anointing” as a synonym for the Holy Spirit.

Yes, how simply and naturally she spoke of it. “Naturally Supernatural,” indeed.

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The camper van I bought in July has saved my life once or twice. I wouldn’t have got through this in a tent! Anyway, I look through the camper’s huge picture windows, and watch a woman and a man pray for another woman with the utmost concentration and passion. One kneels, touches her feet. One touches her, the other hand up to heaven. I read, look up, they still they are at it. Praying, praying for the longest time I've seen prayer ministry continue.

I feel tearful. Oh, how intensely they are asking. Could God bear not to hear them? I call Roy to surreptitiously watch too, and grow vicariously anxious.

And was so relieved at last to hear the Hallelujah! Hallelujah indeed.

Prayer ministry is my favourite and beloved form of Church ministry—and I felt sad watching them. I lack the love, energy, and faith to press in like that for well over 30 minutes. On the other hand, I believe a 5 minute prayer is heard if you have told your Father everything in your heart, so maybe the extended version is not essential.

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Walking back to my camper at night, I pass a whole lot of 13-14 year olds from the youth group, walking around singing, “Love-Joy_Peace-Patience-Kindness-Goodness-Faithfulness-Gentleness.”

No, I jest not. What am I in? An alternative universe?

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I went bone-tired, mentally, physically and intellectually--and have come back refreshed, full of vigour, and excitement and joy and vision and energy.

We could have gone to Tuscany in our new camper van, and instead decided to soak by the River of God. I wondered if I were being foolish, because I would have loved to wander around Tuscany and Umbria.

Turned out, no, we were absolutely not foolish. 

I have got clear and life-changing direction for what to do in the next year of my life; my kids have encountered God and are talking about him naturally, being naturally supernatural. Irene has had some "life-changingly good" sermons and encounters, and Zoe has gone deeper in her faith, worshipping with the others for long hours. 

And Roy, Roy has had an amazing time, loving the worship, the talks, and soaking prayer to which he went most diligently of the four of us. He definitely enjoyed it the most, as he was least affected by the loss of creature and electronic comforts!