Please be in earnest prayer for our staff and the children that will be coming this year. We have already received applications over the internet for campers. This is a gospel seed sowing ministry — and much prayer is the nourishing rain that makes it take root and grow in grace. Thank you for your continual love and prayerful support!
The summer of camp season 2014 is coming right upon us. Our first Saturday work day is only a couple of weeks away…if the weather permits. Please be in prayer for our main man Jeff Hall, who underwent hernia surgery just this same month. His recovery from this will definitely have to be taken in consideration. We do not want anything to go wrong. Jeff’s knowledge of what needs to get done is invaluable to us. Pray with us for his complete physical healing and total recovery.
As always — there are many tasks that need to get done before the first group of campers come on the premises. We will once again be designating each Saturday a preparation day for the camp season. If you — or, your group — can schedule a day to help us — Praise the Lord — we will greatly appreciate your assistance.
“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return – and come to Zion with songs – and everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness! And sorrow and sighing shall flee away!” Is.35:10
It has been just a little over a week now since God — in His grace — allowed us to witness the glorious end of an earthly journey of one of God’s redeemed ones. A witness that is being described in this text. Mary Lee Carpenter entered into the eternal joy of her Lord and Savior at 7:45 AM on March 13, 2014. She was 93 years old — and she lived all those years, except for her last three weeks, healthy enough to live and move and get around by herself.
She spent her daily time reading books – listening to favorite Christian music – and writing entries into her prayer journal. She often voiced her longing to be able to just go on and be with the Lord — and lamented being so old that she did not feel “useful” anymore. “Why is the Lord keeping me here?” – she would ask. In the end, however, she became a living testimony to all of us who were there to see it — of the substantive and applicable meaning of the 16th verse from 2Cor.4: “For which cause we faint not, but though, also, our outward man perish — yet the inward man is renewed — day by day.” This is the work of the Holy Spirit of God.
The Lord God called her (with her husband) to life long service for His great glory in the ministry of Camp Del-Haven. She was faithful…to the Lord Jesus Christ in serving Him in this ministry. She came to truly understand — that everything that is done for Christ in this life – is not done at all – unless it is done by His strength and completely and totally for His glory! That’s why she never fainted in being faithful.
Beloved friends, she went to sleep in Jesus — having lived — and having worn out her old earthly tabernacle of flesh — and having been divinely prepared to be received into the glorious joy-filled presence of her sovereign Savior Substitute – her eternal Lord and Redeemer forever and ever and ever! While she closed her eyes here — her faith and hope became sight and reality there! What she couldn’t grasp of some spiritual things here — she entered into the peace, rest and pure understanding of God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit — there!
She experienced — unto its glorious completion — 2Cor.5:2 — which says: “For, also, in this (earthly house) we groan — earnestly desiring to be clothed upon — with our house which is from heaven…” And again — 2Cor.5:4: “For, also, we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened — not for that we would be unclothed — but clothed upon! That mortality might be swallowed up by life!” Yes — she bore witness to the culmination of a life drawn to — and held tight — in the grip of the gospel of the glory — only — of the Lord Jesus Christ, “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light”! She was faithful because her Lord had called her to be so. Praise his name!
For Christ’s Glory Only!
John Carpenter
Prayer Requests
We do want you to be in prayer, however, for Sheri. When the ice storm was first happening and she was driving home from school where she teaches — she had to take to the ditch to avoid a collision with a school bus and rolled her car! It was a total loss. She seems to be physically alright — but is now having to seek out another vehicle. Please pray that the Lord will preserve her — and lead her as she undergoes this task.
As always dear ones, pray for our staff and all the children that He has sent to us to minister to. Satan — the roaring lion seeking whom he may devour — is ever at their heels in order to deceive and destroy them. If this letter does nothing else — but move you to pray for us — Praise the Lord our wonderful Savior!
Last month we gave to you our camp schedule — when you pray — lift up those camp sessions before the Lord — and seek from Him His grand blessing upon each one. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood — but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world — against spiritual wickedness in high places!” Eph.6:12
“And Benaiah — the son of Jehoiada — the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel — who had done many acts — he slew two lion-like men of Moab. He went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow. (21) And he slew an Egyptian — a goodly man; and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a staff and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand — and slew him with his own spear! (22) These things did Benaiah — the son of Jehoiada — and had the name among three mighty men.
This terse account of one of David’s mighty men was a favorite story that my father, Don Carpenter, would often tell to the boys around the campfire out here at Camp Del-Haven.
He would focus on the part where it says that Benaiah went down and slew a lion in the midst of a pit — in time of snow. He would wonderfully embellish the story by his describing a bitter cold night when outside an Israelite village Benaiah and all the people would hear the roar of a man-eating lion that had fallen into a pit that he had dug to catch him. And then he would tell how Benaiah must have put on his boots and big heavy coat, stick his big hunting knife in his belt, light his torch and walk through the middle of the village to the edge of town where the pit would be that he had dug. As he told this story — you could actually hear the crunch of Benaiah’s footsteps in the snow as he made his approach to the pit. Once he was there — he would stick the torch so it shed its light down in the pitch black darkness of the pit. Then he would describe how the lion would then roar and leap toward the torch in an effort to escape the pit he was in. Benaiah would then announce to the beast that their life and death encounter was inevitable to take place — and that he, the lion — could not win. He would then take his knife out of his belt — and would jump into the pit to do battle and slay the lion. When Benaiah climbed out of that pit — he went back to his home having triumphantly and forever silenced the roaring lion once and for all and thereby saving his people from the dreadful man-eater.
This, dear ones, draws a beautiful picture that describes just what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for His people! He has jumped into the dreaded pit of death to fight and win the battle that we could not even begin to fight. This He has done — when He went to the cross — and then to the grave — to then come out of the grave as the winner of the ultimate victory over our evil enemies — Satan and sin.
Ro.8:37 tells us: “…in all these things -we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us!” Christ our propitiation — our sovereign Savior and substitute — has fought the battle over our souls for us — and won for us the wonderful victory whereby we — by His great grace — may truly rejoice! He — the eternal Son of God could not lose. Our eternal redemption and justification is the fruit of His victory!
For Christ’s Glory Only!
-John Carpenter
“Fear ye not! Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord — Which He will show to you today… The Lord shall fight for you — and you shall hold your peace.” Ex.14:13-14
