Sunsets and Pasta

Hello all!

I hope that you had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!
Titus and I were very busy on Saturday, but got to spend some sweet time together Sunday. Here at camp we have what we call "power groups." That group contains one leadership team member, & then 3-4 op-staff, counselors, and other staff members. This makes up the group that we study Philippians with each week, it also provides accountability & encouragement throughout the summer as we grow to be close friends! We also have "power group projects," which is an act of service that each group is expected to do over the course of the summer. Our group chose to send a newly-wed staff couple on a date night. And when I say newly-wed, I mean they had only been married a little over 2 weeks before they jumped into the insane busyness of camp. So they can definitely use a night away together! So we got a dress, jewelry, & a gift card to a really cute restaurant for them. Since all shopping is at least 45 minutes away, it took a good part of Saturday to get it together. But we had a ton of fun together!When I got back, I began cooking for a get-together Titus & I have been planning for a while.
I have personally been challenged through Titus 3 (the Bible passage, not my husband---though he is awesome!) about being hospitable, and using our resources to serve and encourage others. So we had my power group, Titus' powergroup, the logistics team, & a few friends over for some pasta! It was a ton of fun! We don't have furniture in our apartment here at camp, so we all just sat on the floor =)

Here are links to the recipes we made; they are some of our favorites!

• One Pot Pasta; this one is super easy and quick! I usually get some spicy sausage & add it too =)
• Garlic Alfredo Sauce; by far the group favorite! Another simple, quick recipe.
• Pad Thai; my current favorite recipe. It even got approval from our friend, Moses, who is from Laos & eats authentic Thai food most of the time!

There is something special here at Northland about the sunsets; each one has been so spectacular! Titus & I enjoyed a walk around campus after everyone had left from our pasta night, & then we made it back just in time before a storm hit! 

This week has been really good so far. We have a wonderful mix of campers; some I counseled from 2 years ago, so it has been fun to see them again! Please pray for our staff and campers this week; there are many first time campers here; many seniors; there is a large group of Burmese and Chinese campers who speak little to no English, so pray that this week would be fun for them & not overwhelming. Pray that campers would taste & see that God is good, & have a desire for His word & to continue growing after camp. Pray for many staff who are sick, especially counselors. Pray for the sponsors, some of which have been through a hard year of ministry & just need some encouragement. And please pray that we as a staff would continue to grow through the Philippians study. It has been so impacting, but this is the time of the summer when we tend to get more self-reliant & work in our own strength instead of God's. We need God to work, or nothing of eternal importance will happen. Pray that God would do a great work this summer! 

Thank you in advance for your prayers! If you would like to listen to the study through Philippians, I highly recommend taking the time to do so! You can find all of the sermons from this summer at NorthlandCamp.org.