Once again, we can testify that God keeps His promises, for He Himself was also in our midst at this year’s camp meeting, as He promised in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
We were blessed by the messages, the singing, and the testimonies. The messages were especially relevant to everyday life with many practical topics and examples. The theme was woven through all of the messages so that not one message needs to be singled out. What was special was precisely the coherence of the individual messages.
Through God’s Word, we were made aware of the dangers of the various enticements in our time. We were shown how to confront them, and we were encouraged by God’s promise that He is with His children every day until the end of the age.
The theme alone was a comfort to us. All of the worrisome developments of our time are countered by the promise of our great God that He will stand by us. For this great and unchanging God, the Creator of heaven and earth, nothing is impossible for Him, and He is also fully trustworthy today because He keeps His promises. This strengthens our faith and gives us new courage for everyday life.
We signed up to attend from Sunday to Thursday. It was clear to us that it would be a special challenge to attend three services a day with our children. But we were sure that if we would seek the Kingdom of God first, God would help and provide the blessing. This decision was already tested on the first day. Patience was less than expected, and the children proved to be more restless than we had hoped. For this reason, disappointment wanted to steal our joy right from the start.
But thank God, He answers prayers! Confident that it was not God’s will that we give up and go home, we brought it to God in earnest prayer. He strengthened our patience and gave us new strength. With His help, we were able to attend and learn a lot during that time.
The children enjoyed the two children’s lessons, singing together, and playing with the other children during the breaks. New friendships were built, and existing friendships were strengthened.
We received special encouragement by participating in various conversations this year. We saw that our Savior Jesus Christ unites us. This brotherly intimacy is what leads to openness in conversations. It is sincere mutual interest in the life of the brothers and sisters. We walk together toward the same goal, we bear burdens together, and we encourage each other in faith.
The love of God produces love for our neighbors as well as brotherly love. Together, we carry the burden for the unsaved souls in our families, in our country, and in our entire world.
We are grateful to God that we attended the camp meeting this year and came home with a great blessing in our luggage. Our prayer is that God will grant us all the success to implement into our daily lives the truths that we heard.
With God’s help, we want to be there again next year. Do you want to join us?
Stefan and Irene Schmelzle
Pforzheim, Germany
This is a very wonderful report. May God’s name be glorified AMEN.
Thank you for sharing please.