06/26/2026
Check out what Pastor Eddie has been up to this week! God is good!!
It happened again. I couldn't believe it when it happened the first time, but it happened again.
Two of our summer staff asked to be baptized in Pine Lake. For the second year in a row, two of our summer staff made this profession of faith in our midst.
Let me back up. The story is too good to rush.
On Friday night, I was at the end of a long day. We had just welcomed 73 people for Grandparent/Grandchild camp and I just finished the third wagon ride through the woods. It was about 9 pm. We watched fireflies blink in the woods as the darkness began taking over the forest. It was the first calm I had felt in a busy day.
I was heading towards maintenance when I see one of our summer staff, Zaysha, flagging me down. She had just gotten back from picking up one of our international staff from the airport.
"I have to tell you something," she said with a big smile on her face. "I think I want to get baptized next week."
My hands went to my face. I was almost overwhelmed by emotion.
"Zaysha, that's...that's amazing."
We talked a bit and one phrase she said will stick with me forever.
"I've been thinking about it and there's no where else I would want to be baptized."
Fast forward to last night. It's after dinner, after another round of storms. Pastor Eddie Crise, a United Methodist Pastor as well as a deep supporter of camp, was volunteer counseling this week and Zaysha asked him to baptize her. If you know Eddie, there is probably no one better suited for the moment. A gentle heart, a patience to share what baptism means to campers, and someone who would fill the moment with joy as well.
When we were preparing for the baptism, Jamie shared with the rest of the staff what was happening and if they felt led to be baptized, that was available to them as well.
"I can just get baptized? Right now?" Deegan asked.
With an eagerness, Deegan join Zaysha in this moment. It felt like a miracle.
From my perspective as the site director and friend to these two young adults, this was a deeply humbling and encouraging moment.
Three years ago, when Zaysha joined summer staff, she was reluctant and overwhelmed by the busyness of camp. It was a new world she had never seen before. A moment that I think reframed it for her was when the staff went from hosting activities for a school group to an all-out water fight with laughter, running, and lots of splashing.
"Just go with it, Zaysha! This whole summer can be like this!" I said.
And now in her third summer, she has never looked back. She has grown in confidence, in faith, and in leadership. She is one of my most trusted staff of all-time and seeing this place be a spiritual home it is for so many is truly a gift.
And Deegan. I have so much I could say about Deegan (and his twin brother, Brian). Despite levels of adversity that few face in life, they have consistently been positive and caring of others. And when the local community surrounded them with support and love, they never took it for granted. Seeing Deegan go into the water and return with a smile on his face was symbolic of this summer for him already. I'm excited to see how God continues to work in his life the rest of the summer.
As soon as the baptisms were over, with a blue sky still at the south end of the lake, rain started to fall on all of us. I remember looking at a few staff with a quizzical look like and we all thought the same thing: This feels like the Holy Spirit moving among us, doesn't it?
A camper stood next to me at the dock and we noted how the rain was only on our end of the lake. It was remarkable. In my heart, it felt like it was God's way of symbolically baptizing us all as a community in that moment. A reminder that God walks among us when we walk, pray, sing, and worship together.
Despite several drenching storms, nothing can wash away what God did in our hearts last night.
