I am never quite sure how to describe my encounters with the
Holy Spirit. Well, that's not exactly true - I can tell you about them one at a
time, individual events, but when it is a prolonged period, say two weeks, it
gets a bit harder.
Just a week or two before the Kids Outdoor Zone summer
hunting camps were to begin I was wallowing in fear and concern that there
would not be enough kids at each camp, that we might not have enough money to
host them, that the new ranch might not work well for us. I also found myself
questioning my calling, was I really suppose to be doing camps, taking all that
time away from whatever else I might should be doing. Oh how Satan hates God's
warriors doing His business.
In the last day or two before we were to leave the tides
turned and my spirit began to rise. The first camp was going to be a group of
girls, some I knew, other I had never met. As I learned the family dynamics and
backgrounds of the girls we began to pray into the time we were going to spend
with them.
Some girls so desperately need to know a loving father in
their lives. They long for the love and embrace, the slow and deliberate
conversations, the attention of a male role model. The one thing we have to be
able to share with them in KOZ is that there is a heavenly Father who is always
there for them, with them, and He will never leave them, never forsake them,
never hurt them, never. Others may be searching for an identity, a truth as to
who they are or can be. We prayed Lord come and Sheppard their hearts.
We also pray Lord, what is it, which book of the bible do
you want us to teach from, what movies will speak to their hearts. What do you
want us to do for Your glory? The book of Job was what we were given for the
camps and we spent time there placing the story in their lives.
The girls came together as a group fast and it was clear
right up front that they were all in for anything we could put in front of
them. The ranch provided a long list of firsts for most of the girls. The first
time to shoot a gun or a pistol. The first time to drive a four wheeler, use a
chain saw, see all the exotic animals, hunt, take an animal while hunting, skin
it, eat it and the list goes on and on.
Like all the camps we were up early with a 5:30 wake-up
knock on their bunkroom door and 6am meeting in the dining hall. Each day
included several girls going with myself (TJ) on the stealth electric four
wheeler and the others on the larger gas powered mule vehicle. Cruising fields
and pastures, ranch roads and feeding areas each day over the more than 600
acre ranch kept everyone occupied in the mornings. The mid days included
outdoor skills training or hunters safety training (each girl was trained and
passed the Texas Hunters Safety course and will receive their cards in the mail).
They also spent hours with a chainsaw cutting trees that had died from the
drought the year before.
Like usual the girls hit it out of the park in the archery
and shooting skills. The KOZ girls have proven to be a thorn in the side of the
KOZ boys in shooting sports because they just seem to win all the competitions
they have, funny. Patience, easy to teach and joyful are the markers common
among the girls.
When It was all said and done the girls did a fantastic job.
A huge ram, a beautiful black buck doe and a monster hog were hanging in the
freezer. The trapping systems and lessons provided a bobcat and an armadillo as
well - it was perfect.
Two girls professed their love for Jesus and were baptized.
There were so many moments of sheer beauty when the girls shared their deepest
emotions. Breaking through the lies they had believed, finding the pure joy of their Father's love, becoming
empowered to be the beautiful and strong warrior they are was simply
incredible. They Pinks steal our hearts
every time.
Then with a day in-between to wash the towels and sheets the
boys rolled in. Don Discoe, KOZ leader at Fellowship Church SW in Austin, brought
two youth leaders and helped prepare the ranch for the boys. During our time
together we talked about a bible study he and I are doing in the book of James.
The book of James took over my thoughts and prayers as the boys began to
arrive. That was what we would study, five chapters and each one a man's guide
to living in Him. Yes the plan was to study Job, but I have learned that when
the Holy Spirit tells you something, best to just do it.
Each of the boys came with expectations and dreams of what
the hunt camp would be. Some carried a lot of father wounds, some searching for
who they are and what they stand for.
I have done camps with kids for years and I have to say I
have never seen a group of boys come together like this one did. They worked
together, studied together, helped each other in an amazingly orchestrated
tempo every day. They got themselves up at 5:30 ready to go every day. They
worked hard in the heat of the day cutting trees, shooting, working on fence
lines. They were simply incredible.
Each boy harvested a nice ram at the camp and one took a big
bore hog, well deserved. Two baptisms were a highlight as the boys proclaimed new lives
in Christ. At this camp the Holy Spirit moved in ways I have prayed to see for
years. He moved through the boys. By the campfire one night I saw a young
leader (father is not active in his life) mentoring and teaching a young fatherless
boy. I wept in the shadows as I listed in amazement. They talked about growing
up and the pressure of being a teenager.
The young fatherless boy told the young leader, "I have never been
talked to like that, thank you." After the young fatherless boy had gone I
told the young leader how proud I was of him, that he had done God's work right
then. He turned to me and said, "you taught me that Mr. Greaney." No
better gift for me, I could barely breath.
Thanks God. So often I wonder if they are really getting it, their role
as a leader.
Each camp this year ended with the parents picking the kids
up from the ranch and the kids taking them for a tour. They drove the four
wheel mule and electric cart all over showing off their driving skills and knowledge
of the animals. They were beaming.
All I can say is that every time we put the Lord first, when
we truly pray for Him to come and cover these outings, He does in mighty and
wonderful ways.
These are "big picture" stories but each week,
each month there are kids lives being poured into by KOZ leaders at individual
KOZ groups all around the country. It is the support of you who contribute in
prayer, monetarily or just by kind words of encouragement that give KOZ the
ability to change the lives of kids and the leaders who meet the Holy Spirit in
ways they have never experienced. Know that every desire of our hearts are to
bring KOZ under the fully and mighty authority of our loving Father and we are
humbled to be His servants.
