ACTS Area 3 Fall Workshop

Your GEMS ACTS Area 3 Fall Workshop is coming SOON!

This year, you have TWO locations to choose from:

Sunnyside, WA

Saturday, September 11, 2010

9:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m.

OR

Mount Vernon, WA

Saturday, September 18, 2010

9:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m.

Cost: $25 per person

Yes, just Saturday! No overnighter! This workshop is for ALL Counselors!

You'll be encouraged by fellowship, inspired by Praise & Worship, and prepared to teach the new theme, "Feed the Fire." Time will be spent with other counselors sharing ideas and discussing aspects of your club. NEW Club Coordinators (or even relatively new) and NEW Counselors will be informed about their tasks. We are praying now that your experience at Fall Workshop will feed your fire so that you can spread the PASSION to your girls!

Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Registrations will be mailed to ALL Counselors in a few weeks.

With prayers for you,

Julie Ball, Area Coordinator; ej4k@ejball.com, 360-966-7353
Tami Cleveringa, Leadership Trainer; clever@nwi.net, 509-754-1309

An additional request for all Club Coordinators: Please make sure ALL of your counselors are aware of this upcoming workshop. We do not have email addresses for everyone, so could really use your help to make sure the word gets to everyone. Thank you so much. Registrations will be mailed via snail mail in a few weeks.

Crazy Love

If you haven't yet read "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, it's time to put it on the "to read" list. It's our new devotional book for counselors for the 2010-2011 theme, "Feed the Fire". It's a great book, chock full of to-the-point and convicting ideas. I'm rereading it right now. The first time I read it was on the plane on the way home from ACTS Training in April. I marked my whole copy up with a pen, underlining stuff, starring Scripture verse references, etc. Now I'm going through again, paying special attention to my notes and marks and looking up all the references in my Bible.

This morning I read a section with Matthew 22:37-38, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."

Chan was talking about how we often read Scripture and do our quiet time with God because if we don't we feel guilty. We've been taught to have that daily time and we feel we have failed when we don't. Chan's point is that when we truly LOVE God, we run to spend time with Him. Notice that Jesus' command wasn't to have quiet time with Him every day. Jesus' command was to LOVE Him. When we do that, we naturally spend time in prayer and in the Word. In other words, We don't love God because we study His Word; we study His Word because we love God.

Think about that today.

Area 3 GEMS Camp 2010

We were blessed by

• beautiful weather
• awesome praise & worship
• God-inspired speaker
• cute craft
• fun swimming
• good attitudes
• safe travels

We were challenged by

• illnesses
• not enough water
• unforeseeable glitches
• a dead van battery

But...God. God provided. God blessed. God spoke. To HIM be the glory!

Pictures and more details to come soon!

GEMS Camp

Dear GEMS,
Thank you for registering for GEMS Camp! We are so excited that you will be able to join us for a fun weekend! Below you will find directions and information you will need. Please email or call me if you have any questions!
• Registration on Friday is from 6:00-7:00pm.
• Please remember to bring the following: Sleeping bag, pillow, swimsuit & towels, sunscreen, toiletries, clothes for warm and cold weather, shoes for walking/hiking, flashlight and bible.
• DO NOT BRING: cell phones, iPods or other music players.
Dear Leaders,
Thank you for registering for GEMS Camp! We are so excited that you will be able to join us for a fun weekend! Below you will find directions and information you will need. Please email or call me if you have any questions! It is important that as a leader, you are setting a good example for your girls. Please refrain from using your cell phone or spending time socializing with the other leaders when you are participating in group activities.
• Registration on Friday is from 6:00-7:00pm.
• Please pack a dinner sack to eat in the car on the way.
• Please remember to bring the following: Sleeping bag, pillow, swimsuit & towels, sunscreen, toiletries, clothes for warm and cold weather, shoes for walking/hiking, flashlight and bible.
• DO NOT BRING: cell phones, iPods or other music players. Obviously, most leaders will have their cell phones with them for traveling and/or in case of emergency. Please do not use the cell phones while at camp, except in an emergency or if you need to reach me while at camp.

• Your duties are centered around leading your cabin of girls to and from different activities, helping them out, etc. At each activity there may be specific instructions for leaders, or you will just be able to do the activity with your girls. There are devotions in the booklets which you will receive upon arrival at camp. You, along with the other leader in your cabin, will lead your cabin girls through these devotions at the designated times.
Directions: http://www.campgilead.org/
From the North:
Take Hwy 2 east to Monroe, turn right (south) onto Hwy 203. approx. 16 miles to Carnation Farm Rd. turn right, (sign at intersection) 3/4 mile & across Snoqualmie River to camp entrance.