Hi friends and family of Nicholas Oegema. I'm happy to report that Nick is not dead or MIA. Good news: being a good weekly director is a difficult job, and Nick is doing it right this week. Bad news: being a good weekly director is an all consuming job which does not leave much time for any personal tasks such as updating your blog, sleeping, reading, or even using the restroom.
So, seeing as how being a freeloader at camp is not an all consuming job and leaves me with some available time, and seeing as how I can't help much with his sleeping or going to the bathroom, I offered to guest-post on Nick's blog. Please expect his regular blog posts to resume after this week of camp has concluded. I'll spend the rest of this post doing my best to report the things Nick would want to tell you, if he had the time.
First, having Walter and family here is a blessing beyond measure. The kids are having fun, Darcy is well loved by everyone, and Walter's speaking has been amazing! You should see the way these campers and staff are listening to him. Even when it is warm, and calm, and we just ate lunch, and sleep is pulling at their eyelids, they are fighting to stay awake because they WANT to hear. Wow. Not to overlook the fact that his clear teaching and simple narrative style are laying out nice solid theological truths. Whew, it is nice to not have to worry about what the speaker might say next.
Second, being a director is hard work. Please pray for strength and wisdom and peace when dealing with director decisions all week long. Pray that wearing the mantle of authority will neither weigh Nick and his co-director down nor falsely build them up. Pray for unity amongst the team of leadership, and for energy and health for all. Pray also that Nick will not be unduly critical of himself and will not claim responsibility for things outside of his control.
Third, it is super exciting that Nick's mom is coming for a visit this week. Many of us at camp feel like we already know her and love her. Even more than our excitement at finally getting to meet her in person, it is good to see how happy her impending visit impacts Nick. He grins like Cheshire cat at the mention of it and then adopts his silly life-makes-me-happy tone of voice for the next several minutes. This is good.
Lastly, thank you all for being faithful family, friends, and readers of the blog. Your support means a lot to Nick. Please feel invited to leave him some encouraging comments, even if he doesn't have time to read them this week, I know he'll read them later.
~respectfully submitted by griffinfledermaus@wordpress.com (one of Nick's many camp friends).
