Serving God, while the greatest of blessings, is no guarantee that everything will go well in life. Tragedy, difficulty, and suffering can find any of us at any moment, and when it does, the people of God are essential in helping us navigate the valleys of shadow with Jesus by our side.
Ben Gosnell came to Camp to serve as interim Facilities Director. He and his wife Silvia planned to move from Hawaii to “the Mainland” for the year to spend some focused time with extended family in PA, and Camp was a good fit to support that goal. It was especially good timing because the Gosnells were expecting their sixth child, and would have a chance to share that joy with grand parents, aunts, and uncles.
But when baby Vivian Grace arrived on July 24, joy quickly became mixed with alarm and concern. Siliva required intensive care and Vivian was having unexplainable and devastating seizures. Medical teams raced her to the Nemours Children’s Hospital in Delaware where she would spend over a month in constant care.
The family is hoping Vivian will soon be released from the hospital, but she will still require oxygen support and a high level of care. The family is preparing to return to Hawaii to continue their ministry in Christian camping while also building a consistent base for Vivian’s continued journey towards healing. Vivian still has a long road ahead, not the least of which is overcoming significant brain damage caused by the seizures. Also, as you can imagine, the costs for her care and the dedicated medical flight to the island are placing a heavy burden on the family.
Prayer has carried the family up to this point and will continue to see the family through. Would you join us — the whole Camp community — in lifting up this family in prayer? Pray for God to work a miracle in Vivian’s recovery, but also pray that he will find ways to use this situation to his glory. Vivian’s hospital room was a place of ministry as praise music played and many prayers and encouragements were lifted. Ben Gosnell reminds us all: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised.”
If you feel moved to help with Gosnells in their journey, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help. The medical costs are still coming in and are likely to be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Any support helps with these life-changing costs. Spreading the word on Facebook or at your church is also a great way to invite others to show fellowship to this little girl and her family.
Share:
Come and Pray Lunch & Retreat
Come and PrayPrayer Day with Lunch March 14, 9am-3pm~$30~ Overnight Prayer RetreatMarch 13-14includes March 14 Lunch~$120~ Come seek the Lord’s face with your faith family from all over the Tristate region for a relaxing time of prayer and discussion. We know God is doing amazing things — and he will continue to do more as…
Time to Pray
As followers of Jesus, he is our example in everything. When Camp says in our mission statement that we are “a community of Christ” – this is what we’re saying: we’re a group of people dedicated to the purpose of following and being like Jesus. So the question is, how do we follow Jesus as…
A Place of Prayer
Prayer — especially “vertical prayer” for specific God-revealed mission set apart from the concerns of our life and ministry — is a major theme for Camp in 2026. Maybe you read about this in the Winter Newsletter article “Time to Pray“? We want to extend the invitation to the entire Camp community and beyond —…
Living Abundantly Retreat
Jesus promised his followers an abundant life. Is that just an abstract idea to distract us from earthly misery, or is there real power in Christ to live a full and rich life in the here and now? Young adults are navigating a challenging landscape as they start “adulting” and building a life, so we’ll…
Forgiving Debts: 2025 Woodcutting Season
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray (Mt 6:9-15), he described two big realities where “thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven” are realized in the human world: First, he said “give us this day our daily bread”, acknowledging that God’s provision for human need is a central…
“How Do I Donate?”
Recently, a thirteen-year-old guest at Camp asked Operations Director Kevin Smith, “how do I donate?” Kevin was honestly a little surprised, but was happy to see this young member – who was on retreat with one of our owning churches — taking some initiative. Kevin directed him to the website Donate page, and the young…
The Discipleship Down-Low
Defining Discipleship 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded…
The Virtuous Wife
This past weekend, Camp hosted three women’s retreats at Camp. Though the retreat groups were very diverse in background – one was from an urban church plant in Philadelphia, one was from a Garifuna Mennonite church in Brooklyn (an Afro-Caribbean Culture), and one was from a multi-ethnic faith community reaching out in North Jersey. Though…
A Life of Service
I believe the most important thing to God is not our personality, knowledge, or talents, but our availability. How willing and ready are we to respond when He calls, and how ready are we to do what He says? What use to the Lord are people who could do what he wants with excellence and…
Building Belonging
At our February NYC LMC District meeting, we’re discussing the Belonging phase of The Journey Map. In this first phase on the map, individuals and groups on a spiritual journey begin the process of connecting to each other and evaluating the place they may have in each other’s lives. Have you ever been an outsider…