Dear Friends and Family,
Hey from Camp McCall, a camp for Royal Ambassadors in upstate South Carolina! This summer has flown by as I’ve worked here.
Clay Gabdon and other staff at Camp McCall act out a life lesson before campers.My last exam at Union University was on May 15, and I had to drive 10 hours to South Carolina for some leadership training in Adventure Recreation at the camp on May 17. Since then, it’s been nonstop 18-hour days, but it’s been incredible.
The other staff guys have become some of my best friends and definitely my spiritual brothers. It’s been great to grow as a Christian this summer and teach the kids what I’ve learned from 20 years of living. Thanks so much for your prayers since the last time I sent an update.
School went very well last year. It was great to see the community of Union come together after the tornado in February. My girlfriend Jessica lost everything from her dorm, but she was blessed by so many generous people, and now she has even more than before! I feel like a lot of people grew spiritually from that experience, even though it was so traumatic.
Staff, including Clay Gabdon, huddle as they plan to mentor campers.This August, right after camp finishes, I’m going with seven other staff guys on a mission trip to South America. Our main goal is evangelism. In the spring, the camp does a medical trip as well, but this trip is for planting and watering the seeds of the gospel. We’ll be trekking from village to village, working with translators to share the gospel with the villagers. I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait for what God wants to teach me through it. This will be the eighth year that staffers from McCall have gone to South America after the summer camp is over. We finish our last camp on Aug. 1, and we’re heading out on the 3rd. At the same time, some other staff guys are going to Malawi, Africa, to fulfill a commitment they made last year. These two international trips, along with several national and local trips, are part of the way McCall involves itself in missions. It’s awesome to be a part of it, and I’m hoping God can use me in a way that is beyond my skills and talents so that he can get the glory.
I’m so thankful that the South Carolina Baptist Convention and McCall have teamed up to pay for half of our trip. At every camp, we take up a mission offering and all that money goes to the staffers taking the trips, and the SCBC is paying the remainder.
After we get back from South America, I’ll have about three weeks before I head back to Jackson, Tenn., for another year of college. I’ll be majoring in chemistry and preparing for medical school. I’m looking forward to seeing all my friends again and getting back into a little less demanding routine for a while. And, of course, it’ll be great to be with Jess again after not seeing her for three months.
Thanks so much for all your prayers. I wouldn’t make it without them.
Peace in Him,
Clay Gabdon*
* Name has been changed for security reasons.
Editor’s note: Gabdon* is the son of missionaries from South Asia. He wrote this letter as he was finishing his summer work at South Carolina’s Camp McCall and preparing to take a mission trip to South America with the Camp McCall staff. He continues to be on mission with God whether he is in Tennessee, South Carolina, South America, or South Asia.
Campers at Camp McCall compete in the Olympiad.