Michigan Camp Meeting Miracle
By Wayne Labins
A favorite hymn at the ASAP daily prayer fellowship is “Showers of Blessing” and this song of prayer was answered mightily at the 2011 Michigan Camp Meeting! Although there was literal torrential rain and a tornado warning that sent attendees into storm shelters on Tuesday, it was the next day that God started a spiritual storm—in the Youth Tent.
Pastor Christian Martin led the Youth Tent at Michigan Camp Meeting this year. He and the leadership team challenged the youth with a mission project called “24/20”. Three teams were created and each was given $20 as seed money to raise funds in just 24 hours for a missions-focused ministry of their choice.
“Team Ignite” chose ASAP and especially focused on raising funds for the Feed & Read Program, which they noticed later is described in the ASAP Online Gift Catalog as “IGNITE BODY AND MIND—SUPPORT THE FEED & READ PROGRAM”. They set a high goal of raising $2,400 to support 10 children in the Feed & Read Program for one year.
Team Ignite prayed and asked God for guidance in how to go about fundraising—and the Holy Spirit started bringing multiple ideas to mind. ASAP provided pictures of Cambodian children collecting recyclables in the trash dump of Phnom Penh and attending the Feed & Read school nearby, which were then printed at the home of one team member’s grandmother. These photographs were turned into posters placed at the bath houses and attached to a decorated donation box, which, along with a “thermometer”-type goal sheet, was then taken around the campground to raise funds. Some team members were skilled at therapeutic massage and obtained permission to set up massage tables near the exit doors of the main auditorium for maximum visibility. An announcement regarding Team Ignite’s fund raising challenge and goal was submitted to the campground radio station, which then broadcast it to the entire camp. Other members baked cookies which were given away—with a request for a donation.
The 24/20 challenge started at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday and by that evening, Team Ignite was excited to see God honor their efforts by blessing with over $1,000. However, throughout the next morning, only about $400 more had been raised by around noon, bringing concern about whether the goal of $2400 would be reached.
Then, on a beautiful sunny day, the showers of blessing began to pour! Just moments before the 1:30 p.m. deadline approached, God impressed a donor to give $1,000! That donation plus others which came in pushed the total funds raised to $2,840.67! This amount will support 12 children in the Feed & Read Program for a year! The members of Team Ignite were elated with what God had done and privileged to serve Him in this project!
Later that evening in the main auditorium, Pastor Martin interviewed all three teams from the Youth Tent, who were asked to share about the 24/20 challenge, their fundraising efforts and results. The congregation cheered hearty “Amens!” when leaders from the first two teams announced the hundreds of dollars they raised. However, when the spokesperson for Team Ignite started to read the total raised for ASAP, saying “Two thousand…”, the congregation literally gasped with praise! At the close of the interview, the congregation joined together in one voice saying, "Well done, good and faithful YOUTH!"
We at ASAP are praising God for this “torrential” shower of blessing!
FOLLOW-UP REPORT FROM A DONOR:
"I'm so happy to have been a part of Team Ignite's efforts and I am very certain that the Holy Spirit was at work! When I first heard the radio spot it caught my attention. I wondered if I should add this to my giving or not. I told the Lord that if He wanted me to join in, then I would like to hear the radio spot once more as a confirmation. Now, mind you, I was not listening very much to the radio because I was attending as many meetings as possible. But, I did hear it once more and was able to meet with one of the young men on the team and offer my support. I am so grateful God has allowed me to give."
--Mary Lou from Michigan