July Prayer Letter

Please join us in praying for Tom's mom.  We just found out that she broke her hip earlier today.

July 1, 2013

Dear Friends,

We are at home and in for the night when a shot is fired and a boy lays in the street. This has become a normal scene for the city. The rate of violence rises in the heat of the summer. However, the kids and families that we work with are able to get away from the violence and enjoy the peace of God and the beauty of His creation at Harmony Heart Camp.

As we look towards this summer and camp, there is sadness mixed with the usual anticipation because it the last summer that we will be able to go to Harmony Heart Camp. Harmony Heart has been a big part of our summers, and has impacted the lives of many families in Chester. We would like to share with you the stories of some of these families.

Eva’s family has experienced God’s healing at Harmony Heart Camp. Eva is a hard-working mother of seven children. In 2010, she brought her family and her fiancé to camp. They had a wonderful time together going down the water slide, riding on paddle boats, swimming, and doing crafts together. Unfortunately, within a month of returning home, Eva’s fiancé was shot. He had built good relationships with her children and was beginning to seek God. This was a horrible blow to her family. But that Christmas, Eva returned to camp for Christmas at Harmony Heart to honor her fiancé’s memory and to begin the healing process.

In 2009, Dana brought her husband and five of her eight children to camp. It was the first time that they had ever gotten away together. Dan, Dana’s husband, commented right away that the camp was “so peaceful.” While at camp, Dana’s family ate a meal and played games together for the first time. Dana also overcame her fear of water to ride in a paddleboat. Her family also enjoyed making and flying paper rockets. On returning to Chester, we could see a positive change in Dana’s family; they fought less and Dana and her husband worked together to raise their children.

These are just some of the many families that we have seen changed through Harmony Heart Camp. Please pray:

1. That the kids and families who come to camp this summer experience God’s peace.
2. That the last summer for Harmony Heart Camp would be a joyous celebration of what God has done.
3. That we would be able to find a new camp to take people to next summer.

Blessings,

Tom, Vicki, Lizzy, and Lilly Anthony