The alarm did, in fact, go off at 4:30am and the guys began taking turns in the shower. We were all up and ready by 6:15am, but didn’t need to be anywhere until 7am when everyone gathered for a morning devotional. We sang a couple songs then the camp pastor spoke for awhile.

Breakfast was at 8am – scrambled eggs mixed with pieces of hot dog (which was actually quite good), beans, and tortillas. Afterwards several of the guys needed to clean the room, so I took my guitar and Bible over by the chapel where the morning devotional was held. The scenery at this particular spot is breathtaking; there are incredible views of the mountain ranges on three sides and you can see clearly for miles. There is a picture of the view below, but it doesn't even come close to capture its full beauty. You can even see how the clouds and weather are affected by the mountains. I sat there and played Famous One, Oh Lord, to You and pieces of other songs. I love the line in Famous One, “Revealed by nature and miracles; You are beautiful, You are beautiful”. I met God in nature this morning and beheld the beauty of his creation. I prayed and read Psalm 63 aloud before heading back to the room.

At 10am everyone met again at the chapel, this time for team Bible trivia. The pastor spoke again after the trivia was done. About 11:15, another speaker came in and began to speak. He spoke until noon and I could see many in the room fighting off sleep. Then all of a sudden, he started praying and people started going up to the front to receive prayer. God showed up again! A room that was half-asleep all of a sudden awoke with people responding powerfully to God. Dozens of people came to the front for prayer. I could hear loud praying, crying, and the keyboard playing in the background. Most of the people who weren’t up front were in a quiet attitude of reflection (see picture below). I looked over my shoulder and saw someone praying for Maynor. I moved over, put my hand on him, and joined in prayer. The young man was moved to tears through his passionate prayer for Maynor – who had red eyes himself when he opened them. The response time went until 12:45 and we were then off to lunch.

For lunch, they had macaroni noodles in a thick sauce with bacon bits and salad, which I couldn’t eat because of the water factor. The macaroni was actually pretty good. After lunch, I talked for a few minutes with Omar, one of the guys in my group.

By now, Stevie and I were completely exhausted. We took naps for an hour while everyone was off doing more Bible trivia. We woke up and joined everyone in their afternoon seminars. After that was free time during which I talked to several students in both English and Spanish. They seem to enjoy either practicing their English with us or playfully mocking our Spanish.

Next, it was time for dinner, which was absolutely amazing. We had ham, seasoned rice, French fries, and rolls. Everything at this camp has been better than I thought; the cabins, food, scenery, people, everything! I completely cleaned my plate. After dinner we sang a couple songs and the pastor got up and gave another 30 minute message – his fourth of the day. I am beginning to realize that this is a very charismatic group. Once again at the end of the message people came forward for prayer. Afterward another pastor, a man of 55 or 60 wearing a shirt and tie, got up to introduce the Lord’s Supper. I felt honored to take communion here – it truly represented the body of Christ.

After dinner, we lit a huge bonfire – something comparable to a college pep rally. While the fire burned, the band played loudly in the light rain and people sang along. After about 90 minutes, they played a couple of slow, reflective songs and people got into their cabin groups and put their arms around one another. Shortly we launched into another very powerful experiential time – the most intense one yet. There were several pastors there and they invited people forward for prayer. I prayed for some of the ones in my group and a little later Pablo came over and asked me to pray for him. I asked if he wanted prayer about anything in particular, and he said, “just pray for me”. So I did. He sniffled a couple times and it seemed like he was starting to cry.

The Spirit time continued and they called for a special prayer time for the kids from Oasis. I walked to the front to see if I could pray for anyone. Paola Aparicio saw me and asked me to pray for some of the boys because they carry heavy chains. I saw Jorge was getting prayer from Isaias Aparicio & Stevie and Maynor was also receiving prayer, so I went to look for some of the older boys. I found Andres and prayed for him.

One element I see lacking in these experiential times is dialogue. No one ever asks what to pray about or what the experience meant to them. To me, this is hugely importance. It is important to experience God, but it is also important to assign meaning to the experiences.

Afterwards the band played a few more fast songs during which everyone sang; jumped, and danced – even the old pastor who introduced communion! Shortly later people went back the their cabins. By now it was almost 1:30am – a 21 hour day. I took a quick, ice cold shower, and went to bed.