Elijah at summer camp 2024
Bookkeeper, Miriam Ankerbrand, first started at Joy El in 2012 as the Development Coordinator (and then transitioned to the Group Events Coordinator).
She shares a memory back from her 2nd day on staff.
“One of my biggest memories happened just 2 days after I started here as Development Coordinator. I started here July 5th 2012. That same day, I was asked to compose an email asking donors for Campership funds. I had no clue what I was doing, how to word the email to make it sound urgent without “begging,” but we needed $3000 and needed it fast so that camperships could be approved for the following week. I wasn’t sure how an email was going to get the funds we needed in time to have these kids come to camp. I wrote the email and shared it with my supervisor. After a couple tweaks, we sent it out and prayed that it would reach the right people. The next day, my supervisor called me into his office. Excitedly, he showed me a copy of a check that had come in the mail the afternoon before. It was for $3000 specifically for the campership fund! Before we had even thought about doing an email asking for help, before we even prayed for provision of the needed funds, God had already prompted someone to meet the need. My supervisor told me that day that the longer I worked here, the more I would see God work like this. I was overjoyed! And he was right…I have seen God provide things over and over again for this ministry that He knew we needed before we even did!” God indeed provides what we need just when we need it most!
Elijah Shively, our Program Director, shared a more recent memory when he was still a counselor, but it’s just as impactful.
“4 years ago, I was a senior counselor during the time Covid had just hit. Many of us as counselors were all praying because we knew that the government had to open our county up to go green in order for us to be able to have overnight camp. We had been praying for nearly two weeks and we were so excited for it to happen and had been praying for it so often, that even the campers were praying for it. On the Friday of the second week of camp we all were awaiting the sound of the program director to come over the speaker system to announce if we went green or not. I can remember being on the front porch of the worship center with another counselor and our two cabins. We had just finished praying at the end of chapel about the decision that was about to be announced. At 4pm the announcement was made. We went green!!! The staff were excited but the best part was seeing the joy on the faces of the campers who knew that the Lord had answered their prayers.”
Many of us on staff who were here for that announcement remember hearing the summer staff yelling and screaming with joy over answered prayer. The sound of voices raised in pure joy could be heard all around the campground and even inside the buildings!
God has indeed blessed us greatly over the past 50 years!
