Wednesday, December 28, 2011

No somos del mundo pero estamos aquí, porque Cristo nos salvó


"I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,


For he is the living God,
enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion shall be to the end.
He delivers and rescues;
he works signs and wonders
in heaven and on earth,
he who has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:26-27)

Our theme for Twin Lakes in Peru 2012 is the story of Israel's exile and God's faithfulness to Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. In summer 2010, I wrote a song called "We Are" for our summer camp here in the states. It is based on Daniel 6:26-27, in which Darius confesses Yahweh as Lord after witnessing the power of the One, True God through the miracle of the lion's den. Another TL musician named Jason Bruce recorded the song for me, and Allen Smith translated and recorded the song in spanish.

Allen, a Peru Mission pastor who leads Leadership Training and Discipleship, Missional Community Formation, and Music Development in Trujillo, was the Camp Pastor at Twin Lakes many years ago. During his time at TL, Allen wrote songs for our corporate worship times, and has continued to be a prolific, talented songwriter.

I am excited to hear our campers sing this song in praise to our ever faithful God. It will be a thrill to hear it sung in another language as well.

Below I have posted lyrics and links from which you can download both versions of the song.

My hope is that this song is an encouragement to you.

In Christ Alone,

Zack Owens



Lyrics:

For He is the Living God
And He endures forever
His Kingdom shall never be destroyed

And His Rule shall never end
He rescues again and again
He works wonders on heaven and earth


We are called to be faithful
We all belong to the Lord
We are in but not of this world
Because Jesus rescued us


It is He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.
It is He who has called us to tear down our idols and worship Christ alone, Christ alone



Él es Dios vivo, permanece para siempre

Su reino jamás será destruido
Su dominio no tendrá fin, Él recata y salva
Hace maravillas en toda la tierra

//Somos llamados ser fieles
Somos del Señor
No somos del mundo pero estamos aquí
Porque Cristo nos salvó//


Él es quien salvó a Daniel de los leones
Él es quien nos llamó a derribar a los ídolos
Y adorar a Dios, ¡solo a Dios!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Camp 2012 Introduction

Greetings from Twin Lakes!

Soon a team from Twin Lakes will embark on a journey to Trujillo, Peru to help facilitate a summer camp for a group of churches. This year, we will be partnering with Frankie Daniell, Director of Independent Presbyterian Church's (Savannah, GA) day camp - Point Pleasant. Both groups can't wait to work together in partnering with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Peru.
We also look forward to partnering with Peru Mission missionaries, without whom this work would be impossible.

A team of around 30 will participate in this work from December 30th to January 7th. In response to the request of churches planted by Peru Mission, Twin Lakes Summer Camp and 1st Presbyterian Church (Jackson, MS) planted a week long day camp for kids in Trujillo in 2007. We continue to facilitate this children’s ministry in order to:

  1. Foster redemptive relationships for evangelism and discipleship,
  2. Open avenues for the Gospel in the lives of entire families,
  3. Train a generation of Christ-like servant leaders.
Our long term goal is to pass this ministry over to developing leadership within the local churches. The entire trip is set up to be a part of what Peru Mission is already doing - encouraging the growth of churches that preach the Gospel and encourage the means of grace within a community. Through these churches and their ministries (economic development, music development, theological education, healthcare, summer camp, and much more) the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed in word and in deed for the sake of His worship and glory. Camp is a unique opportunity to build relationships with children of the community, and inroads are made through camp to impact entire neighborhoods. "American" camp - done by groups from the United States and dependent on groups from the United States - is not the end goal of this trip. This camp germinated in the hearts of those in Peru. Here is an excerpt from the original letter asking Twin Lakes to come to Peru:

"...Here in Peru, God has seen fit to send many children to our churches. For instance, our newest church planting effort in the Arevalo community has more than half its Sunday morning attendance in children. It is not uncommon for 60 children to show up without their parents for Lord's Day worship and Sunday School. The Arevalo community is not alone; we also have high attendance of youth at all our churches. God has given us an amazing opportunity to reach the next generation for Christ ... We are convinced that one of the ways the gospel would have an immense impact in the lives of thousands of children is to mimic your summer camp program here in Peru. It is staggering to consider the possibility that in one generation, Trujillo can be transformed into a society filled with converted and committed Christians."

Tuan La and Zack Owens will be leading a team of Twin Lakes Counselors who are thrilled to see God's work overseas and feel privileged to be a part of what He is doing. Please pray for safety, and that Christ would be glorified as we build relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Peru.


Team Members:
  • Anna Blair Brown
  • Aubrey Brown
  • Claire Holmes
  • Mary Claire Jussely
  • Austin "Sharkbait" Marascalco
  • Anna Kristen Mitchell
  • Brandon Renfroe
  • Mallory Stokes
  • Katie Welch
  • Mary Clark Strange

Please visit http://www.perumission.org/ to find out more about what God is doing through His church in Peru.