Day 4 ~ Cocoa Beach, FL.

Yesterday morning we packed up the bus and left Ft. Myers headed to Cocoa Beach, FL. We made a few stops along the way and everyone did really great on the bus ride. we had our devotions on the bus again, we talked about be undone in the presence of the Lord...how King David was so in awe of the presence of God that he danced right out of clothes...he felt so small in comparison to God that he knew he couldn't compete in his kingly attire, he wanted to be so undone in God's presence. Much like how we are to be when we are dancing and performing on this trip. We talked about how we perform for an audience of one...God. That we are not to be focused on performing but rather ministering and letting God use us during that time...giving it our all and letting God do the rest.
We arrived at Cocoa Beach in the afternoon and got checked into our hotel. We quickly changed and headed down to Lori Wilson park to try and locate the surf camp people. They had already left for the day but we did find their tents, so we got a glimpse at were they hold camp :) We had about an hour to spend at the beach and believe me the kids were thrilled! They loved playing in the waves and "body surfing". I actually didn't brave the waters, I'm too scared of sharks...lol. But I did get in about hip deep and enjoy the warm water and waves. It was a beautiful sun shiny day.
After the beach, we headed back to the hotel for some super quick showers and then back to the bus to head over to First Baptist Church of Cocoa Beach where the Club Zion Church of the Youth surf camp service was being held. Man, what a cool concept! I never even knew such a thing existed. But there we were in the middle a church, filled with over a hundred kids aged 12-19 wearing board shorts and tank tops. The pastor is a man named Keith...picture a middle aged man with bleach blonde hair and typical surf attire....that is Pastor Keith. A really cool surfer dude whose heart for the youth is so evident from the moment you meet him. They had a band made up of 3-4 young guys and they started the service with worship. They moved right into some giveaways, one kid won a new surf board and another a new bmx bike. Pastor Keith began by saying that he wanted each kid to feel special, he said we did all of this for you...not you as a group...you as you...just you. He said if only one of you had showed up to this camp, we still would have done all of this for you. He then explained how that is what Jesus did...he gave his life for just one...so that everyone would have the chance to be saved and know him. He went on to say that he wanted to the kids to be open to what God had for them over the next 4 days of camp...he said after these 4 days you can go back to what ever it is you want to do...but for the next 4 days be open and let God have His way and show them what He can do for them. I thought that was pretty cool! There was a time of Q&A with some some really cool retired surfers...these dudes were legends and the ones who really started professional surfing in Cocoa Beach. They were serious competitors with hundreds of trophies between them. The camp kids were in awe and really loved hearing their surfer stories. After some testimonies it was our turn to minister and the kids performed Hey Hey, a black light dance...everyone loved it! It was a great night!
After leaving the camp we headed to McDonald's for a late dinner. It was my first time helping with the food orders for 31 people...it was interesting to say the least, LOL but we survived and everyone was so thankful for the food and fellowship. We got back to the hotel about 11:30pm and the kids headed up to the rooms to hit the hay. Miss Carla, Mr. Carl and I headed down to the hotel laundromat wash and dry all the PEAK shirts and pants. I headed to bed around 2:30am and left Miss Carla and Mr Carl to finish up the last load...they finally hit the hay around 3:30am...We had to get up by 8am to make it breakfast and back to the bus this morning. Thankfully we all made it up bright eyed and bushy tailed...well, that might be a slight exaggeration...LOL but we did all make it to the bus on time :) And the best part was that your prayers are working! My eye is so much better...barely swollen and only a little sore. Thank you so much for lifting all of us up in continued prayer...you guys rock!
This morning we hit the road early as we are headed to the children's orphanage in Leesburg, FL. It is about an hour and a half drive from Cocoa Beach. We will be staying at City of Life Church in Kissimmee, FL for the next few days...time to break out the air mattresses :) We will be heading back to Cocoa Beach this evening to minister at the surf camp again.
Stayed tuned! More to come about today's events in a later post :)