Letter #1: September 2022
It’s amazing to us to see what the Lord is doing and that the doors are actually opening for us to start our dream! For those that don’t know, Mario was called to open a christian youth camp when he was just a youth! Let us fill you in on what the Lord has done in just the past couple of months!
Last summer, while at camp with our teens, the Lord gave Mario 1 Kings 17:9. When he read the passage, he wondered, “is the Lord telling me to start my own camp?” He put his Bible away and carried on with his day not giving it anymore thought. Later during the evening service, the camp director got up behind the pulpit and yelled, “Get thee to Zarephath! If the Lord is telling you young people to go somewhere or to do something then do it!” *insert jaw drop*
The preacher then got up and preached a message entitled, “Well, I didn’t see that coming” and ended the message with the question, “don’t you think it’s about time you take a leap of faith?”
These two incidents got us thinking. Is God really showing us that it’s time? We began praying more, yet, continued serving at our church while we waited to see what doors God would open. It wasn’t until this year that things started to line up for us to pursue our dream. Not knowing where to begin, we bought a map off of Amazon and began praying over it. The Carolina’s are somewhere I’ve always prayed about and wanted to be. We prayed about that area specifically to see if God would clarify if that would be the location.
During the summer, we went to a revival meeting near our house. We met a pastor from North Carolina and as Mario was talking to him, he made the statement, “I’ve always wanted a youth camp in North Carolina.” Wow! We continued praying but now, it was specifically about North Carolina. My husband randomly got in touch with a pastor who said the same thing the previous one did! “I have always wanted a campground in North Carolina.” It seemed like God was directing us to this state now.
We went home and stuck a pin right in North Carolina on the map we had hanging in our room. We considered living outside of Winston Salem, but the more we thought about it, we could reach more people if we weren’t next to the coast. So we put a pin in Asheville, right in the nook of the state that borders 3 other states. I began to look on google at land for sale and came across property in Nebo right outside of Pisgah National Forest. The Lord brought to memory that these places are in the Bible. Upon looking it up, I found that Mt. Nebo (also called Pisgah) is the mountain that God took Moses on to show him the promised land - which just so happens to be the name Mario has always wanted to name his campground!!
I began praying that God would give me a verse just like He gave Mario 1 Kings. I figured He wouldn’t give me that one because I was in the new testament at at the time. I did my devotions and didn’t get anything for the day but then I pulled out my Sunday school lesson to study for Sunday. The lesson just so happened to be on 1 Kings - Elijah and the widow woman! At this point, we knew God wanted us to see something in this passage but what does Zarephath and a widow woman have to do with anything? We shared our news with my mom, told her we’re selling our house and going on the road to start a camp. She told us, “Why don’t you live with me while you’re on the road? Don’t worry about a thing, I will take care of you.” This is amazing on it’s own but what is even more crazy is that my mom is a widow! Isn’t it amazing how God works??
For now we will continue to serve at our church until the spring. Then we will sell our house and begin raising support. We have began working with a realtor (which is an amazing story of it’s own) and are going to check out the area in November. We covet your prayers during this time. We want to follow the Lord’s leading and do His will. We are so excited to see where He leads us!
Thank you for all of your love, prayers and support.
Mario, Emily and Evelyn
