The camp season is growing closer and closer, and we are beyond excited to begin another summer full of neighbors, wheelchair ramps, fresh coats of paint, and blessings.  Since it’s Monday, and many of you are out of school (or almost!), why don’t you take today to make sure you’re ready for camp?  A few quick minutes to check if you have turned everything in, and you’re done!

We have what to pack lists, packets for all the adults drivers, and tools youth directors or other adults can use that are provided by OMP to help you prepare your campers for what a week at OMP will look like.  Click HERE to find downloadable information about this summer.

If you have any questions about camp or this summer, PLEASE don’t hesitate to contact Mary Dunlap or Nancy Mulhearn.  We would love to chat with you about what to expect from a week at camp.

Thanks for helping us prepare for another amazing summer with OMP!

Sometimes Mondays can get us down.  The week ahead seems to loom over us in a mysterious cloud.  Sometimes, tasks seem to big to handle.  But wait!

God is big enough to handle anything.

2 Samuel 22:40 says “For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.”

To me, this means that God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.  You can do anything with God’s help.  This means homework, building a house, running a marathon, or simply making it through a Monday.  God will help your working hands be successful.

Christ is Risen! Praise the One who paid our debts!

Hitting that peak while you’re at camp is a phenomenal experience. It makes you feel so close to God and the work you’re doing while at camp. But how can we continue this experience after camp? As a youth, we feel as though it is difficult to just walk up to a stranger and ask them what they need.

But wait. Why are we doubtful? Think about your neighborhood. Who needs their yard picked up? Who simply needs someone to talk to? You can do these things. You are capable.

Don’t underestimate yourself. God does not call the equipped, he equips the called. Take OMP home!

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12

This morning, I woke up to snow silently falling in the still of the early morning. The first thing on my mind was, “YES! No school!”.  But as I made a cup of coffee and marveled at the gentleness of the snow, I was reminded of the constant love that I feel from our graceful Father.  Memories of my years as a camper and one summer as a college staff came flooding back as I focused on all the beautiful moments OMP provided for me.

Those feelings of love, continued relationships, and sense of self remind me of my continued growth through Christ through my involvement with OMP. Remember the feeling of reward when you finish a project?  Or how much you love your family group on Saturday morning?  It’s moments like those, and mornings like this that refresh our mentalities to move forward.  We are so blessed by the grace of God, and so blessed by OMP and the opportunities it provides for us to serve.

“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” -2 Corinthians 9:15

“And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39

OMP allows for an incredibly unique experience in that the people we work for, commonly referred to as “neighbors” hold a very special place in the camper’s hearts. Not only are the campers exposed to a totally different “norm”, but they are so humbled by the grace and joy that neighbors possess. They are the most loving, caring, and peaceful people.

Campers, adults, and staff are not only sent to the neighbors’ homes to build wheelchair ramps or a set of stairs, they are sent to love on the neighbor. To share Christian fellowship. To pray and study The Word.

OMP isn’t just about building, painting, and sweating. It about learning to love.

My name is David Goodwin and I’m a junior at the University Central Arkansas and part of the Wesley Foundation at UCA.  When I saw that a college trip was going to be in Joplin this year, I knew I had to go. I previously went to New Orleans 2 years ago and knew something was going to be different about this trip. I remember the devastation I saw in the news in late May of 2011. When all 35 of us from 4 different Wesley Foundations drove into Joplin that Monday night,  my heart melted. My only thought that came up when I saw the destruction of a town of 50,000 was “Wow.” There was not anything I could say but “Wow.”

Our theme of the week to think about was rebuilding the church in a town that has had some hardships and how we can grow ourselves in dark/terrible times. I worked a wide scale of projects that week such as deconstructing a house, replacing a water line for a family who was not affected by the storm, putting a sub floor at Saint Paul United Methodist Church in Joplin and meeting the lady who owned the house we were tearing down. She was an amazing woman who had a warm heart and a bright spirit. She made my week by continuing what I do and that’s spreading the light to those who maybe have not seen the light. We had daily worship every night in the sanctuary at church we were staying at. On Saturday morning for our last worship, we sang the song Beautiful Things by Gungor. This song described what we were doing in Joplin that week. We were making new things better for the town of Joplin. As the song lyric goes “You make beautiful things,You make beautiful things out of dust.You make beautiful things,You make beautiful things out of us.” I truly believe we made new things for people and God makes us new every day.

I close with my personal quote, “doing the smallest things can make the biggest difference in someone’s life.”

Blessings,
David Goodwin

My name is Mary Dunlap, and I am the new Spring/Summer Intern for OMP!  I am so excited about this opportunity to share my love for OMP while working for some of the most grateful and humble people on this Earth.  God is so good!  Since many of you do not know me, here’s a short bio so you know who’s doing all the talking (since I’m really good at that).

• I’m a sophomore at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
• I’m majoring in Public Relations with a minor in history, hoping to one day work for a museum.
• I was a camper for five summers, and went on to be college staff in 2011 (what an adventure!)
• One of my favorite places to be is the lake.
• I love to craft!

I hope you all know me a little better, and I look forward to seeing all of you in the 2012 camp season!  It’s going to be a GREAT summer, with many new camps and a shiny new tool trailer!

If you have any questions about OMP, please don’t hesitate to call, text, or e-mail me.  I’m happy to talk to you about anything!

Many Blessings,

Mary Dunlap

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed.  Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light” –Luke 8:16

Ozark Mission Project is extending its 2012 College Staff application deadline to

DECEMBER 16, 2011

2012 College Staff Application

If you have scanning capabilities, you may email your application packet to Nancy Mulhearn at the contact information below.  Otherwise, please mail ASAP.

Applicants will be contacted by Nancy.

Thank you for your consideration of OMP and of being a part of a great ministry!

Every camp has a special moment. It may come as a camper gives us insight through his neighbor experience in sharing. I’ve seen it in the eyes and smiles of campers participating in a well planned game. I’ve seen it many times in worship. For the Lakewood camp, it camp Friday night. We did about 20 projects in an area called Dark Hollow in NLR very near my home church and camp, Lakewood UMC.

We had planned to do our Neighbor Night in Dark Hollow with just a cookout to wrap up the week. However, as we got to know the people in the community throughout the week, we built a special relationship with them. Several high school aged youth from King Solomon Baptist Church and several community leaders worked alongside our family groups to scrape, paint, hammer, and do yard work. So, we decided to try sharing and communion at King Solomon Baptist Church for our end-of-camp celebration.

Here is a Facebook post from Rev. Cindy Russell just before the big event:
“Off to King Solomon Baptist Church in Dark Hollow for a cookout and worship service with our OMP camp. Going to share Holy Communion with young and old, black and white, men and women, Baptists and Methodists. Am thinking this is the way God intended the meal to be…everyone at the table.”

I’m still processing what happened that evening. I know it was the most overt and diverse outpouring of love I have everexperienced. For starters, picture our neighbors of the week describing their experience with the OMP campers during sharing. Also, picture a black Baptist minister sharing communion with a white female Methodist minister! Imagine black and white youth embracing during the act of community and individual prayer.

I know a transformation occurred during that week. It culminated in a fellowship event that deserves words to honor what happen. I haven’t found them yet. However, I do know that OMP is widening our sphere of influence. We have always been about transforming lives (neighbors and campers). This week we were on the ground floor of transforming a whole community.

What we do is important and it honors God. It has never been so clear to me.

In His service,

Hank Godwin

Summer 2010