July 28, 2003

Dear Friend:

No matter how many years I walk this road of faith with Aslan, I am still surprised by how very much our Aslan kids love being a part of this ministry.  From June 23 – 29 we took 22 kids and 11 adults for a wonderful time of music and camping in Pennsylvania with almost 100,000 other people from around the U.S.  Due to the unusual amount of rain we had received during June, the camp was moved at the last minute to Hershey Park on the Eastern side of Pennsylvania.  Setting up tents across the street from roller coasters, a football stadium and a 16,000 seat auditorium made for quite an experience!

What we love the most about Creation for our kids is getting them away from their often negative environments and into a place where God can really work on their hearts.  Every evening the last event ends around 11:00 PM, so every night is a “late” night.  With only 3 – 4 hours of sleep per night and temperatures averaging in the mid-nineties, everyone (kids, staff and volunteers) can get a little grumpy at times!  It’s also a very emotional experience, as well-known Christian speakers and singing groups share their hearts with everyone.  A highlight every year is the candle lighting service, when the lights go out and a sea of people hold their flickering candles and share a few moments of complete silence.  After this incredible experience, one of our boys said to me, “Craig, I never understood that God is really real until last night.  When I lifted my candle into the air, it was like everyone in the stadium did it at the same time.  Now I understand what Aslan’s been telling me all this time.” 

The last night before we left, we gathered around our camp fire to share about what Creation Festival had meant to each of us.  Daren, in particular, had been deeply moved over the last 4 days.  Living 30 miles north of us, this was his first time with Aslan.  He spoke of how the friendships he’d made would stay with him forever.  One of Daren’s most poignant statements was what it meant to “get away” from the toils and trials of his normal life.  “This is the first time I’ve ever been in the wilderness,” Daren said, “and I can’t thank Aslan enough for giving me this experience!”

I didn’t know whether to smile or cry as I thought about what Daren had just said.  I was reminded of the early days of Aslan when Bill Neergaard and I had taken several young men camping at an area State Park.  All they wanted to do the entire evening was sit on a hill above the Garden State Parkway and watch the lights of countless cars fade into the distance.  Twenty-seven years later, here was a fifteen-year-old boy not 40 feet from a busy highway with truck horns blaring and across the street from Hershey Park, but this was “wilderness” to him. 

What a privilege it is to be able to offer children and young people like Daren “opportunities of a lifetime” like Creation Festival!  You are a major part of helping open the eyes and hearts of the children of Aslan through your giving.  Thanks so much for your donation(s).

In the words of a song Lynn Ann and I used to sing in college, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.  And soon all those around will warm up in its glowing.  That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it . . . . You want to pass it on.”  God bless you for helping us continue to “pass it on.”   

Our sincerest thanks,
Craig

Craig Bogard