"What does it look like to let God see deeply into you?" said Megan Fate-Marshman, keynote speaker for Radiant, an all-girls retreat at Camp Siloam, located in Siloam Springs. "That's going to be our flow line for the weekend," said Marshman as she discussed intimacy with God and set the tone of the weekend for the 306 junior and senior high girls.
"This is a weekend we can focus on issues particular to women and answer those issues with scripture," said Linda Graham, Camp Siloam guest services coordinator. "Our passion is that these women would not only know salvation, but to grow in Him, walk in Him and glorify Him."
"We have these thoughts that play in our head.....This weekend, don't be alone with those thoughts. Counselors are here to help you. Share what you are thinking this weekend with someone," Marshman said.
Melinda Adams, a counselor who came with her girls from First Baptist Church okf Dardenelle, said her girls needed to be encouraged to share. "So many girls are carrying guilt for things that aren't their fault," she said.
"I know this is kind of cheesy, but I think that intimacy means 'into-me-see,'" said Moriah Peters, the Nashville singer, songwriter and actress who led worship for the weekend. "I know for me, after traveling with my bandmates, I've found the most growth and healing in having honest discussion about heart struggles. When I see camps like this, I see how important it is."
Staff and volunteers set the stage for the truth to be shared as they prayed for each camper, decorated the camp facilities with flowers, special lighting and decorations. The girls received gifts, T-shirts, and hand-written notes prepared for each one of them by volunteers from the camp and area churches.
"We decorate the camp in special ways because we want our campers to know we've been waiting for them and praying for them. We want them to know this is time set apart and we are thrilled they are here," Graham said.
During a question-and-answer session, Peters talked to her "12-year-old self" and then shared about her poor relationship with her sister when she was a teenager.
"I thought that (my relationship with my sister) was the one thing in my life God could not redeem," she said. "God can redeem the most broken, disgusting parts of your life."
Peters went on to describe that she and her sister are now best friends, who talk to each other every day and they are starting a business together.
"I liked when she talked to her 12-year-old self," said Leanne Hughes of Dardanelle. "The wisdom she's gained could have made life easier, but she had to go through it."
Miss Arkansas Ashton Campbell made an appearance and gave her testimony. Campbell was a long-time camper at Camp Siloam and made a recommitment to follow Jesus as a high school camper. Campbell talked about how even the Miss America contestants were uncomfortable with their own appearance, but her faith helped her with her own struggles.
"I learned to embrace my awkward beauty," Campbell said. Aston said her faith impacted her pageant experiences and she encouraged the girls to share Jesus with their friends.
"When you leave this world, you can't take anything with you...but you can take people," Campbell said.
Peters, who led worship in 2014, said she saw the impact of the retreat in girls who came back.
"In a cabin last night, I got to talk with the same group of girls that I talked with last year. I saw how they grew," Peters said.
"Being honest and transparent with a living God is a recipe for transformation," Marshman said. The camp's hope was that time with Jesus would cause girls to come away radiant, because they had been with a God who loves, treasures and values them. By the end of the weekend three girls made professions of faith, 15 made recommitments of faith and many were shown examples of what it means to be a daughter of the King.
General News on 03/04/2015