Just as the tiger lilies were about to bloom, Last Night Camping went to camp… Camp of the Woods in Speculator, NY, that is. David Sonju, Director of Ministries at Camp of the Woods and a Terra Nova occasional attendee, invited us to lead worship at the resort-like campground. Despite a wrong turn up the Northway, we arrived in time to lead 300 or so staff members in a Terra Nova style service to kick off the summer season. The purpose of the service was to refresh the staffers after a week-long cramming session to prepare for serving the campers who would be arriving the next the day.

Although the evening started out shaky with our late arrival and a minimal sound check in front of a packed house, we expected God to do something great here. To make matters worse, our stomachs were empty. After a few warm-up songs, we found our groove and fell into a great time of worship with the staff.

The service looked kind of like this: a half hour of worship, a 15 minute teaching by David, followed by communion and a power-packed closing worship set. In spite of us 5 guys who make up the band, God was there and made Himself known. Debriefing over wings and beer in Queensbury, we realized that the mission was accomplished: the staffers entered into worship and came out refreshed and ready to serve the campers. For some crazy reason they’ve invited us back to close out the summer.

I don’t get to say this much, but I really find it a privilege to play with such excellent musicians who truly have a heart for worship: Nat Marshall (acoustic guitar), Bob Cowherd (electric guitar), Damian Belt-Smith (bass) and Zach Kenyon (drums). Thanks, Terra Nova for sending us out.

Rob Keparutis