Wondering where the name came from? Mount Wannahockaloogie is the mystical monument inside the dentist’s office fish tank in Finding Nemo (2003)  on which Nemo is initiated into the dentist’s fish tank.
“Nemo, newcomer of orange and white, you have been called forth to the top of Mt. Wannahockaloogie to join in the fraternal bonds of… tankhood.”

Spelled slightly different, Camp Wannahockalugie, won’t be taking place in a fish tank but rather in the West End of Hagerstown MD, July 7th through 10th.

I’ll be working with LIFE House West and NO LIMITZ youth group to conduct a 4 day long camp for the community kids. Arriving at 9:00 am and departing at 5:00 pm each day the campers will be involved in off-site activities such as swimming, karate, a visit to city park and Wacky Water Day. They will also attend daily sessions such as crafts, music, recreation and Bible study. NO LIMITZ youth team will be leading the sessions, acting as chaperones for each group and helping to serve breakfast and lunch each day.

It is the desire of LIFE House West, the host church, that the community will be ministered to through this camp and that this week would be an extension of Jesus’s amazing love.

Join us in prayer that God will be preparing the hearts of the kids that will be attending that they will be open to the gospel and that their families will be touched by the love and the caring spirits of the people that will be ministering to the kids that week. We are expecting eternal change to take place in the lives of kids during Camp Wannahockalugie.

Recently I was introduced to one of the most contagious pastors I’ve ever met. Pastor Alex Hardy, is the pastor of New Dimension Worship Center in Frederick Maryland and he asked if I would come to their Father/Son Summit to minister to the boys in attendance. Although he was targeting the men of his community through various sessions, it was his desire that the boys would also be challenged in their walk as sons and as future men in the community.

I was encouraged from the very beginning of the summit when Pastor Hardy challenged the men to be strong leaders in their family, especially spiritual leaders. He stressed the importance of raising Godly sons and that their community will only change through men that follow after God.

The topic I chose to share with the boys that day was obedience. It seems that obedience to both God and parents is the foundation for strong relationships and I was led to share this with the boys. We discussed the importance of being obedient and that God commands it. If we know we are to be obedient to God then it follows that we must be obedient to our parents. Ephesian 6:1-3 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise— that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

Everything that day revolved around obedience. As the day progressed we made a few gifts for the fathers as well as reinforcing our topic with some fun games.

It was a blessing to see a pastor that desires to turn his community around by reaching the spiritual leaders of the home first. May God continue to work in the lives of the men that attended and may they influence many other men who will turn their hearts to Jesus.