We love Staff Thursdays, because it gives us a chance to highlight some of the awesome staff that serve the Lord at camp. This week, we are pleased to introduce you to Victor and Laura Sprenger, who have participated at Agape Family Camp as program staff a number of times.

VICTOR & LAURA SPRENGER

What is your camp name?
Victor didn't grow up at camp, but if he had his camp name might have been "the animal" (due to his crazy carnivorous eating habits, combined with his wrestling history and current profession, or "The Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla". Just because). Laura's camp name was a little more tame; "Fergie" (because of her maiden name, Ferguson)

Where do you live?
We share a rural property with Victor's parents just outside of Milton, Ontario.

What do you do in your "real life"?
Victor is a practicing veterinarian and Laura is a teacher by trade, but currently is a full time stay at home mom to our three kiddos.

Tell us about a pastime or hobby of yours.
I We have a lot of rural hobbies. One of our favourite "hobbies" is using our property to bless others. In the summer we garden. We keep things as "organic" as possible, and for the past several years have tried to involve different community members in our garden. This is more of a vision than a reality right now, but definitely something we are passionate about. We envision building community and sharing Christ with people who have limited access to fresh food, and the gospel. We are involved with our local food bank, and our neighbourhood greenhouse supplies us with vegetable plants which we grow and donate. We really enjoy growing foods that mean something to the people of the diverse cultural backgrounds served in Milton (Like the world record hottest pepper - "The Reaper"), and then also using these as party samplers with our own friends...haha, come on over! We also just love soaking up the outdoor life; collecting firewood, making our own humble amount of maple syrup, raising moody chickens whose feed costs more than their meagre egg offerings (wait, we do not like that part), building quinzees, tobogganing, and skating on the pond, catching tadpoles and watching birds in the summer, and taking hikes in the fall. We love sharing these pleasures with neighbours, family, friends, and our church community.        

What do you like about the age group(s) you spent time with at Beacon this summer?
We got to work with the 9 - 11 year olds at Agape and they were incredible. It is such a neat age because these guys still have a LOT of energy and enthusiasm, but they are on the cusp of teenagehood and have some real life issues that they want to discuss. They are fun, and open to mentorship. It was really neat to journey with them over the week.        

Tell us about a meaningful experience you had at camp this summer.
Family Camp is always full of so many great experiences it is hard to choose one. A few things come to mind. The first is what we call "panic week," that's the week right before camp when you realize your "to do" list for camp might possibly destroy your marriage. We spoke with one of our directors on the phone during this week and were encouraged to hear that we were not alone, and the attack of the enemy is so strong right before God is going to do big things. We were able to pray for each other in the week leading up to camp and trust God to do His work. At camp a highlight of course was teaching and getting to know the kids in our group, as well as watching our own children enjoy camp and friendship. For us, camp is all about the encouragement of Christian friends who are either at the same life stage as us, or were at some point and have wisdom and encouragement to share. It's those in between time conversations and connections that are not scheduled or planned for, but you realize that God had them in mind the whole time. They are the exact thing the enemy wanted to destroy or prevent during "panic week." We always come home encouraged from camp and have made friends that we can connect with throughout the year.

What is something that God is teaching you these days?
Patience. Patience in parenting, patience in relationships, patience in God's plan for our lives. God is teaching us not to be passively patient, but to be active while we wait for next steps. He is teaching us to be fully present in our life stage and circumstances, and allow God to work in and through us exactly where we are at right now.

What message would you give to those you spent time with this summer?
To our Agape friends new and old, we feel like Paul, "thankful each time we remember you" (Thank goodness for Facebook!). To the students we had the privilege of getting to know a little bit, we hope you found some reminders of eternal treasures to place in your amazing treasure chests to strengthen you through this school year. You guys were so fun to be with! To our kids' friends, thank you for making such great memories with them that will last a lifetime and hopefully instill a love of meeting with God and friends and in a camp setting.

If you know someone you want to see featured on Staff Thursdays, or you want to be featured yourself, email Alyssa at staff@beaconbiblecamp.com.