Watch and Pray: Adult Mission Story for December 21, 2024

By Andrew McChesney

The camp director called an emergency late-night meeting to discuss supernatural activity at Camp Polaris in Alaska.

Wes, who was working as the camp’s handyman, joined other staff members in the main lodge to talk and pray. His girlfriend, Rachel, who was working as a camp counselor, told the other staff members of strange occurrences taking place in the cabin where she was caring for eight Alaska Native girls. Whenever Jesus was mentioned before bedtime — sometimes in prayers and other times in worship talks — strange things happened after the lights were turned out. The girls were scared and having bad dreams.

At the end of the emergency meeting, staff members prayed together and went to their cabins for the night.

When Wes reached his cabin, it was close to 11 o’clock.

“This is not a time for sleeping,” he thought. “This is a time to watch and pray.”

Wes left the cabin and followed a trail to a new block of boys’ bathrooms, which had been constructed recently with the assistance of a Thirteenth Sabbath Offering.

Behind the bathroom block, he sat down and started praying for Rachel, her girls, and their cabin.

“Lord, I pray that Your angels would surround Rachel’s cabin,” he said. “Keep out any evil influence so that the campers can fully enjoy the camp and get to know You.”

Five minutes passed. Ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.

Wes had never prayed for more than 10 or 15 minutes before, but he didn’t want to stop. He was determined to watch and pray until he sensed that his prayers were no longer necessary.

“Lord, send Your angels to keep any evil powers from entering Rachel’s cabin,” he said. “Help Rachel and the kids not to have any more bad dreams. Help them to sleep peacefully. Give me wisdom on how I can help them more.”

He prayed for 20 to 30 minutes.

Then he heard a group of people walking to the main lodge. He heard strange noises. He kept praying.

After that, he saw the group of people go to the camp’s boat. He got up and went over to help. A girl was unwell and needed to be taken to the hospital in town. Wes was trained as an emergency medical technician, so he got in the boat with five other staff members to take the girl to the hospital. He was glad that he had been watching and praying so he was awake to help.

After delivering the girl safely to the hospital, Wes and the other staff members sailed back to camp. By now it was 2 o’clock in the morning. The night sky was dark, and the boat’s sonar wasn’t working. The lake was shallow in places, and the boat risked running aground or capsizing if it hit a sandbar or a rock.

Wes prayed. Everyone on the boat prayed.

With the help of GPS navigation equipment, the boat carefully made its way back toward the camp. But then it slowed down. The camp and the shore should be right ahead. But no one could see anything. It was pitch-black. They couldn’t land safely.

Wes prayed. Everyone on the boat prayed.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the middle of the camp. The brilliant, white light cast dazzling rays over the camp. Wes and the others could see the boys’ cabins. They could see the girls’ cabins. They could see the main lodge. They could see the bathroom blocks. Most important, they could see the shoreline.

A staff member pointed the boat toward the light and guided it to the shore.

Once on dry land, the boat riders looked to see where the light was coming from. They wanted to thank the person who had switched it on. But the light went off, and darkness returned to the camp. Everyone at camp seemed to be asleep.

In the morning, Wes and the other boat riders tried to find out who had lit the light. No one took credit. Everyone said they had been sleeping. Wes believes an angel showed the way to the camp.

Wes, who is now Camp Polaris director and married to Rachel, learned an important lesson about watching and praying that night.

“I was used by God to help the camper get the help that was needed,” he said. “I was available because of the impression that I had to watch and pray. I helped resolve the situation — and then an angel helped to resolve our situation.”

Thank you for your 2015 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering that helped improve Camp Polaris with new cabins and real showers and toilets. Please pray for the camp, which is the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s only summer camp specifically for Alaska Native children.

“This camp has a way of piquing the devil’s interest,” Wes said. “I feel like he has a stronger focus here because of how strong we influence the kids for the good.”