Carrying a Dream

By Kay Landis

Do you feel overwhelmed by a dream God has given you?

Carrying A Dream tells the journey of a group of dreamers who decided to follow their God-given dream, despite hardships and challenges. Experience their struggles and victories as they pursue to establish Camp Sonshine Center, a place of hope for street children. As the story unfolds, be encouraged to expect and pursue God's dream for you!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449741440

Kay Landis

  Kay Landis is the program director for Camp Sonshine International and missionary with Go To Nations. Her ministry started at Camp Sonshine in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1996. After serving there for four years, she and her husband, Jesse, felt the vision of starting camps internationally should start in the Philippines. In the summer of 2000, they opened up the first Camp Sonshine day camp outside the United States in Iloilo City. This day camp grew into a center for street children called Camp Sonshine Center Foundation. Camp Sonshine International is in multiple locations around the world and continues to grow. The Landis Family believes that reaching the children of the world will change the world!   Kay is a Filipina American who grew up in Indiana but now lives in Dallas, Texas. She is a graduate of Purdue University and Christ for the Nations School of Global Missions.   She and Jesse have three girls, Cora, Ember, and Jaydn, who are avid dreamers.  

Book preview

Contents

DEDICATED TO

SALAMAT GUID (THANK YOU VERY MUCH)

FOREWORD

THE BEGINNING OF A DREAM

A DREAM CONCEIVED

WAITING PHASE OF A DREAM

MORNING SICKNESS

SMALL BEGINNINGS

TIME OF GROWTH

AND IT KEEPS GROWING AND GROWING . . .

HELLO OUTSIDE WORLD!

THE DREAM LIVES ON

STORIES OF DREAMERS BORN

WHAT ARE YOU CARRYING?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DEDICATED TO

Immanuel’s Church (Silver Spring, Maryland)

Word of Grace Ministries

(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

Life Center Ministries International

(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

Family Worship Center (Kokomo, Indiana)

Camp Sonshine (Silver Spring, Maryland)

Christ For the Nations Institute (Dallas, Texas)

Radiant Life (Dallas, Texas)

Go To Nations (Jacksonville, Florida)

The story within these pages describes a dream that was God given. You have all played a role in making this dream a reality. Your prayers, financial partnership, and guidance have been invaluable. Thank you for making so many dreams come.

SALAMAT GUID

(THANK YOU VERY MUCH)

So many people have played a role in making the dream of Camp Sonshine Center a reality. Some have played a role even in this little book being written, which has been little dream of mine. Thank you to all of you. For all those that helped make this dream come true, special thanks go to:

Mike Charbonneau, for sowing the seed that Jesse and I should be the ones to start Camp Sonshine overseas

JR and Teresa, for letting me highlight your stories.

David Black, for dreaming Camp Sonshine up in the first place.

Susan Giner, Nomil Adorada, Abegail and Nate Shuck, Annie Shelton, and Alison Bagstaff Coe without these dreamers there would be no story.

All the teams and individuals, who have labored alongside us on short-term trips.

Go To Nations, for the guidance and financial oversight throughout the years.

The staff of Camp Sonshine Center Foundation− without you, the dream would not continue.

All the financial partners of Camp Sonshine Center—without you, the dream would not have become a reality.

Jesse, for being the dreamer and for constantly encouraging me to write the story down.

Jesus Christ, the Giver of Dreams, without whom we would all be dreamless.

FOREWORD

David Black-Founder of

Camp Sonshine International

I sat across the table from the young couple and felt excitement rising in my heart. Kay and Jesse had truly caught the vision of Camp Sonshine in Silver Spring, MD and now, dreamed of taking the vision to the Philippines. What a difference time can make our conversations, dreams, and vision for Camp Sonshine to go to the Philippines and around the world is now a reality!

Throughout the booklet, Kay expresses the tears, joys and journey from the very birth of a dream to the dream becoming a reality. I’m thankful that Kay has taken the time to share her journey with all of us. I have found, in the pages of this booklet, hope for all of us who believe in dreams given to us by God!

So turn the pages and discover stories about real people like Rose and J.R. that will make you laugh, maybe even cry, but will definitely help you realize what God can do through a person who says yes to Him.

Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be sitting across the table from you and I will hear how this booklet inspired you and your God-dream to come true!

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"The people listened to me expectantly,

Waiting in silence for my counsel."

Job 29:21

THE BEGINNING OF A DREAM

A dream is a heartfelt wish made while you are sleeping. At least that is what Disney’s Cinderella implies. What happens when a dream keeps you up at night and doesn’t allow you to fall fast asleep? What is that called? Is it still just a wish? Or is it something bigger? Can dreams be more than just mere wishes with the hope of someday coming true? Surely dreams are more than whimsical musings of princesses in fairy tales.

I believe dreams are a way God speaks to our very hearts. It is a way that He is able to express His heart about the things that matters most to Him. Why else would we hold on to dreams so tightly? Why else would we think about it day-in and