IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR P.I.T.S. PARTICIPANTS!

Greetings to you all!  We sincerely hope you are all doing well. It’s hard to believe that it have been ten years since our last camp.  My, how time flies!

The reason for this notice is to alert you all of some very important information ~ especially those of you who attended camp the summer of 1997.  This was our last camp at Gasper River Retreat in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

You may remember that one of our counselors received a tick bite that year.  And just one month later, she started having symptoms, it was her hair-dresser that found the tick engorged and attached in her scalp and then was tested and diagnosed with Lyme Disease.  Sadly, Lisa Bevill has also recently been diagnosed with Lyme Disease after a long battle with various symptoms.  Because the disease can lay dormant for many years, she believes it is highly likely that she could have contracted the disease at the same time according to what her test results show it being a long term infection... Although she doesn’t remember being bitten by a tick.

The purpose of this notice is not to frighten anyone, but rather to inform.  As with all diseases, proper diagnosis and treatment are very important.  Because Lyme can be so hard to identify, we felt this alert was important so that, if you should happen to be experiences any unusual symptoms, both now or in the future, you can be tested, diagnosed and treated in a timely manner.

Some of the symptoms include: fatigue; musculoskeletal pain; vision and hearing problems; digestive and excretory system difficulties; and mental capability such as memory loss and speech difficulty.

There will be a Lyme Disease page on Lisa’s website menu that will have a more up-to-date medical symptom list, and more information about the disease.   The symptoms Lisa experienced include: “Burning pain down left arm that threw me out of bed in the middle of the night, then burning on the back of the neck, burning pain down both arms, entire back burning, pelvic, groin, leg and foot pain everywhere.  Hair Loss, memory loss, blurry vision, floaters on eyes,  loss of appetite, rapid weight loss of over 50 pounds, BLOOD clots on lungs, dizziness, weird sensations of things crawling on my body, back, muscle twitches, stabbing pains, shortness of breath.. 
can’t climb a set of stairs,   can't walk across the room, room  spinning, neck pain, crackling neck, muscle and joint pain, chest pain, hip pain, hot spots on my body, severe arm and leg pain, anxiety, panic attacks, unusual depression, feeling as if you are losing your mind, heart palpitations,  heart racing, sweating hands and feet,  can’t sleep at night, then sleep too much, heartburn worse than ever before, gastro and bladder problems.  Ringing ears, pain in ears, ear fullness, increased and decreased hearing at times.  4 trips to the ER thinking I was dying or having a heart attack, one trip, they found blood clots on my lungs.  Can’t drive car because it hurts my arms too much, even washing hair hurts.”

If you have experienced any of these symptoms ~ or any others that can not be explained ~ we strongly encourage you to be tested for Lyme Disease.  Even if you have been diagnosed with something else, but your symptoms fit, please be tested!  To be tested, please contact I-Genex 1-800-832-3200 and order a test kit, have your blood drawn by a Dr. that you trust, have them send off your blood and takes about 2-3 weeks to get reply back..

Even if your test results come back negative both according to CDC (Center for Disease Control) guidelines and I-Genex negative.  Lyme Literate Dr.’s still need to look at the positive or IND bands to see if there are positive scores for Lyme Indicative Bands.

If you should happen to test positive for the disease, Lisa STRONGLY recommends that you seek a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor who is well trained to treat this disease.

Again, it is not our desire to frighten anyone.  I personally attended all four camps as a counselor and have experienced NONE of these symptoms.  But, because Lisa loves you all so much, she wanted you to be informed so you can be quickly diagnosed and treated if you have been affected.

In addition, she invited you to contact her and share your story if you have been affected by this disease.  Please reply to with a brief account of your symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, as well as any other information that you believe others would find meaningful.  
Please also inform Lisa if she has your permission to share your story with others.  She is hoping to set up a section on her website that can be a resource and an encouragement to those who have been affected by Lyme Disease.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this important notice.  Any time two or more former counselors are together, we speak of you fondly…and Lisa is forever sending all of us the updates you send her way.  It is so wonderful to hear of all the victories in your lives.   You have all become such fine young women.  We count it a joy and honor to have shared even a few days of our lives with you.  May God bless each and every one of you, firstly, with a deeper understanding of His incredible immeasurable and unending love, and may He cause you to be blessed and prosper even as you seek Him.  May He grant you the desires of your heart and fulfill all His plans for your life. You remain precious to us and we pray for you still.

Most sincerely,
Rachael Israel
(Formerly Kimberly)

For more information, or to track Lisa’s progress, please refer to the Journal section.

(click pic to enlarge) - 1995 -	(click pic to enlarge) - 1996 -	(click pic to enlarge) - 1997 -	(click pic to enlarge) -1998 -

So many folks have written, emailed, called and still continue to ask about the "Place In The Sun" girls camp, wondering if we're going to start it back up again.

Well sadly to say that it seems that the Lord hasn't put that fire back into my belly. We ran the camp for 4 consecutive summers during the years of 1995 -1998 in the lush hills of Kentucky, and White Bluff, TN.

Back in 1998 the Lord clearly sent me home for some rest and renewal and for more time with my family.. I had quite literally toured my brains out traveling to support my records, and with camp, career and two small children..it began to take it's toil on my life and body!

Two years ago, July 15-19, 2002 I spoke at a “mini”- “Place In The Sun” at Camp Smoky in Sevierville, TN, which is near Pigeon Forge, TN. I spoke and sang to the girls..and we had a great time! It was a beautiful place, where the Lord came and showed up in a mighty way . This is a year round camp facility that’s still very active today...but is also mixed with boys and girls. If you're interested in Camp Smoky, you can check them out at www.campsmoky.com, or contact them directly at 865-436-5787.

The vision for the camp totally came from the Lord! Obviously! I was on the cover of BRIO Magazine, the September 1993 issue. And as a result of the feature article I started to receive lots of letters from girls who had read about my life. And my struggles as a teenager of feeling lonely, depressed, no self-esteem, constantly thinking I was fat and ugly, and my thoughts that no one would ever love me. I had pimples, didn't hang with the popular crowd, had no sense of fashion or style, thoughts of suicide, my parents don't understand me, I just want to disappear, and if God really loves me I'll wake up looking like "Christie Brinkley", etc. and etc.

Does this sound like you? Well, alot of young girls said .....YES!
Soooooooo.....

I started out trying to write each girl back, which became overwhelming when there were more than 500 to answer. Then I put together a sort-of form letter to address all the questions they had about how to get through it all...but eventually that didn't feel like the right thing to do either.

Then one day when I was sitting at my computer in my office...typing out another letter to a desperate girl......And the Lord began to speak to my heart, about starting a camp for girls and sharing with them what I had learned about myself through Christ and how I got through the various teenage crisis in my life. I thought surely I had heard wrong from the Lord, cause what in the world do I know about starting a camp for teenage girls.......!?!?!?!?!?!

Well, without boring you with all the details He, our Marvelous, Mysterious LORD, started a camp through me called "Place In The Sun". I simply was just a vessel that the Lord chose to use. Through those 4 years, the Lord brought 20-25 godly, beautiful volunteer counselors who helped me organize everything, who took their vacation time to serve the Lord. And we also had about 200 girls during that time come and go through those years as well. And with the Lord leading us, we tried to teach the girls that they are beautiful in the sight of the Lord, that they were worthy of love and respect...and above all that they are a Child of the Living God.

"Place In The Sun" was a safe place for ANY girl who wanted to come and fellowship with other girls from across the country. We studied the Bible and learned from other women who have gone before us and survived those teenage years. We talked about those boyfriends, sexual pressure, weight, diets, food, peer- pressure, self-esteem, parent/teenager relations and just about everything else. We talked about women's issues but with God's perspective!! We had so much fun! We played in the pool, had craft time, I taught the girls my favorite crafty thing...SEWING!!! We made pillows one year, then Velvet Christmas Ball ornaments another, then worship banners. We had great talks with some great speakers, games, drama, praise & worhsip and we had great nutritional food!

It was such a great time..with NO MAKE-UP, NO GUYS and NO FANCY CLOTHES!!!

I'm still dear friends with several of the counselors and we try and get together as often as we can. We still talk about camp all the time...and the many girls that we still hear from, from time to time. Camp totally changed our lives as leaders.. God showed up in such a mighty way.. words can't begin to tell you all the miraculous things that happened. If you are ever interested in learning more about how to start an all girls camp....please be sure and write to me, email me..or I can even come and speak to your group about it and all the things that I learned to do and NOT to do. Above all... let the Lord lead you ...and be Obedient in what He asked you to do! Don’t miss out on a Blessing!