Lachlan and Ash Bunn have attended CRU Holiday Camps over many years and in various ways. Ash tagged along with her parents as a child, they both attended as campers in high school, and served as leaders, camp mechanics and directors. In fact, it was at Dirt Action, a dirt bike camp for high schoolers, where they first met! Now married with children, they are still committed to serving God through camp ministry.
In a season of navigating two young children, work, house renovations and more, most would consider life too busy for directing CRU Camps. Yet the Bunns are so convinced of the value and ministry of CRU that they continue to take two weeks out of their annual leave each year to serve as directors on dirt bike camps.
“Camp is a chance to do life with young people in an environment that’s so unique. It creates a new family for a week, and people are willing to be vulnerable with strangers in a way that is so incredible,” shares Lachlan.
“You see people coming to faith for the first time, people being encouraged in their faith, and people really starting to reconnect with the Lord through these camps.”
It has also been a joy for the Bunns to see their children join them on CRU Camps. Their 10-year-old daughter, Loren, looks forward to them every year and their youngest, Jed, just attended his second dirt bike camp at the ripe old age of 12 months!
Both Lachlan and Ash believe serving on CRU Camps has helped them grow in their personal faith and recognise God’s goodness. “As much as it’s giving and serving, you also learn so much from these kids and
your leadership team. It’s encouraging to see God work in others,” shares Ash.
Lachlan adds, “It’s just so exciting to see the long-term fruit. You don’t always get to see it on a single CRU Camp, but if you stick around for long enough, it’s cool to watch that picture all come together.”
A few years ago, Lachlan and Ash decided to attend a free CRU Wills Day. As a newly-married couple, they recognised that it was something they had on their “todo list,” yet had put it off due to the expenses involved with hiring a lawyer. Lachlan explains, “It kept getting pushed down the to-do list because you hope that it’s not something you’re going to need anytime soon. But why wait? Put the thought into it early.”
“God always provides and pulls it together. It’s a big comfort knowing God is in control and will make things happen if He wants to.”
So, when the Bunns heard about the free CRU Wills Days, they were grateful for the opportunity to ensure their children are cared for and build a legacy that helps others come to know the Lord.
“I think there’s probably two big reasons why Wills are important. Firstly, as parents, you want to know what’s going to happen to your kids,” Lachlan explains. “The other is if you’re in a position that you’ve been blessed by God, it’s important to be a faithful steward of that blessing. It’s important to know how you can pass that blessing on once you're gone.”
Ash describes CRU’s Wills Day as an easy and stress free experience: “The process was explained clearly and the lawyer was lovely. It was comforting to go through it feeling relaxed, rather than overwhelmed.”
While the easy option would be to leave everything to their children, Lachlan and Ash also chose to invest in CRU’s ministry. “I think you can still provide for your kids and give something small to ministry or something else that is important to you,” shares Lachlan. “CRU Camps run because people are generous and we want to support that because CRU is such a big part of our lives. We’re also in a different financial position now, so we might be able to go back and prayerfully think about how generous we could be in that.”
Ash adds, “Money is tight for a lot of people, but we’re trusting God by leaving this gift and trusting that He will provide throughout our lives in the next 40, 50, or 60 years. Whenever this Will comes into play, we’d love for our gift to go back into something that would help grow the Kingdom.”
We give great thanks to God for brothers and sisters, like Lachlan and Ash, who share in our mission to make Jesus known. Please join us in giving thanks for these faithful servants of the gospel!