Day Camp

This past week I was a counselor for day camp. Let me tell you, I jumped right in. I was told to get back to camp at 1:00 PM on Monday, but I gat back at 7:30 AM with my Dad before He went to work. So, I went outside and asked some staff if they knew where I was going to be that week, and they told me that I was on day camp. To which I said “oh, ok, and when do the kids come?”. To which they responded, “some of them are here already.”. To which I replied, “Okay then, here we go”.

Overall, I’m glad that I was placed in day camp. However, it was a huge challenge to my counseling abilities and mentality. I found myself quickly coming down from my strong spiritual high from IYC and falling into lost focus, because of the large amount of energy that I had to pour in to these kids. For the first couple of days I just felt like we were baby-sitting all day.. I haven’t had a bad cabin yet, but this was about as close as it gets…except there were twenty-four of them. So, Yes, there were some really good kids, but there were also so many who just chose to be defiant simply because they thought it was fun. We would tell them to go do something and they would simply tell us "no." We would tell them again, and again, they would say "no." They would continue to say no until they decided that they wouldn't even bother to respond because it was easier to just ignore us. That is, until we took away five minutes of waterslide time. Then, suddenly, everything was put into perspective for them (until the next issue came up). It took us so much time just to control these kids that time was often lost with the kids who behaved themselves, and our own focus as counselors was lost soon after.

Then, on the third day, we talked about salvation during SMASH. It was explained as a gift that we could choose to receive. I found myself battling with my own focus on the follow-through of what needed to take place. But I was faithful to God's call and let Him do the rest. When we were in our small groups, I expanded on salvation. It was a new concept for some of these kids, and I doubted how much they would take it to heart.. After I was finished explaining, I simply said, "So, if any of you haven’t received that gift before, and you want to, I can help you do that, now or even later." Before I could even finish, one of the girls in my group quietly raised her hand and simply asked, "Can you help me do that?", and another followed. Suddenly, like I was six and someone had taken away my waterslide time, everything was put back in to proportion. My priorities were straight, and my perspective was renewed. Like I have said so many times before, that is why I am here. God in His faithfulness has called me to work in these kids lives, share with them His love and truth. He does the rest, and their lives are changed for eternity. Thank You, Lord.

It didn't matter last week how many times we had to tell these kids, to "stop," "come back," "wait up," "don't do that," “go do that," "don't throw mud," “listen,” “you can’t,” "you have to," "spray your suntan lotion only on yourself," "pick up your trash," or "keep your hands to yourself." All that mattered was that through all of that, we showed them the love and truth of Christ though our words, actions, and even attitudes; while we learned with them, sang with them, played with them, ran with them, and waterslide-ed with them. It all can be done for God's glory; He is faithful in working in their hearts. So, if it takes all of that for fun to be had in His name, spiritual seeds to be planted in kids hearts, and two more girls to accept Christ as their Savior, then that's exactly what I want to be found faithful in doing.

Thanks for the prayer, God is amazing :0)