As we sat and prayed before the
campers arrived, we realized there was a potential for this to be a potentially
volatile camp weekend since all but one camper was on mood controlling meds!
God was answering your prayers since the unstable and unpredictable group could
blow a fuse. Instead it was a beautiful weekend of watching most of the campers
soak up great truths.
Jamal sucks his thumb even though
he is 6 feet tall. His gentle spirit was all we saw and he loved his counselor.
He actively answered questions and had a Bible filling, fun weekend.
Jonathan, a very insightful boy,
gave tremendous answers to the questions at Bible Discussions and shared a
touching testimony of abuse and God’s saving him from his biological family by
being adopted. He made up a song which we let him sing to everyone. He said the
best thing about camp was “seeing God’s nature all around of what He made.”
Even though Tyler was in a cloud
from his medication, he learned a lot, waxed eloquent at Bible discussions and
was a lot of fun using his energy to enjoy himself and others with enthusiasm.
Lilly accepted the Lord last
summer when she realized God loves her. She is very afraid of authority and adults.
She was sharply rebellious in a quiet way. However, her tender side covered
with pain showed in the sweetest smiles and warmth when she understood Bible
truths and could let go. She needs a lot of continued prayer as all the rest!
Randi was one of the hardest
campers we had last summer. When she arrived this weekend, I had to catch my
breath as I saw her face and remembered the wrenching rebellion and
manipulation she poured on us. She had reasons to be difficult since she shared
that she had just been raped by a relative before coming to camp. But to our
great surprise and delight, she decided this winter that she wasn’t going to be
like that anymore. It got her nowhere. She was livid at us last summer since we
had to report the abuse and she was once again moved for her safety from her
family. She has moved from 20 group homes to group home over the 7 years in
foster care. Her greatest gift from God from the weekend was discovering she
can make and can have the ability to make good decisions with God’s spirit!
Tessa was cautiously sweet. She
loves the fun and love she receives at camp but remains unsaved and very
resistant to God. She says she won’t ever go to church or pray but we noticed
that she sang the worship songs half the time any way! Please pray for her to
soften and be healed so she can receive God’s love and salvation. There is so
much pain on her face!
Vicki was an unstable mess,
loving everyone one minute and shooting harsh arrows with her eyes the next.
She kept her counselor at bay with mean actions one moment and was a tender
pussy cat the next. She is such a confused, hurting child but she had some
other counselors that she would talk to and she received much from the program
themes of “Getting past your past” and “Facing your giants.”
We just can’t imagine running camps
these years without prayer when the pain that children have been inflicted with
is so much worse. We are so blessed to have you to minister alongside us with
these “precious in His sight” children! Three of the children signed up for
camp had to cancel because of sickness. So, God even planned the size of this
group. He is soooo GOOD!
