Dear Prayer Partners,
This
last week was for many reasons intense. We
began the week with two girls having to be sent home, which is not a common
event by any means. While it was sad to
see them leave, their departure from here turned out to be a huge blessing. They were both so over bearing on the staff and counselors that we were not able to give the attention
need to the other campers. After they
left we immediately realized many others were in need of attention, which they
could now receive. This camp had many
campers who were very angry at God and at themselves. So throughout the week there were high tempers
and many close calls with some campers. But God is good and he showed the campers how
amazing his love and grace is and many received huge amounts of healing and
comfort. Since the week turned out
nothing like we planned, it just goes to show that Gods plan is far better than
anything we can come up with.
God’s
healing is so great and strong here at Camp Alandale. This past week there was a camper who was a very good kid but he had a
lot of hurt in his life, most of which was inflicted by his own parents. His
step father would burn him with cigarettes, starve him, beat him, and at one
point actually stabbed him with a knife. His testimony was very powerful and it
hurt just to hear it. A few nights later he and I were on a one-on-one (this is
a half hour in which a counselor and a camper sit down and just talk) and we
started talking about forgiveness. He
didn’t feel like he could ever forgive his parents and didn’t understand how
any of the other campers could ever forgive their parents. Then I brought up
Gods love and forgiveness that he gives us and the fact that He died for our
sins even when we didn’t deserve it, while we were still sinning and while we
hated him. He then broke down in tears and started to feel the forgiveness that
God had for him. He was then ready to
give it right back to his parents and try to work out having a relationship
with them. What a miracle.
Quite
possibly one of the greatest victories this week was a camper named Lily. She
came off the bus very angry and upset that she continued that way at camp. She
most definitely had problems with authority, and didn’t participate in anything
the first two days. By Wednesday she started feeling a little more comfortable
with people and would only do things if she was asked. Thursday during
testimony time she was able to share and release everything that had happened
to her. She was abused both physically and verbally by her mother continuously.
Once we were able to go up to our tents that night she opened up and was more
like herself for the first time the whole week. She was acting silly and
enjoyed herself more than ever. She
shared with me that she has never felt so safe or comfortable in such a long
time. She said that Camp Alandale was her home and she never wanted to leave.
When Friday afternoon came and it was time for all the campers to leave she
didn’t want to go and started crying. God does have his hand around Camp
Alandale and He works everything out for his purpose and for his good.
Thanks for praying,
Summer Staff
No comments:
Post a Comment