Dear Praying Friends,
I want to begin by thanking all of you for your
spirit-filled and powerful prayers for our campers last week. God was more than
faithful to answer your prayers concerning the staff, counselors, junior
counselors, and campers last week. We feel so blessed to be here at Camp
Alandale and take part in God’s ministry first-hand. However, our work would
not be possible without yours, for which we are so grateful. During this past
week, July 23-27, God moved in mighty ways.
As a counselor last week I faced quite a few questions.
Is Jesus real? Does God really care about me? Do you think my parents really
love me? Is it normal for parents to fight? Are you my friend? These are tough
questions, but questions that need to be answered, especially when considering
the things that the campers have faced up to this point in their lives.
Although I tried to come up with the best answers possible, my prayer and your
prayer was that God would give me, along with all the other counselors and
staff, the words to speak truth and love to the campers.
David’s story begins the moment we were sitting at the
table assigning campers to teams and explaining the camp rules. Almost anytime
someone said something he would yell out in a loud voice and raise his hands.
Repeatedly, he screamed out, laughing and smiling each time. Yes, he was
excited to be at camp and yes, he was louder than any other camper I had ever
met. Very quickly, however, I began to realize that behind the boisterous and
happy face that he put on was a kid with low self-esteem and very few friends.
I also learned very quickly that David needed a lot of hugs and a lot of
affirmation. David’s background was not unlike the other campers that came to
Camp Alandale. If anything, David did not think that his story, in comparison
to the other campers’ stories, was very bad at all and hoped to one day be
reunited with his father and mother. Still, David needed a lot of love. David
held everything together until Thursday afternoon when the walls fell down. We
were standing in front of the sinks as tears welled in his eyes and he began to
fire off questions like I shared above. It was also then that I got to tell
David that I was his friend, but more than that, Jesus was his friend. It was
there that I told David that I loved him, but more importantly that God loved
him. It was there that I told David that more than having friends, those who
believe in Jesus are his brothers and sisters in Christ. These were truths that
David needed to hear. Although David continued to look down upon himself and
ask these questions throughout the rest of camp, there was joy in my heart when
I saw him praising God during the last amphitheater session. Rather than using
his voice to yell out and call attention to himself, he was using his voice to
praise his Father in heaven. It was even more encouraging that throughout
victory circle he continuously called the people around him his brothers and
sisters in Christ.
David’s story at camp last week is very similar to the
other campers’ stories. Although, I only have room to tell you David’s story
today, I want you to know that many other campers like David faced themselves
and their hurt last week and saw that they are loved and cared for by Jesus
Christ. Thank you for joining us in this ministry! Praise be to God!
Blessings,
Jeremy Allen
Staff/Counselor
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