Dear Prayer Coordinators,
We cannot thank you
enough for your faithful prayers for camp. This past week, only 14 campers were
able to attend. While we were discouraged by this small size at first, soon
after we were praising God for not answering our prayer for a big camp. Most of
the campers were here for their first time and still had much hurt in their
lives, which resulted in many behavioral issues. We know that God was looking
out for us and showing His love for the campers by giving us a small camp in
which we could provide each of them the personal attention they needed. Monday
night, another counselor and I were up almost all night with our campers. As
Tuesday began, we were exhausted and many felt helpless until our afternoon
prayer time. God was able to use these struggles to humble us and teach us to
rely on Him.
My camper, Maria, was
at camp for her first time and became very attached to me. She didn’t think
that anyone loved her at home. I was blessed by her love, but it became
unhealthy. She didn’t let me take my break and would lock herself in the
port-o-potties crying. Only through God’s strength was I able to keep on loving
her graciously, while also setting boundaries. While attachment was a struggle
throughout the week, I definitely saw God working with her. When she said she
didn’t know if she was a Christian due to not spending a lot of time with God,
I told her how He loves us and I read Ephesians 2:8 to her. She loved that
God’s grace is a gift. We were able to talk about how I love her in this same
way regardless of whether she was clinging on to me, angry at me, or off having
fun with other people.
Another camper that
stood out this week was Jason. From the start, he was closed off and you could
see the hurt all over his face. During worship time, he would sit to the side
or wander around. Some of our staff members would follow him, but he wanted
nothing to do with them. During testimony time in the middle of the week, his
sister shared her testimony. After that, you could see him wanting to share his
heart. When he went up to share, however, he had to stop after a few sentences
because it was too hard for him to express the pain. Later, however, he joined
my camper and I for an amazing talk on the fruits of the Spirit and told us
parts of his story. In times like these, you could see the pain fading off his
face and how much he wants and needs the joy of the Lord. On the last day, Jason
was really sad and would not cooperate because another boy, Levi, found and caught
a lizard. Levi, after seeing how sad Jason was throughout the day, decided that
he wanted Jason to have his lizard before they got on the bus. This brought
many of us, knowing how badly Jason wanted a lizard and how much we had prayed
for one for him, to tears of joy. As you can see, God used these little
children for great things. Continue to pray for Jason and his sister as their
living situation is in question.
Through answers to
prayer, we have been able to see how much God truly loves these precious
children and wants to heal them. Know that we are eternally grateful for your
contribution and blessing to camp.
Love in Christ,
Jasmine (Staff-Counselor) and the Camp Alandale Family!
Mark 9:29 – “And he said to them, ‘This cannot be driven out by
anything but prayer.’”
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