Junior Week 3

What a difference a week makes!

For Junior 2 we had some of the hottest weather of the summer and no lifeguards.

For Junior 3 it turned rainy and unseasonably cold.  We had 5 lifeguards, but the weather was too bad to swim on Thursday and Friday.

The group of campers was different too.  Overall, the group was much more laid back.  They took the weather in stride for the most part.  I took them on the Three Hills hike on Friday and we all came back with wet feet, but I think it was still lots of fun.  Some of the messiest times make for some of the best memories.

One of my favorite parts of each week has been to ask the campers to come to me and tell me about someone who is their hero.  I've heard some great stories this way, and also had a chance to connect with the kids through their story.  This week a camper who had attended Junior Week 1 and made a decision to receive Christ as her Savior was back again.  She came to me to tell me that Jesus was her hero because of what He had done for her on the cross and her receiving His salvation just two weeks earlier.  It was a privilege to listen because this was her "first step" as a baby Christian.  It was her first time to share her new found faith with someone.  It was beautiful!

The counsellors went above and beyond this week too.  They had to deal with lots of physical needs.  Some campers came with hardly any clothes or shoes, and we were able to find some items they needed.  (God had already sent them before we knew we needed them!)  They had to deal with poop and pee and vomit and all kinds of icky things, but they did it with grace and abounding love.  I was so proud of them!  They are a phenomenal group of young people.

It was sad to see the campers go on Friday night.  The camping season has ended, and soon we will all depart to our "real" lives.  And yet I can't get this verse out of my mind... Psalm 118:23 "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."