Teen Week 2

Week 2 of camp is complete.  The teens we had for both weeks were such good kids and enjoyable to be around.  Several teens chose to come for two weeks and by Friday I was amazed at some of the changes I saw in them.  I saw a couple of the boys especially, who were some of the worst cut ups in chapel the first week, change their attitudes and have a great time.  It was such a great time that they were asking how they might be able to volunteer later in the summer or next summer.  What a great thing it would be to have these guys here so we can continue to shine the love of Christ into their hearts!

The worst part of the week has been the heat and the bugs.  The temperature was up to 90 for a few days, and we were all hot and sticky.  The bugs are voracious.  I can look out at the lake at sundown and just see swarms of mosquitoes, like they are boiling up out of the lake.  Johnnie (who lives here year round) says it’s the worst he can remember them being.  Bug spray helps some, but they are quite an aggravation to all of us.  My parents would be amazed at how well I can take the bugs, considering how much I hated them as a child.

My favorite part of the week has been connecting with the campers.  This year I am working hard on learning all their names.  As the game leader I award points for performance in games, but I can also award points for different kinds of things.  I decided to give points to campers who would come and tell me about their hero.  I have heard some wonderful stories, and it opened the door for me to have some meaningful conversations with them.  On Friday, one of the girls came to me and said that I was her hero for teaching her about God.  My heart melted.

Some campers are just beginning to awaken to God.  One boy was very distraught about chapel on Monday evening.  He said he didn’t believe in God and didn’t want any part of it.  (Somehow he had missed that Camp of the Woods is a Bible camp.)  But through the week he participated more and more.  On Friday evening he came to me and said that his hero was God, because he was starting to understand that God was real.  He said that he had found friends here, and he could feel the love.  I told him that God had called us to love each other, and that our love would be how people would know about Him.  He said it was all very mysterious, and I told him that he was right.  God works in mysterious ways.  God uses us with all our hang-ups and problems to be the tools He uses to reveal Himself in the world.

On Friday I spoke in chapel, and I was able to give a Gospel message and call to salvation.  The response was very good, with several campers praying to receive Christ as their Savior.  What a privilege it has been to share with these kids!