Boys Camp… Just a little late

When it’s been so long between blogs I always struggle with what to say, or what to share.  Sometimes it feels like so much has happened that I don’t even know where to start and sometime if feels like nothing has happened at all…

I guess I will start with the boys camp that we had in November, which was forever ago I know, but I obviously procrastinated and haven’t shared how it went and when I was in Canada over Christmas a lot of you asked me about it.

Well it was an adventure.  We only had about 12 boys, which was a nice small group.  I was really tired and worn out by the time November rolled around, so it was perfect and a more relaxed camp, well for the most part….

I went ahead with three other staff, well that was the plan anyways, but the car we were in kept over heating and we kept having to pull over and wait on the side of the road for it to cool down.  So we got there a few hours after everyone else arrived.  I was so thankful for great staff that was there with the kids that just stepped up and took over while I was on the side of the road playing dominos waiting for the motor to cool down. 

Another adventure was sleeping in tents, which I thought would be so much fun.  However the tents were not very good quality and the first night it rained and it rained and it rained some more and after about an hour of rain, three out of the five tents where out of commission.  So we shoved the 12 boys in two tents with a staff each and the rest of us slept in the kitchen area, which had a roof but was open all around.  It was so rainy and windy that the rain kept blowing on us and dripping on us through leaks in the roof.  To say the least I was a little stressed out and freaking out just a little.  But finally everyone settled down for the night.  I woke up in the morning surrounded by excited little boys, even though they all got wet during the night, they couldn’t of been more excited.  I was excited for a sunny day so all the blankets and mattresses and pajamas could dry out and also thankful for new tents the next night.

They boys loved their time.  We had the counselors share their testimonies and the boys were really impacted by them.  A lot of our staff came from similar backgrounds as them.  Backgrounds of living on the streets, of drugs and of abandonment.  One of the boys commented after a counselor shared their testimony that he thought the counselor was really brave for having the courage to change his life and that now he know it’s not impossible.

Another boy asked me if I paid for all of them to come to the camp and I told them that different people gave money so they could come and he was like ”people I never even met gave money so I could come to camp, wow, that’s awesome, when you see them make sure you say thank you.”  So thank you very much, for making a difference in these kids lives.

I think one of the things that I appreciate the most about each camp is how God always teaches me something, or always reinforces a lesson that He has been teaching me.  What I learned for this camp how big God is, how He is not a God of circumstances, but a God that is constant and never changes.  That He is not going to let an overheated motor or soaking wet tents stop what He has planned for these boys lives. That He is still going to work through circumstances like these, that He is still going to work through me stressing out and freaking out just a little, that He is still going to work and provide through my lack of faith and I am so thankful that I serve a God like that.

So the plan for camps this year (knowing that it’s still early and that things can change) is,

Is June 30-July 1-Boys 8-10

July 2-3 Girls 8-10

July 7-10 Girls 11-13

July 11-13 Boys 11-13

July 14-16 Boys 14-18

October (not to sure on the exact dates) Girls 14-18

So please be praying for these camps, please be praying for the staff and for the speakers, the speakers are always a little harder to find.  Also please be praying for a spot to rent to do these camps.  Because of circumstances last year we do need to find another place to rent.  Also please be praying for the vehicle we need for the camp, we are just over haft way to what we need to get it.

Thanks again for your support and prayers.  If you want to donate to the camp and sponsor a kid to go please go to the MSC web page https://msccanada.org/give-now.html and under project click on Camp Gozo.

Thanks so much