This is long overdue I know…where does the time go.  I think that I was in an after camp coma, recovering and resting and getting caught up on life, and here we are, almost two weeks after the last camp.  Now just where to start…

The first camp, boy 11-13, was probably the most difficult.  We were house bound a lot cause of the rain, and having 13 boys of that age group cooped up inside, they tend to go a little crazy.  Every time it stopped raining or when it was just raining a little bit we would run outside and do everything we could before it started to rain again.  In this camp we had the male staff share their testimonies for the devotional time.  I think this was really impactful for them because a lot of the staff come from similar backgrounds as these boys.  It was good for them to see that someone understands them and that they can make different choices, even when they have everything going against them.  Hearing some of these kids stories is just heartbreaking and they are all plagues with words like unloved, unwanted and worth nothing.  And if I am being honest sometimes it feels like they go home not to changed and to me this group is the highest risk… it’s like that when they hit 14 or 15 they go to the streets, it’s almost like an automatic switch, so I just pray and please going me in praying for these young boys that what they learn at camp and what they experiences here stays with them and sticks with them and they somehow would be blinded by their environment and that it wouldn’t pull them down the path where most of their friends go down.  That the truth that they heard here would speak louder than the lies they are surrounded with, a lot of them even coming from their parents, and my prayer is that we will see them at the 14-18 year old camp next year living a different story. 

The second camp, girls 14-18, I think is one of my favorite groups.  They seem the most open and you can see the most change in them in the short 4 days that they are here.  A handful of them were at camp last year and it was a blessing seeing the growth and change in them.  One thing that we wanted to do for this group was give them tools that they could take home so that they can continue in their relationship with God at home and  that it just doesn’t have to be something they do at camp.  There were about 7 girls that will be invited back in November for a going deeper retreat to be able to keep sowing in them.  ( I am really excited for this retreat in November).

The last camp, boy 8-10, was good.  They were full of energy and loved their hugs.  I got a bad cold just before this camp started and felt like the camp coma was starting.  These boys actually missed two days of school to come (Colombia is always changing their holidays at the last minute) , but their moms said they would prefer them to come to camp, which was nice to hear.  Like the older boys sometimes it’s hard to see changes in them or to know if what they are learning in the devotional times is really sinking in, it seems like they have an attention span of about 3 minutes (I wish I was joking…)  But again with these boys I pray that what they learn here and what they feel here will stick with them and that next year when they come back we will see changes in them.

So I know that I have shared my fears before about camps with after what happened last year.  I was scared that the parents from the neighborhood that the boy came from wouldn’t want to send their kids, cause word spreads like wild fire, but most of our kids camp from that neighborhood,  And sometimes it’s still hard and lonely being on this journey alone, without a permanent team, but seeing these kids smiles, hearing them laugh and just being able to love on them makes the hard days easier and helps me let go a little and surrender, that even when I don’t see it or always believe it  that God is indeed at work, that He see and that He knows, so I will just keep on keeping on and leave camp in His hands.

So thank you for your patience in a long over due blog.  Thanks for all your love and support and prayers and words of encouragement, they are so appreciated.  

And the next camp is Moms camp August 17-19…We will see if I write another update before then… I make no promises…

Blessings

 Just so you know this water is FREEZING

 Helping with supper
Hike

 They are pretty hard core
Gaga ball was a little bit muddy

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