The Camp

This was my first time "officially" being involved in the Creative Force March Break Camp and I have to say right now that by lunch on the first day I was wondering just what I had got myself into. At that time I was almost ready to go home and crawl under a rock and hide. I didn't know which way to turn, what to say, or what to do,or where to do it. But fortunately there were many who did, so I didn't go, and because I stayed, I found and experienced a totally righteous organization. An organization that really puts itself out for the children that are able to participate in this endeavor.

Anyway, in the afternoon of that first day the workshop that I was assisting with went walkabout to take some pictures. As we were walking behind the school we were becoming rather spread out as a group. Being who I am, I was at the back of the line and ended up with a rather quiet young camper walking along with me. We talked about stuff and such and I asked her if she was a newbie at camp like me. She didn't answer right away and I was thinking that no answer was going to be coming, but she finally looked at me with a very serious face and told me that this was her fourth year coming. I told her that I was impressed that this was the fourth year she had been here and that she must like it a lot to keep coming back. I was about to ask her what she liked so much about the camp but before I could she said to me that "This is the best thing that happens all year for me". I was surprised at that statement, thinking of the birthdays and parties and holidays that I experienced growing up. Then she said quietly and in all seriousness that "For me this is better than any Christmas I had."

Looking at her I could see that she was totally serious about this. I knew then, while looking her in the face, that this camp, this event, was the most important thing in her young life up till now. Well, after that I didn't have an urge to go home and hide, I wanted to really see what these children saw in this happening, to see what it did to them to make such a strong impression on their lives. I can only pray that what they leave with stays with them for their whole lives and isn't just a tiny blip in their life stories. What I saw and experienced this week was so intense that by the end of it I realized that what I was seeing was purely and wholly a God thing. One young lady had to be coaxed out from under a table so I could take her picture for one of the workshops, she was not speaking to anyone and it was difficult to make her understand that it was something that I really wanted to do. I finally got her in front of the camera and she still wouldn't look at me or the camera, we persevered and I finally got a picture, and when she saw it all she wanted was more pictures. The shell was finally broken and lying in pieces on the floor, By the end of the week she was a whirling dervish with everyone else. She wasn't hiding anymore. I saw children that started the week so wrapped up in themselves that nothing and no one was able to break through the shells that they had surrounded themselves in. I saw these shells crack and fall away as the week progressed, I saw some of these children blossom in their own way into real kids, not just something that looked like a child, but someone that was really ready to become a real part of the world around them. Ready for anything that might happen around them. I saw these little ones come to realize that God and Jesus were not just 'stories', but that they were real in their lives. Some of these kids really started to LIVE.

My life has been pretty good up till now and I know that the spirit within me is important, but I never realized how humbling it would be to see so many seeds planted, or little fires started with the word of God being put into these fresh reasonably uncluttered minds. God's power has never been so evident and obvious as it was this week.