God loves you,
no matter what,
and He always will!
There are so many things that I have the opportunity to experience at camp - enjoying the beauty of God's creation on the grounds of CHBC, hanging out and building relationships with kids of all ages all the time, having fun singing silly songs and playing crazy big games, forming relationships with fellow staffers, being in a community of believers striving for God's purpose in our work together, being challenged by God and growing in my own relationship with Him. But beyond all those things that I love about camp, by far my favorite is the chance to share God's love - in any way I can to anyone I can. There are so many stories I have from the summer about times when God completely took me over and allowed my work to let someone else be filled with His love. I don't think I could ever go back and recount all those times - there are simply too many of them! However, I know that I need to share one of the highlights of the summer - a highlight that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
I know that as camp counselors, we are not supposed to pick favorites (favorite cabins, favorite campers, favorite anything!), and in reality I couldn't say that this particular week was my favorite or the best week of the summer, but when forced to pick one, by far the highlight of my summer occurred during Week 7 call night. Call night is a special time we set aside during the week's program to present the Gospel and let the campers make the decision to choose Jesus - whether it be for the first time, to re-dedicate their lives to Him, or to challenge them in their current walk with God. It is a more serious night than the rest of the week's programming, and this particular week, the Gospel message was presented with an emphasis on the cross. I could go on about how the message that night impacted me personally. I remember being in tears of sorrow as my heart broke at hearing the crucifixion so eloquently presented, and tears of joy that the truth that "God is saying to you, right now, 'I love you'," was reaching the campers in such a powerful, personal way. I remember looking down my row at my girls and how most of them were in tears, and all seemed to be 'getting it'. I remember looking around at other staffers in the room and seeing them affected by what was being presented that night. God was mightily moving in that moment!
Following the message on call night, we let the campers have five minutes to spread out and spend some time in silent reflection about what they just heard. Then after that time, they have the opportunity to talk with us, their counselors, about making the decision to follow Christ or ask any questions God has pressed upon their hearts. This night of the week is always greatly anticipated by me, particularly because of when I got to experience it as a camper. It was on a call night after seeing the drama presented, hearing the truth that God loved me, and spending some time in reflection, when I made the decision right then and there at CHBC that I wanted to make my faith my own. I was ready to make my identity as a Christian more than going to Sunday School and Worship every Sunday morning with my family and praying before every meal. I went to find my counselor and I remember praying together. I decided to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ - the decision that has literally changed my life in more ways than even I will ever know - on a call night when I was a camper at Covenant Harbor. So, yes, call night is one of my 'favorite' parts of the week. And along with that call night years ago when I made that decision, this call night will forever be remembered.
I will seriously never forget when one of my campers walked up to me after the time of reflection with tears streaming down her face and the biggest smile. She had a story similar to my own - growing up in a Christian home, praying, reading her Bible, going to church and youth group, living her life for Christ, but still hanging on to fears and doubts planted by other voices around her. As I was sitting there, I witnessed the joy of God shining through her with a power and assurance I had never witnessed before! She told me through her tears that she felt like she had found the missing piece of the puzzle, that (after years of growing up as a Christian in the church and youth group) she finally "got it," that she realized she didn't have to fix herself or do anything to deserve God's love - a truth she had never understood until that moment. She said she felt a burden lifted from her shoulders as she listened to the message that God loved her, and that she felt a peace wash over her that brought her to tears of joy - a joy newly discovered and filling her to overflowing. I'll never remember the words I said, but God used me to reassure her that God did love her, that she was valued, that she didn't have to fix her brokenness on her own, and that God's unconditional love for her would never change! I felt so proud of her for being open and willing to let God consume her heart. To lift her burdens. To give her peace and comfort. To erase her fears and doubts. To assure her. To love her, no matter what!
This same conversation happened with most of my girls that night, and following a campfire I had literally the best devo (cabin devotional time) of my counseling career! We talked and listened and cried and laughed for what felt like hours. These girls were broken, but they finally understood that there was someone who could take that burden of brokenness and make them into new creations. These girls felt unloved, but they finally understood there was someone who loved them unconditionally. These girls felt unworthy, but they finally understood there was someone who valued them more than they could ever imagine. These girls were thirsty for scripture, and I remember showing them so many random verses filled with God's promises for them. They all whipped out their notebooks and were furiously writing references, and then they began to find verses themselves and share what they thought God was speaking to them through that passage. I remember sitting there just smiling like a fool as I still wept for joy at how God was so visibly present with those girls that night. There were so many questions they had that were sparked by the message of the cross. Everything from the validity to the Gospel, to the Trinity, to how God speaks to us, to the reassurance of God's unconditional love was brought up. To witness those junior high girls so passionate about God and to be used by God to help them find Him is something I will never forget.
After that night, these girls kept asking questions and challenging themselves to learn as much as they could in the midst of having fun doing all the rest of the camp activities. We spent one cabin group time just reading the stories of Ruth and Esther - stories these girls asked me to read to them. Another devo was spent flipping through the Bible looking for passages to do with certain topics or issues they were struggling with back home with their families, friends, and classmates. On the night that concentrated on being beautiful women of God, they were anxious to trade in their usual make-up filled, boy-obsessed ways to living for God and making His call on their lives the priority above all else. They came away from this week different than when they arrived. They were changed. God had moved.
This is just one story, one way that God worked to share His love with those campers. The summer was filled with stories just like this one. Ask anyone who worked on staff this summer, and they could tell you a story just like my own. God was at work, and I am humbled to have witnessed and participated in it. As this year goes on and I look back on my time at CHBC this summer, I will continue to keep the promise I made to each of my campers on the day I sent them back to their parents, back home, back outside the camp bubble - "I'm praying for you." My prayer is that above all else, these campers remember that one truth:
God loves you,
no matter what,
and He always will!
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