After a several year hiatus, I decided to return to Camp Bonita and attend Kids Camp with my church, Beltway Park. If you recall, the camp encountered a devastating fire in 2012 that destroyed part of the property and some of the buildings and housing. As a result, I hadn’t been since summer of 2011. Attending camp this year was special for me as it was the last year my oldest son (JD) was able to attend as a camper. Next year he will be joining the youth so I felt this might be a special year at camp. Also, as I have previously mentioned my wife and I took a 17-year old girl into our home that needed a safe place to live. She went with us as a junior counselor. This added to camp being special as the first time we met her was in 2010 when we first went to Kids Camp.
As a quasi Kids Camp veteran, I had some expectations going into the week. I thought I knew what to expect and what my role needed to be. As is typical when serving, expectations went out the window on day one. Some other men and I had the privilege of leading eighteen stinky fourth grade boys at camp. I was amazed, exhausted, encouraged and challenged in more ways than one. Early in the week, one of my co-counselors challenged me by saying “we are not these kids’ mommas.” The Lord really challenged me in this. My role wasn’t to make sure these kids behaved or chewed with their mouths closed. I was called to lead, shepherd and provide a safe place where kids could be challenged to begin and/or deepen their faith. This was a freeing thing for the Lord to reveal to me early in the week. With everything we did, whether it be activities such as playing gaga ball (I love this game!) or waiting in line for a meal, we fostered an environment of fun and incorporating Jesus. This allowed me personally to lead two boys to a personal relationship with Jesus! Praise the Lord! I was also able to encourage and speak life into numerous other kids as well as counselors. In fact, the Lord used me to pray over another counselor that was experiencing knee pain and He provided complete healing. This counselor went from sitting with ice on his pain-filled knee to feeling zero knee pain at all. Praise the Lord! I was incredibly encouraged to spend this precious time serving and pouring into kids. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to pour into others as well as be challenged personally in new ways.