Hey, friends! Oh man, I'm so grateful for all of you reading this right now who have been praying for me and for my camp experience. Prayer warriors, I've got some stuff for you guys!!
Yesterday we came to camp, and man, were we excited! STILL ARE!! God's already been doing some awesome stuff in our lives, in the lives of our campers... Oh man. Great, great week. But let's start with yesterday. :) :)
We received a call saying that we weren't going to get two of our campers. (This is the day before the kids come to camp.) Their mom sent them away, down to Mexico, to live with some relatives, and didn't tell anyone that they would be gone. Please keep those two kiddos in your prayers! Their names are Angelina and Jeremiah. They must be pretty scared, to have their lives completely switched upside down, being in a different country, and away from their mom.
God's grace was made absolutely perfect in this situation, which comes as no surprise. :) Our fearless leaders were able to contact people, and within the hour, we were able to sign Norma and Miguel up for camp! Now, you know that in a situation like that, God's not going to just sit back and let something ordinary happen!! Just tonight, as we were putting the kiddos down for bed, Norma was reading her brand new Bible (we give all the campers one,) and asked one of the relief staff if she could ask questions. She wanted to know what "made in God's image" meant, what an altar was, who David was... The questions were endless! As I sat there, watching this child take in all the information (AND SAY "THAT'S COOL" AT THE END OF EVERY EXPLANATION!!!!) I just started to pray and praise! Look at what God is doing!! Yes, it's a huge sham that Angelina and Jeremiah had to go through so many changes, and that we couldn't do an outreach to them. But look at the work that God is doing in Norma's life, within the first 24 hours of camp! I pray that the questions keep coming, that she learns SOOO much about God while she's here, and that her curiosity and passion continue to grow after she leaves us, leaves this place. Oh man, it gives me "God bumps". ;)
Amidst all the joy and gratefulness, however, we do still have some struggles, that only God will be able to get us through. First of all, we have a new guy this year named Justin. He's not technically autistic, but during his first 3 years of life, his birth parents treated him like a newborn. When he was adopted by his current loving and Christ-centered family, he couldn't walk, talk, feed himself, or anything that a fully-developed toddler should be able to accomplish. As a result, he is developmentally behind by many years. Such a sweet, loving boy! He wanders constantly, which is a main concern, since he doesn't tell his counselors when he leaves. So keep this boy in your prayers. Ask God to help us to reach out to him, to help us to show him love, respect, grace, and maybe a few social rights and wrongs, while we're at it. ;)
Tonight, we had a counselor who fell rather ill. It's not something that can be easily fixed, but only "rested away". As a result, she will have to take at least tomorrow off. It's possible that she may have to leave for the rest of the week, but we pray fervently that she can come back to us! She loves her two little girls, and she would give the world to be able to be with them as they learn more about God!! So please pray that Katie would heal, that her pain would be gone, and that she can go back to her girls.
In Katie's place, there needs to be a counselor to lead these two little gals. That's where I've been asked to step in. Even though this is my 3rd year at RFKC, I've always been a staff member, never a counselor. I somehow knew that would change soon... It was almost as though I was getting too comfortable in my staff position, and God often challenges us, so that we can learn to depend and lean more wholly on Him! So tomorrow, I will begin to sub for Katie, until we can determine whether or not she can take her job back. Please keep me in your prayers as I venture into this new role! I will be with Patricia and Penelope, and my "buddy" counselor has Madyson and Julissa. The last three girls I mentioned are all very high maintenance, and they all crave wholesome, loving attention, which is often hard, when it's one counselor to two campers. Patricia is a quiet girl, and so we continue to pray that not only do the 3 girls receive the good attention that they crave and need, but that Patricia is not excluded due to her quiet demeanor.
Finally, in a note completely separate from RFKC, please keep my friend Mackenzie in your prayers. She's on a mission trip to Peru right now, and she, too, fell ill today. She was sent to a hospital, and they determined only a few hours ago that it must be a bladder infection, and so she's been given antibiotics to help fight both that and the fever that she's been battling. At this point, they've told her that she needs to stay in the hospital for three days. Pray that God would use this to His glory, that she would be able to continue to minister His Word to whomever she may meet!!
Prayer warriors, hopefully, through this post, you can see just how much of a blessing you are! It's people like you that I can turn to and know that you will keep us in your prayers, and that God will hear many voices of many people, raised to Him in endless praise and thanksgiving, as well complete trust and faith. Thank you all, so much, for what you do! God bless!!
Blessings on all that you do!
PS... My friend Tabitha comes home from her month-long mission trip to Uganda tomorrow!!! Prayers for her too!! :)
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