Dear Prayer Coordinators,
Oh
my goodness! Session #9 from August 10-15 was a heavy session. When the campers
got off of the bus on Monday morning, a certain heaviness came with them. We
could tell they were dealing with big issues and could see it was going to be a
rough week. A rough week it was, probably the most tiring week we’ve had all
summer. Still, God sustained each staff, counselor, and junior counselor to be
able to minister to the campers as needed. Plus, we got to see God move
mightily in the hearts of so many campers. Thank you for praying for us.
One
of these campers was Yanni. She actually came up late to camp on Monday as a
replacement for another camper from Orangewood who decided not to come to camp. Yanni comes from an Arab background with an abusive, loveless father. She had
only recently been placed in foster care through a series of events in which
she left Seattle, her home town, and came to Los Angeles with a group of
friends. Because of a dispute between her and her friends, Yanni found herself
alone, broken, empty-handed, and afraid. She was too stubborn to call anyone in
her family for help and quickly found herself selling her body in order to
survive.
After
two months of working the streets of Los Angeles and failing to save any money
because of her pimps, Yanni was picked up by the police and arrested for prostitution. Because she was underage the charges were dropped and she was
placed in foster care at Orangewood. There she heard about a camp up in the
mountains and decided she would like to go if possible. She was dropped off
late, but joined the Blue Team and was greeted with a hug by her counselor. She
seemed to fit right in. On Tuesday though, her counselor Laura came to us and
said that Yanni wanted to go home because she didn’t feel like she fit in. We encouraged her to tell her to wait a day, hoping her perspective might change
after hearing some of the testimonies at night and spending some more time with
her counselor. Tuesday night, I asked Yanni where she was on a scale from 1-10
and she responded with an eight. I was surprised, but glad to hear she was
enjoying herself.
On
Friday night Yanni sat down in front of everyone during campfire time and told
us her story—how God had taken her from Seattle to Los Angeles to Orangewood
and then to Camp Alandale, all to show her that she was loved and cared for.
She spoke bravely and calmly as she shared and we could see how God was working
in her heart to bring her to Himself. During her Friday night one-on-one, Yanni was made a new creation as she put her faith in Jesus Christ, God’s own
Son. Let’s continue to pray for Yanni as she continues in her new faith. May she grow in her knowledge and understanding of the salvation that she now has.
Much Love,
Jeremy Allen
Assistant Camp Director
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