Greetings
Dear Prayer Family,
This week I, Brian, had Jonathan and Robert and although I have often seen how much work God does on these hurting and
hardened children in just a week at camp, it never ceases to amaze me. The
first few days with Jon and Robert were especially tough. Every other word out
of their mouths was profanity or filth, and they spent nearly the entire time
of our first Bible study insulting each other. I didn’t find out until Tuesday
that Jon comes from a home where he has two fathers, and that his behavior was
mostly the same at home.
And it wasn’t until Wednesday night that he was
responsive. As he started sharing with me, for almost the first time that week,
I saw the twelve year old boy in him, instead of the profane rebel. It brought such joy to my heart to see them
both go from being unresponsive to interested in the things of God. Although
they both were familiar with the Bible, they didn’t have a practical
understanding of what it means. In particular, Robert defined himself as being
half-Christian. He understood the message of the Bible, but loved his sins so
much, he wasn’t willing to commit his whole life to Christ. Please continue to
pray for these two boys. This is such a tremendous age in their life; pray that
the seeds sowed this week would take root.
This past week I, Michael, had the pleasure
of counseling Steven. Steven's birth mother used drugs and
alcohol while pregnant, and Steven was born with a series of complications
requiring several open heart surgeries and leaving him with a severe hunchback,
brain damage, and four fingers on one of his hands. Steven came to camp knowing
Christ but insecure about his own identity and fascinated with secular heavy
metal and its satanic imagery. One night early in the week he confided to me
that, “I have so many problems I don’t think Jesus could ever want me.” He continued to talk constantly about his
favorite metal bands and during Bible Study he was usually unresponsive. I was
worried he was so caught up in his own world that he wasn’t aware of the love
of Christ that surrounded him. My doubts were ill-founded, however.
During one
of our one-on-ones he asked if we could play music together. I asked him what
song he wanted to play, expecting some “screamo” song, but instead he asked for
one of the camp songs we had heard in amphitheater. Later in the week when I
asked him if he was ready for our pine cone ceremony, he responded, “Oh! I want
a pine cone! I can’t wait to toss it in the fire and watch my sins burn away!”
As if that wasn’t enough, later in the evening Steven told another counselor
that, “Sometimes the devil uses fire, but God doesn’t burn people. No way. He
invites people into heaven to have fun and eat dinner.” I thought he was just
being silly until that counselor reminded me that our Bible Study that day
included Revelation 3:20, where Jesus offers to eat with those who seek him. He
had been listening after all!
Throughout the week Steven's smile, sweet heart,
and timely insight proved once again that God and the joy he brings is always
in control at camp.
In
Christ,
Brian
& Michael
Summer
Staff 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment