Dear Prayer Warriors and Camp Family,
We want to thank you all for your
thoughts, prayers, and support during Session #6. Without these things, camp
would be much harder, if not impossible.
I, Leah,
want to give you an update on this past week. Shawna was born in Japan to
parents who were considered missionaries, but were actually in a cult. They
believed in a God who should only be feared. They were extremely legalistic,
and would beat their children when they did anything slightly “wrong.” Shawna and her siblings would end up with bruises covering their hands, bottoms, and
thighs. The parents would make the young children fast and starve them anywhere
from three to ten days. When Shawna was about 15 years old her parents came
back to America. Shawna's older sister
ran away and fled because the circumstances were getting out of control. Shawna was left alone and felt abandoned, but what she did not understand was that her
sister went and called the cops on her parents. Shortly after that, Shawna was
taken away.
She is now in a Bible believing foster home and accepted Christ as
her loving, gentle, and compassionate Savior. On one-on-ones, Shawna had
mentioned that when she grows up she would like to become a Christian rap
artist and a missionary. Later on that week at camp, Shawna was given that
amazing opportunity to rap with one of our staff members in front of the whole camp!
She did an excellent job and in her words, “rapping here at Camp Alandale was
the biggest highlight of my week, maybe my whole summer!” Although God is doing
an awesome work in her life, she still needs prayer. Shawna desperately needs Christ’s strength to forgive her parents. Shawna also needs healing form all
the scars her past abuses have left on her soul.
On the first
night of camp, Rosa shared her story with me (Bekah). Sitting on a bench
beneath the trees, she unfolded the highs and lows of her childhood years. She’d
grown up in Oregon in a Christian family and just recently discovered that her
dad had sexually abused her older sister. Trying to escape the pain, her sister
had attempted to kill herself multiple times, and when her dad found out he
demanded that she stop. She agreed to it for the sake of Rosa, saying, “I’m
only doing this to protect her.” Voice breaking and tears streaming down her
face, Rosa recounted the details to me, and asked how her dad could do that.
“He called himself a Christian!” Sadly, Rosa confessed that she struggled to
sort through all the memories of her dad—the good and the bad, and how to make
sense of it.
As the week progressed, I watched Rosa grow in her understanding
of God as her perfect heavenly Father. Though her earthly father has forsaken
her, God has never once left her side and He proved that to her at camp. Please
pray that she would reconcile her relationship with her dad and that God would
continue to strengthen her faith and encourage her. Again, we want to thank you
for your prayers and support. May God bless you abundantly.
In Christ alone,
Leah Dickinson & Bekah Woods
Summer Staff 2016
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