Camp Update!

So. . . working at a summer camp has been one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences I have ever had. Working as a counselor is definitely a 24/7 job, but I have learned way more from 7-14 year olds than I would have ever learned if I had stayed at home and worked this summer. The past three weeks have had ups and downs, but they have been more positive than negative, and each day is rewarding in itself. Greystone is amazing for many reasons, two of those being its people and the principles on which the camp runs. It is filled with God's love, and I can see God growing in everyone here. It may be at different times and in different ways, but God is filling us with joy and love, and we are also learning more about ourselves and about God's love and grace that He gives to us. A lot of campers have encouraged me in different ways. One example of someone who has encouraged me is one of my campers, Janie. I have been living with eight 11-year-old girls for the past two weeks, and it has been a great experience. Janie is one of these eight girls, and she is just precious. They all are, but I'll just talk about her tonight. Janie came to camp for the third or fourth summer, and she has a little problem every year with homesickness. She brought that with her this year, and it made the start to camp pretty rough. We had a few big talks, and she just couldn't get it out of her mind that she missed home. I told her that we were going to have so much fun, and I was going to make it my goal to help her not miss home and enjoy camp because we wanted her here and I knew she would end up loving it if she let herself! She told me she just couldn't help it, and I told her it was her choice to be homesick, but she can also think about how much she is doing at Greystone and wouldn't be able to do at home. Anyway, she ended up writing a letter home asking her mom to come get her and then telling me about it after she wrote it and mailed it, which wasn't good. But somehow, definitely with help from God, she convinced herself that she could have fun, and the day after she mailed that letter, she was telling me she wasn't homesick anymore, and she was ready to have fun! It was so great to see how God could help her change her mind, and how maybe, just maybe, the words that came from my mouth had some influence on her. It was encouraging, and it helped me see how God was going to work in me so much this summer, and how I was going to see Him work everywhere at camp in many different sizes, shapes and forms. And, that's not all. A few days later, Janie raised her hand during one of the devotions I was giving, and she asked to speak. She gave a great example of what I was talking about, and I was so glad to know that at least one girl was really listening and taking the Word of God and thinking and reflecting on it and applying it to her life. Also, during a few of my next devotions, she asked to read a verse from her Bible, and each time, the verses related to the verses I had read and discussed. It was awesome. I had talked about being a light for Christ in our lives, and I can see Janie doing that. She gives encouraging words to the other girls, and she loves the Word. I asked her about the verses she had read, and she said she has tabs on favorite verses that she finds in her Bible, and she remembers them and finds one that is relevant to the devotions. It's amazing to see the love of God in a child, and I've been able to see that a lot in girls at Greystone. I look forward to the next week, and I'm excited to come back at the end of July for another two weeks. Camp is great and God is so good.