Drawing to a close....

Where has the time gone? I just finished my second to last week of camp for the summer. It is hard to believe that my time here is almost done. Even though it was our third week of junior camp, there were still a number of new experiences in it. We had a smaller group with about 50 campers. I was very excited to see the seven girls in my cabin ready and willing to be good participants during chapel and our Bible times. Every other week so far I have had at least a couple of girls who I almost had to pull teeth to get them to spend time thinking about what God wanted them to learn.

I really appreciated the evangelist that we had this week. His messages were saturated with scripture. He challenged the campers to seriously consider whether they could give a Bible reason for why they knew they were going to heaven. Four of my campers left with a better understanding of what it meant to be saved. It was wonderful to see the worry lift off their faces when they came to understand that God's love for them would never change, and that they did not have to worry about losing their salvation. There was also a couple of girls who came to realize how important it is to put effort into having a relationship with Christ. Seeing the Lord work in hearts and bring about real desire for a deeper relationship with Him was a huge blessing to me this week.

One thing that has amazed me this summer has been the reaction of different girls when it comes time to leave. Many times I have discovered that the girls who I think I formed really good relationships with leave barely saying good bye, while others who I had to keep after all week to keep them doing what they needed to be act like they do not want to leave. It is a good reminder that only God truly knows the impact and that He is in control of the ones that leave camp without making the decisions that they need to to follow Christ more closely.

Camp is drawing to a close for the counselors. Monday our last campers for the summer will be coming and this time next week I will be headed away from camp. It is a sad realization. It is hard for me to imagine not having children around me all the time who I can point to Christ while being in a Christ centered environment. One of the things that I have been challenged with this summer is that the work that I am doing here at camp is one that I must do at my home, work, and school as well. As a Christian it is my responsibility to openly and aggressively point others to Christ. Love for Christ and others demands it. In the meantime, my responsibility is to a cabin of teens.