Day 4 - Camp 2

This morning we once again had to make changes. We had planned to play Biffer in the morning, but because it was too muddy the kids would fall and get hurt (Last year we had a kid break an arm this way, so we are very cautious.) So instead we did stations: Boy practiced soccer because tomorrow we compete against a near by camp. We did face paint (which gets washed off about 2 hours later because kids must be completely clean in order to eat any meal). Again we made bracelets. Bob played basket ball (2 on 2 for about 2 hours) Apparently the Grandpa and a Girl Won by a very large margin against 2 boys...not sure that was do great for their ego (Is Humility an aspect of love?) And I did a dance station. It was 82 degrees with high humidity and I managed to dance for 2 hours. I thought my legs were going to fall out from under me, when they came and said lunch would be a 1/2 hour late and we should continue the stations. At the point I just started to run the sound system because I couldn't possibly dance any more :o)

The afternoon was too hot to play biffer so we did the craft (Friendship Books - Like a yearbook for signing but no pictures) in the afternoon. As we were about to set up the woman moping the floor said no you can't come in until the floor is finished and dried. Well I postponed the craft 15 minutes for her to finish, then we set up (shoeless as she requested so we wouldn't get her clean floor dirty - never mind that 104 kids, plus workers are going to be coming in 15 minutes with shoes on. My team was very kind and did just as she asked, regardless of what they thought). And then we spent the next hour signing books.

After Dinner we finally got to play Biffer. A game I won't take the time to explain in detail, but that the kids love so much they request to play it multiple times during camp. The thing I like is that it is a game that all ages can play together, and it takes about 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. The kids run nearly the entire time and are exhausted, so bed time stories go smoothly.

Speaking of I decided that I wanted to go deeper with my girls so we talked about the hard lessons of Jesus by studying Luke 6:27 - 36 Love your enemies. I guess that every time I read verse 29 to one who strikes you, turn the other cheek also. I just read over it, thinking of it figuratively. When I asked them what did they find hardest to do in these verses, that verse is what one of them said. Although it was not said, I saw the heart behind the question. "I'm supposed to let them hit me?" "And love means to put up with the abuse??" I quickly talked with them about the deeper meaning behind the words, and reassured them that abuse is never ok. They were reassured, but this is one of the few times I could see the fear these girls hold in the world.

Cheryl noticed this yesterday, she shared a story with our littlest kids. And in return she asked them to tell her stories. She expected to hear fairy tails back. Instead they told her scary stories (with guns and knives and other things Cheryl didn't care to pass on), taken back she though how could they, being so young, even think of such things. So she asked the counselor if they had seen these things on TV (Like who would let them watch such things on TV). However the response was horrifying. They were all real, many seen first hand.

Please pray for our children. Pray that God protects them from their past. Pray that they are able to escape it. That they take with them the hope and strength of Jesus Christ with them. Pray that the generations of these things happening stops with them. Pray for their safety when they go home. Just Pray!