This was my 10th year (in a row) at Jr. High Camp, 9th serving. The question at hand is why do I keep coming back? What makes me give up a week of my summer to wake up before 8AM every morning and not go to sleep until 11PM every night? What causes me to sleep in a building with no bedding, no AC, two bathrooms with curtains on the stalls, packed with 50 boys, the majority being smelly, loud, obnoxious jr. highers? It's because I was once one myself and there were others before me who served me. Also because these kids need someone besides their parents to lead them towards Christ.
The goal of the week was to find the Lord. That was the challenge everyone was given especially the jr. high. Jesse gave the opening message which covered the Lord calling Samuel with the call to "Get Up" just like Samuel. They did just that. Bright and early before 7AM the jr. highers in my room were up and restless. Plus I lacked sleep from the heat of the night. I thought this was going to be a long week.
I don't know how it happens, but every year it seems I get stuck with the boys who don't like memorizing verses, who are quiet in small groups, have an extremely hard time listening, but by the end of the week, good things happen that surprise even me.
Rain was a threat throughout the week because it was supposed to be pouring all week. But come Monday morning we all woke up to a blue sky and sunshine. Things seemed promising until during our first activity, which was kickball, the rain started coming down. I asked the girls if they wanted to keep playing and to my surprise they said yes. In 10 minutes the rain stopped and it was sunny the rest of the day. The rain played a huge factor in something special, but I will get back to that later.
By Monday evening I was dead tired and ready to go to bed, but there was still a whole meeting and musical chairs left to go. One thing about the meeting that is different is that it is filled with young kids who aren't embarrassed to let themselves go. They will scream, run around, do conga lines, stand on their chairs, and just go crazy, yet the Spirit of the Lord is also there the presence was strong. Seeing the kids enjoying the Lord was quite refreshing.
Tuesday rolled by with another sunny morning that lasted until approximately 7:30PM. Then the rains came for the rest of the evening. I grew a few extra arms and legs as jr. highers liked to latch onto me.
Wednesday I saw one quiet boy in my group become more talkative and he participated greatly in the pray-reading session. Wednesday was also the long anticipated day of Capture the Flag. In the first half hour, minor injuries such as cuts, bumps, and scrapes began to pile up, but nothing major. This was my first year as a non-participant in CTF because I was the referee with the bullhorn (which I happily used frequently throughout the week to my delight and some others' dismay). I didn't mind so much because I got to go freely all over the camp and witness all the action first hand. The game eventually ended in a draw.
One highlight of today was that I told one boy to stand up during the singing when everyone else was and he said "Fine, but I'm not singing." I told him that was fine and that I just wanted him to stand up. In less than 10 minutes he was on top of his chair singing...got em!
Thursday morning came like a lion, pouring epic amounts of rain on the camp. It was also the day of the Olympics. I gave my message this morning on how the Christian life is a fight. This life isn't easy. The world will throw everything at you, demons will turn people against you, sin will infest and overtake you and giants will rise up in your path. But as long as you have the Lord and put your faith in Him, the world will fade, demons will flee, the devil will cower, and giants will fall.
This was the first year in the last 10 that the first part of the Olympics were held in doors. A bit of a change, but did not vanquish the allure of the games. The boys took the infamous Tug-O-War, but the girls won overall by a score of 15-14.
The rains eventually subsided around 3:00 with a little drizzle here or there throughout the rest of the day. We gave the kids an hour and a half of free time and I had a blast playing two on one b-ball with Luke Wang and William Liu, which led to some crazy put-put and some cool chit-chat. During the actual rest time, I walked up towards the bonfire sight to check the trail and spend some time with the Lord. One of the things I talked to Him about was holding off the rain and not taking this experience away from the jr. highers. Because 9 years ago, that bonfire at jr. high camp was where I had one of my first experiences of touching the Lord.
9:30 came upon us and I was one of the first people up to the fire. At the time there was a light drizzle, but nothing too bad. Then as the very last camper arrived, it started pouring. I thought in my heart "Why are you doing this Lord? Why now?" With that thought upon my heart, suddenly, everyone around the fire began crying out to the Lord, just as Samuel did for the Israelites all those years ago. Within a few minutes, the rain ceased completely and the stars came out. A "Thank You Jesus" chant then arose and that nasty rain never showed his face again that night. Those kids, including myself, witnessed a miracle and should've erased all doubt from those uncertain hearts.
Friday was the last day and contained concluding events such as the Testimony time, the Talent Show, and the Bible Bowl. Ten jr. highers testified that they touched the Lord this week. One testimony nearly broke me when a young boy stood up and said he wasn't sure if he had touched the Lord or not but he had some "things" going on with another boy during the week and he apologized to that boy in front of everyone. Mike told him he had for sure touched God. I was so moved by the power of the Lord and all His grace He bestowed upon us during the week.
Final results: The boys won musical chairs, tug-o-war, and Stephen Watkins and Brad Sprau memorized and recited Matthew chapter 7.
The girls won the Olympics, the Talent Show, the Cleanest Room, the Most Verses Memorized, and Sarah Watkins recited John Chapter 14.
Oh yeah...the boys took back the crown and won the Bible Bowl.
All that aside, the Lord was so real, so awesome, and even when we fell, even when we lacked, even when we were ready to throw in the towel, He picked us up, gave us more, and revived our fight. Jr. High Family Camp 2013 was a victory in Christ.
