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WINNIPEG, MB – I thought last summer was the best, but this summer was even better. We had full camps every week and our staff team was great. We bonded together quickly and became a close family who supported each other and worked so intentionally to share our faith with the campers and make sure that they were cared for.
Our mini-church theme this summer was “Who are you?” We looked at ways that God has created us to be as his children and how the world tells us lies that try to pull us away. One of the skits was called Jesus’ Cleaning Service. It starts with a girl who is surrounded by a lot of garbage. Jesus comes in asking if he can help her clean it up, but she sends him away saying that she needs to get some things in order before she can use his help. In the end Jesus comes and cleans up, explaining that his job is literally to help clean up messes. We don’t need to have things together to relate to Jesus. He will meet us in the mess and go from there. This led to some great conversations with campers later during one-on-one times.
One camper came to camp after having missed six years. She had taken a step of faith as a youngster, but had strayed quite far from where she had been. During her week at camp, she was reminded of the truth and saw the joy in the lives of her childhood friends who were now working as cabin leaders. She wanted to make changes in her life and talked about wanting to quit weed and vaping. One day she asked me if it was okay to throw her vape into the garbage. I assumed it was empty and she just wanted to discard it, but she told me it was still working and that she was done and didn’t want to go back to that. I suggested we do something a little more symbolic of her desire to change. I told her I had a sledgehammer. She asked, “Can we really do that?” I told her that we absolutely could. She ran off and came back with three more vapes. She had the biggest smile on her face as she smashed all four vapes. Later as we cleaned up all the broken pieces, she told me how freeing that had been, and that she never wanted to go back again.
One thing that remained consistent this summer is that God is faithful. Thanks again for the prayers, encouragement and financial support. This is very much a team effort and I’m thankful to have you on my team. Blessings on you!
Home church: Nassau Street Church, Winnipeg Manitoba
Mission: Director at Gem Lake Wilderness Camp (Inner City Youth Alive)
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