As I walk into Camp Hope my nerves are on end. It is my teams first day of ministry. We are working with special needs kids ranging from severe Cerebral Palsy to different levels of mental retardation. I’ve never had much experience with special needs, so I have no idea what to expect.
When we walk in we are shown around the campus and then divided into different classrooms. I get put into the baby room. There are a total of 9 kids, 6 of which have severe Cerebral Palsy. As I look around I become extremely anxious. None of the workers can speak English, and I can hardly speak Spanish. They motion me to sit next to a young boy names Jostine. When I sit down beside him I am extremely troubled. All I could think about was how I signed up for this mission trip to spread the love of God, and I felt as if I was doing nothing close to that. I couldn’t see how rubbing feathers and sponges on this boys legs (its a sensory activity) could help further the kingdom.
A very wise lady( Jana Williamson) once told me if I can’t communicate with the kids, then I should just pray over them because our prayers are universal. So I just started to pray over Jostine. As soon as I muttered the word Jesus his face lit up. At that moment I realized furthering the kingdom doesn’t just mean preaching the good news, but loving hard because we KNOW the good news!! Working at Camp Hope has been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. Between changing grown peoples diapers to being thrown up on, and bit when trying to brush their teeth. But I promise you, if you choose LOVE , life becomes absolutely beautiful!
1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
