My team spent this past month building relationships with and encouraging gangsters, drug addicts and prison parolees through Camp Joy, a faith-based recovery facility. To be honest, I was a bit wary of relating with such hard individuals. After the first week at Camp Joy, it was clear that God was working in these men and women. These people aren’t hateful, they are kind and so badly want to know what real love is. Most of these young men and women have grown up without love in their lives and turned to gangsterism in search for that love and a sense of belonging. Below is the story of one individual who has been changed through their Camp Joy experience.
Carl’s Story
Carl is 36, was born and raised in Strandfontein, and has one 9 year old son, Cole. Carl was introduced to drugs at the age of 8 or 9, and at the age of 20 got into Tik (crystal meth) and heroin. After 10 years of using hard drugs, heroin brought him to his lowest point. When he was 24, he had an experience where he just knew God was real but did not change any of his behaviors. Through all the low points, God was on his mind and eventually God broke through and answered Carl’s prayers. Carl wanted to be done with the drugs and alcohol, yet God gave him more. Carl says “I was looking for peace and God gave me so much more, I don’t have a lot. I don’t have much, but what I do have is more than anything I could ever want. God is building a relationship with me and I’m still learning and growing.”
When I asked Carl why he got into drugs at such a young age, he got quiet and said “I don’t like to talk about this but it happened … I blamed my father for the problems in my life; unforgiveness almost destroyed me. When I was 5 or 6 years old my grandfather sexually abused me. I blamed my father for letting him be alone with me.” After Carl told me about his grandfather, he went on to talk about how it was never about the drugs or alcohol. It was the feelings he had on the inside, the absence of love in his life, and the anger he felt towards his father and grandfather. Everything changed when Carl finally gave his life to God and began following Jesus. He was given strength to forgive his father and grandfather. The rest of my talks with Carl consisted of fellowshipping, reading different Bible verses, and encouraging each other. Carl spoke about the patience, perseverance, self-control, respect, humility and faith he’s received since coming to Camp Joy. He spoke of the different race we all are running. Some people run slower, and train differently. Some people are slow to trust God with their lives, some read their Bible in the morning, some at night, and so on, but we are all on the same team and therefore should encourage each other and be unified in what Jesus calls us to.
On the very last day my team was at Camp Joy, the current facilitators of Camp Joy announced Carl would be going through training and would soon become a facilitator himself. At our final devotion session, Carl gave an encouraging word from 1 Samuel 16:7 which reads “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” It was the perfect ending to a month that started with many first impressions shattered by the faith and love the men and women carry at Camp Joy.
God’s love is greater than murder, overdoses, sexual abuse and anything else this world tries to throw at Gods children. Thank you Camp Joy for blessing me with a larger perspective of God’s great love.
