God is FINALLY sending me to a Christian Camp…not as a camper but as a COUNSELOR!
I feel like I’m repeating myself from other blogs but just in case I have new readers, I grew up in a Buddhist household. More specifically, my grandma and my grandpa on my dad’s side are both prominent Buddhist monks in Houston. Instead of VBS or Christian Camps, I would attend BYCs every summer… which stands for Buddhist Youth Camp. I LOVED camps. I would attend between 3-7 summer camps every summer between middle and high school. These camps were for Student Council, Choir, Best Buddies, Vovinam (Vietnamese Martial Arts), Health Occupation Students of America, Piano, etc.
Don’t get me wrong… these camps were a BLAST and I’m so fortunate that I had a chance to experience them! None of them compared to what my idea was for a Christian Camp though… and that’s because they weren’t. But why exactly did I want to go to a “Christian Camp” so badly? I get it now that I’m following the Lord. My heart was drawn to the unconditional love and deep connections that I perceived to be given during these camps. I know now that I can have that unconditional love through my relationship with Christ…any second of the day and not just at these camps.
Now following Christ for almost two years now, I sometimes fantasize about what it would have been like to go to a Young Life retreat… or for my Texas readers, going to Pine Cove, Sky Ranch or T Bar M Camps. I constantly hear from my teammates about times in their childhood and these awesome “Christian Camps.” They have the funny stories of late-night pranks, long-time childhood friends that they are still close with, and unforgettable memories of these get-aways. I don’t know where my flesh wants to put the blame but I somehow feel like the victim that I never got to be a part of those camps.
When my team got our ministry placements, I was slightly devastated we weren’t in Cape Town for our month in South Africa. Well boy was I wrong!! J-Bay is probably one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever been to…. I can’t believe that THIS is the place where I get to wake up and do quiet time…
Well, don’t we have just a good, good father?! Not that I deserve anything at all, His grace is sufficient and His relationship is more than enough for my life but no… God still wants to grant one of my hearts desires. I’M FINALLY GETTING TO GO TO A CHRISTIAN CAMP. And not just for a weekend but I get to attend THREE WHOLE CAMPS.
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of the heart.” Psalm 37:4
Team Selah is partnered with UCSA for month 6 on our race in Jeffrey’s Bay South Africa. UCSA, Uniting Christian Students Association, is a non-racial, inter-denominational Christian youth organization. They have chapters in elementary, middle and high schools throughout South Africa. UCSA has 3 camp sites used for facilitating camps. They way I see it, it’s like Young Life but instead of college students reaching to high schoolers… it’s teachers/administrators reaching to anyone between the age of 5-18.
For some of these campers, they might not have consistent meals at home, parents that love them and the security of a bed every night to come home to…. UCSA wants to give a ray of sunshine to their students, even if its only a week out of the year. For either 3 or 5 days, this ministry wants these campers to understand they are FIERCELY loved by God, no worries about violence by providing a safe place to sleep, and to cast away any anxieties about not knowing where their next meal will come. They believe that everyone needs change, everyone needs a challenge and everyone needs Jesus. This camp helps facilitate that!
I feel honored that I get to love these students and I’m praying that I love them well. I don’t know who my campers will be… but I want you to join me and praying for them. Pray that their hearts are already being softened and their ears to be ready to hear truth. Pray for connection. Pray for vulnerability. Pray for security and comfort and peace. Pray for energy and a renewed spirit. And even if you’ve already prayed that I love them well, pray that again!
