The first day that we arrived at Camp Joy was a big blur to me; most likely due to all the nerves I had going into it. Although a lot of it was a blur, there was one guy that stuck out to me the most. He was an older guy that didn’t participate in devotions and always had the look on his face as if a thousand thoughts were flying through his head. He didn’t socialize with the other guys and stood his distance from my team and I. I was very curious and wanted to hear his story. I knew there was a reason for the way he held himself and the way he acted.
After a couple of days went by, I still hadn’t worked up the courage to go talk to him. He gave off the vibe that he was not one to easily open up to and didn’t have the desire to build any relationships with anyone here. He seemed very closed off and that intimidated me. Although I didn’t have the courage to go talk to him, my very friendly teammate, Kat did. She came back to our container (our home for the 3 months) and informed us that his name was Zaid and was one of the few Muslim guys here at the camp.
One day when we were walking to the beach with the guys, I worked up the courage to go introduce myself. To my surprise, he was in fact a very friendly guy! We talked and told one another about our families and asked each other questions. I learned that Zaid is a father of 5 kids, all from different moms and none in which he had any contact with. He got into drugs at an early age and made a lot of mistakes growing up. Just by our 30 minute conversation it was so evident how much shame and regret he carried on his back.
After weeks passed by I found out more about this guy named Zaid. Zaid was a man with a huge heart. A man who was selfless, gentle and so caring. He loved serving in the kitchen even when there was no reward. He would go out of his way just to put a smile on someone’s face. He was definitely one of a kind and Camp Joy was very lucky to have him.
Zaid was very open to learning about our faith and always asked us questions. My team and I enjoyed the challenging questions he would ask and would spend hours talking to him and praying for him. The heart transformation we began to see in him was so exciting. During devotions, instead of sitting on the bench with a stone cold look on his face, he would have a bible in his hands reading scripture; Instead of asking questions that were attacking, he would ask with complete curiosity. He was becoming more and more open to the fact that Jesus Christ was his Lord and Savior.
On the 27th of January, my team and I left to Port Elizabeth for our debrief. After 5 days of rest and sessions we were so excited to get back to Camp Joy! After we said all our hellos and greeted everyone at the camp, one of the monitors told us some news we were not expecting. He told us that Zaid made a very terrible mistake over the weekend that costed him his position in the kitchen and as a consequence, he only had a week left at the camp. We were all devastated and knew that this wasn’t the Zaid we all knew and loved.
This was just another regret added on to Zaid’s long list that weighed him down and crushed all his hope he had to get better and overcome his bad addictions. Talking to him after this incidence was heart wrenching. He was trying his absolute hardest to change his life, become a better man and prove to himself that he was able in doing so. But, because of this bad choice, to him all that hope was gone. He was so ashamed at himself.
The next day after our arrival, Zaid decided to run away from everything. Without saying good-bye, he was gone. We were all so confused and we had a ton of questions running through our heads but we did the one thing we knew to do; pray. Oh man did we pray for Zaid.
The following day as me and a couple of my teammates were going on our daily run, we saw Zaid sitting right outside the gate of Camp Joy. With a million emotions running through our heads and lots of questions, we walked up and approached him. We quickly asked him how he was and he said, “well, as of today I’m officially homeless. I have no where to go, no family around and no money. All my hope is gone.” I became speechless, as did my teammates that were with me. Once again, I did the one thing I knew to do and that was to pray. I asked if we could pray for him and he accepted.
It was a sweet prayer. One that I will never forget. This was a prayer that I wanted so desperately for the Lord to hear. I wanted the Lord to give Zaid the hope He promises us. The unconditional love He has shown me throughout my whole life. Most of all, I wanted Zaid to see just how much He was so deeply cared by our Father. That despite his past and mistakes, the Lord is longing for a relationship with him.
After our run, we noticed Zaid wasn’t sitting outside the gates anymore. We went into the hall to cool off and Zaid approached us with the biggest smile I think I had ever seen him give. He said, “a couple of minutes after you guys prayed for me, Ruben (the man in charge who lives at the camp) came up and told me that he was going to fight for me to stay here. That I shouldn’t lose hope and that he wants me to stay.” I can’t explain how big my heart was smiling for Zaid. You could see that hope was overflowing through his eyes. That there was someone looking out for him.
He said, “I’m beginning to believe that their is a God up there that loves me.”
This was such an amazing testimony to God’s forgiveness and never-ending grace. Later that night I was able to talk to Zaid and remind him that his bad decision does not define who he is and it definitely doesn’t make him a bad person. That he is a child of God and he is so loved by his Father. That the Lord is waiting, and will always be waiting for him with open arms no matter the wrong paths he chose to walk on or the terrible mistakes he has made.
Every morning since then I was always curious if Zaid was still going to be around. And he sure was. God kept granting him more days here at Camp Joy and everyday Zaid did not take it for granted.
As of about a couple days ago, Zaid left again. Where to? I don’t know. Why he left? I don’t know.
What I do know is that the Lord up there loves him so much. My team and I are constantly praying for the Lord’s protection over his life and that he will be able to overcome his troubled past and give his life up to the Lord.
I ask that you join us in prayer for our dear friend, Zaid. There is so much power in prayer. Although I’m not physically with Zaid right now, I know my Father is. And I pray that over time, Zaid will be able to fully realize this truth.
“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.” -Isaiah 59:1
