Usually when the bus pulls up there are 50 some adults dressed in crazy clothes waving signs and making lots of noise. This time it was just Sweet Aroma waiting in the grass in anticipation to meet the 30 girls who would be spending the week with us. Camp is a ministry that I’ve been involved in with Northampton United Methodist Church for the last 4 years. It was the ministry that changed my life, bringing me closer to Jesus than I’d ever known.
Royal Family Kids is a national organization that gives children in the foster care system a week of fun and love like they’ve never known. Each camp is run in the same basic manner, but each has its unique location and staff that make it special. In fact this year a movie was released based on the success stories that have come out of this amazing ministry.
When my team found out we would be counselors for two weeks of camp we were each thrilled for our own reasons. For me, it meant I wouldn’t have to miss camp this year after all. Granted there were some major differences, but ultimately loving on kids is the same no matter the country.
In Uganda there is no foster care system, but there are children’s homes for kids who have lost parents and have no family to take care of them. One More Child is an organization that looks after these children and a number of kids who are living on the streets with a parent. They are able to provide food, clothing and medical care when necessary. They also organized for the kids to come enjoy a week of camp here at Camp Musana, a part of a larger group called New Hope Uganda.
My tent was filled with 9 young girls, ages 6-13, who enjoyed a week of games, swimming, crafts, campfires and good food. At night I would read them a chapter of Esther and pray over their lives. They enjoyed their time and laughed a lot, but they also did a lot of fighting. Fighting is something I’ve noticed about the children we’ve been meeting all year. We’ve witnessed parents and adults smacking their children as a means of discipline, and then the children take on this same tactic with their friends. One day us girls were in charged of the game. Since the theme for the week was to trust in God, we thought it would be fun to have the girls take each other through an obstacle course blindfolded. So we set up two identical courses and let the girls run through, eyes open, first. Soon they were competing to get through the fastest. This was not our point and we explained that. We simply wanted more girls to have a chance to go at the same time, it was not meant to be a race. Then we let them go through with a partner who was blindfolded. The person with sight basically dragged their partner through the course, instead of helping them through it. Then there were tears; girls were getting upset because they couldn’t go next. So I asked them to focus on encouraging the girls in the course and not worry about who would go next there was time for everyone to get a turn. However, after each finished course the crowd would bombard me to go next. Soon girls wandered off crying and then the hitting began and fights were breaking out. We sat them all down and Tess gave a great talk about encouraging one another, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.
My heart breaks for these kids who know more violence than love. I feel so privileged to have spent this year loving on kids around the world who may never be hugged or held in that way again. I also look forward to rejoining my Royal Family group next summer, and every summer after that, for another week of loving on kids.
