So, I recently went to a camp for abused and neglected kids and it was one of the most amazing weeks of my life. it is a christian camp with bible stories and songs and love. The camp is for kids who have been taken out of the abuse and are now in various situations. I was in a cabin with four amazing girls. Two were living in a group home, one was recently adopted, and one was living with her grandma. All of them had some pretty intense history. One girl had a mother who was a drug addict and whose father died when he was 24 and experienced neglect all growing up. So many of the boys and girls there had such a rough childhood. These kids now are only ages 5-11 so the terrible things that have happened are still very vivd in thier minds. There was one boy in another cabin that I connected with more than others and it was amazing because he actually opened up to me as well. He was sexually abused by his moms x-boyfriend when he was younger and he is very withdrawn from people and all his actions are very slow and he always appears to be thinking about something. He is usually very closed off to girls and does not open up to hardly anyone or share his life. But, for some reason I was drawn to him and made an effort to show him that he could trust me. He told me that he wanted to be a pilot or a marine when he grew up, so I wrote him a letter with a marine symbol on it and attempted to make a paper airplane. Way more difficult than I would have imagined. One of the moments that struck me the most was when he had someone read the letter to him. I was blessed enough to be sitting near him when this whole interaction was taking place. He had them read it to him once and then again. I was sitting there about to cry thinking about how much it seemed to mean to him. Then, later on when I went outside there was a slight sprinkle and this tiny, skinny kid was hunched over his card to protect it from getting wet. It was such a touching picture. I couldn't believe how much this child cared about the gift I had made for him. These children on this trip made me learn more in one week than I feel like I have in my entire life. They do not take things for granted and they welcome love and hold tightly onto things that give them hope. God showed me that I can truly touch little childrens lives and help them believe that there is hope and restoration. It made me long for all the children that I am sure to meet on my upcoming trip with the WorldRace. I feel that I make special connections with children easily and they open up to me and I can show them Gods love. I feel that God had me realize this now before the race so that I will be so ready to serve the hurting children that I am sure to meet. God made me so aware of them and their precious little hearts. As the week of camp ended, my heart broke just a little more as some children did not want to leave. Some sat silently on the steps of the church and did not want to go back to their group homes. Some started bawling and clung tightly to their counselors, and some tried to be tough and act like they had no real connection. Every reaction broke my heart. As the camp released us, they pointed some things out. First, that we have to leave these children with God. He knows them, and he knows their future. That is something that I had to remember then, and something that I know that I will have to remember in the future. God is in control. He used me in their lives that week probably in more ways than I even realize. And I beleive he will continue to do so in the future and with many many people that I continue to encounter.
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion, until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:6
