Who Can Stand Against?

This has been a crazy last 24 hours to say the least.  It had very extreme highs and some pretty low lows. But God overcomes in the end.

To start the craziness, I had one of my campers come up to me to say that I had another camper in the room crying and saying she wanted to go home.  Oh shoot.  Homesick Junior campers I can handle, but senior high? I get very fed up with homesickness.  Believe it or not, I love being at home.  Despite spending my last three summers here and my school being in a different state, there is nothing better than being with my family in Ackley, Iowa.  I hate missing my sister showing her rabbits at the fair, and helping in my mom's classroom.  I'd love to help my dad with the painting at his new addition on the shop, but I'm called to other places at the moment.  To miss your family after a couple of days to the point of hysterical tears really grates on me.  But I prayed for patience, because I know I'm about to have a challenge on my hands.  This camper really has come so far from the girl she was the year before.  She was a big problem for her counselor last summer,  and I didn't have a single problem with her until yesterday, which I think is truly amazing.  Me and my camper sat and talked for more than an hour, and all my words I know were God's, cause I can't possibly have come up with the words that came out of my mouth. We talked so much and I learned a lot more about her.  Her father is refusing to talk to her until she's 21, so I don't think they've met.  It makes me appreciate my dad all the more, even if he doesn't teach me how to stop the sled before pushing it down the hill! (Love you Dad!) She has several sisters, one being her twin.  She LOVES her mom, and from all the stories that my camper tells, she's doing her best.  I also got alerted of a camper that has brought contraband items to camp.  I've reported it and I'm so glad we have such a good staff that knows how to handle these things.  I think people think that kids that come to camp are all Christians who already know enough.  That is rarely the case.  We get every type of person imaginable.

At chapel, the speaker shared the gospel message in a beautiful, meaningful way.  And it was beginning to storm.  The spiritual world knew what was happening.  He asked those who would like to accept Christ as their Savior to stand, and to have Him be the center of their life.  Not just to keep them from hell, but to always strive for His purpose.  And as these kids stood, a huge torrent of rain lashed against the building.  Satan was not happy.  The speaker then asked for those who had things to confess, and to bring to Jesus once again to stand on their chairs, and though not as profound as that first lashing of rain, you could sense a tremor in the storm.  Several campers who we know and love stood up on their chairs, and I was so proud.  Hopefully the people of our churches can hold them to their new promises.  It was beautiful, and my previously homesick camper accepted Christ! A few of my other girls recommited their lives, and one wanted to talk with me a bit.  So we headed out under the awning of the AC and chatted.  She was sick of being one person at camp and another at school.  She was suicidal this April and was just so overcome that she could not stop crying.  Meanwhile, it is still POURING outside.  I brought up the rain and how Satan wasn't too happy with us.  I presented an idea that through the school year we be accountable to each other; that we don't fall from our promises to do better in our walk with Him.  As we're making this promise, another huge gust, mostly icy wind, blows under the awning.  I say, hey, let's run out from under the awning and yell BRING IT ON SATAN! And so we do!! It was such a freeing experience!! We were drenched by the time we make it to our cabin and my other girls just stare at us in shock.  Yeah. It's raining outside, did you know? :D

There is so much more I need to tell you all, but it will have to wait.  The rest of the night was extremely entertaining, but I only have a minute left of my time off.  Please pray for my off and on homesick camper.  This morning was a bit of a disaster, and I'm running out of patience.  Please pray for the campers and the staff, for most of us, mainly staff, are just exhausted.  But lives are being changed.  Love is sacrifice, and that's what we're doing for these campers.  It's greater than anything I could ever do this summer.