Choosing to See

Post for July 10, 2024

It’s crazy to think that we just finished our third day of programming. Our team has spent a lot of time this week talking about choosing to see. We’ve seen God at work in so many ways; even in the smallest of details. We’ve had our eyes wide open to see His hand in everything. It’s been so sweet to have a team so ready to recognize God’s fingerprints in everything.

This morning was a hot one! The sun was out in full force, and it was beautiful! I think it was the first perfectly sunny morning we’ve had! Every other morning has had rain or dark clouds in the distance. We had fry jacks, sausage, mango, banana, beans, and pineapple juice for breakfast. We were running a little behind schedule this morning, so we ate quickly so we could get to devo time before camp. After our devo time, we grabbed our supplies for the day and loaded the bus. When we arrived at St. Matthew’s, we got to work setting up the classrooms and Amy registered any new kids.

The opening session of camp is called the “party” since our theme is A Marvelous Homecoming: Celebrating Freedom (based on the prodigal son). This year we introduced new songs and the kids have loved them. Our team members have really given 100% to the dance moves this year, and it has made so many kids want to dance too. If you want to see what the party looks like, we posted a Facebook Live video this morning for you to see! 

Today’s camp theme was “God is a miracle worker. He can do impossible things.” The kids loved going around and sharing all of the miracles of Jesus. A highlight of today was getting to play with the parachute during games. They loved getting to play with it and hide under it – the giggles will forever be engrained in my memory. In crafts, campers made a sun catcher that said “Miracle Worker” to hang in front of their windows at home. They loved testing it out to see what it would look like using the classroom window. In Bible Discovery, squads worked together to unscramble the Bible verse puzzle. Camp has definitely felt like a party, and it’s so sad to think about saying “see you soon” to our campers tomorrow. 

Once camp ended, we collected all of our supplies and waited for the bus to come back to pick us up. We played in the field with the kids while we waited. When the bus came back, we hopped on and headed to the hotel for lunch. Today’s lunch was curry rice, stew pork, stew chicken, salad, watermelon, and juice. We had just under an hour long break in between lunch and our afternoon programs to refresh and prepare. Around 1:30pm, we gathered our supplies again and loaded the bus. We went to the school and started setting up. Everything has gone so smoothly this week, and all of our supplies have been perfect! 

During our afternoon programs, there was some intense rain that rolled through. It was so loud hitting the tin roof of the school building that it sounded like a white noise machine on full volume. It was a beautiful reminder of the power of God. The women poured into the room today. They started with worship and then moved into reading their story for the day. The women have had a consistent response time at the end of their program each day. During worship, they can choose to respond to the devo however they need. Today, four different women felt empowered to testify to the goodness of God. It was so beautiful. Lives are being changed. The teen girls worshipped together and wrote an encouraging letter to another “sister” in the room. The boys got to play a few different relay style games and had so much fun doing it. In one game, they dragged a tribe member across the grass in an inner tube. They also really enjoyed tug of war. It lasted so much longer than we thought it would – it was a true match up. When I asked some boys if they were having fun at Warriors Camp, they wasted no time saying yes. Shockingly enough, one of the boys asked if I had any crickets left he could have to try to eat. I really feel like that’s a core memory that will last forever.

After programs ended this afternoon, the school yard was filled with people. No one wanted to leave. There was so much joy and community taking place. God is so good. 

We had a good 45 minute break in between afternoon programs ending and dinner time. We freshened up and then headed up for dinner. Tonight’s dinner was split pea soup, white rice, fried chicken, salad, fried plantain, chocolate cake, and sweet tea. It was SO delicious, and I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! 

After dinner, we went straight to the church for team worship. Every night of team worship has been so beautifully orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Tonight, we talked about unity and working together to share the Good News. We sang “All Around the World” (a former camp song), and it was such a fun way to start the night. Then, we sang “Abandoned”. Since we’ve spent a lot of time in separate spaces in the afternoons, we wanted to give team members a quick glimpse into what else is happening around the school. I had pulled videos to show them each program with a few funny videos added in. It filled us with so much joy to see one another serving at such a high capacity. We’re all giving 110% with a smile on our face – no grumbling. It’s been so beautiful. 

After team worship, we prepared supplies for tomorrow’s programming and then spent time together as a team. We played card games and had fun conversation upstairs in the common area. At this point in the day, we’re pretty delirious so everything is much funnier than it should be. I wish I could share clips of what this team bonding time looks like, but maybe you’ll just need to get on a plane with us one year and experience it for yourself. There’s really nothing like it. 

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement! We couldn’t do this without you! Now, it’s time for bed! Goodnight!