It’s been a very rainy day here at camp but spirits are high and excited for the week to come!
Our Lord’s grace showed up in some awesome ways already. Because of the rain, we had to spend a lot of time indoors at the new RIDGE facility playing volleyball, rock climbing and just talking.
The young ladies were hesitant to open up and communicate with each other at first, but as the week went on they began working together to build trust and strengthen their relationships with each other.
Friday was banquet day! The campers had 3-hours to do their hair, makeup, nails, and get dressed for dinner and chapel. They had so much fun dancing, singing and receiving their awards. It’s a very bittersweet time because this is the last day of camp. Its been a blessing to see Jesus soften the hearts of these girls.
Camp CUMCITO – Week 2 – PreTeen1
At Pre-Teen camp, our purpose statement is: To guide campers through rites of passage as they grapple with their personal ownership of decisions (sin, forgiveness, salvation, character, behavior, etc.) and their understanding of how God values people, affecting the value we place on others and ourselves and affecting our interpersonal interaction. (Appropriate male/female relationships, etc.)
One way we address that is by having a special chapel session where we separate the boys and girls for gender-specific conversations.
Mr. Brett, the teacher for the week, gathered the boys at the front of the chapel and talked to them about the lies they hear about what it means to be a man, and how Jesus shows us what love looks like through His sacrificial love. They don’t have to be the man, but they can rely on Jesus and show His sacrificial love to the people around them.
Miss Angie, one of our chapel assistants, sat in a circle with the girls in another room, and they talked about how they are a valuable masterpiece that God has created. She encouraged the girls to protect God’s masterpiece by not allowing boys to get smudges and fingerprints all over His painting. To know that a boyfriend won’t make them feel loved and valuable, but that they are loved and valued by God.
Mission founder’s granddaughter, Beth Liebling, reads to the little campers at Tot Lot.
The Tot Lot purpose statement is: Under God’s authority, to weave the truth and love of Christ into all camper experiences so that each child has wonderful memories – spiritually, physically, mentally, socially, or materially – and attaches all to Jesus Christ.
In the evenings at Tot Lot, after the tots shower and brush their teeth, they go to Twilight Hour. During Twilight Hour, they are learning about the Good Shepherd through the adventures of Snowflake, the lamb puppet. The children called Snowflake’s name and “baa”ed with him when he wandered away and got lost. They were so happy to hear that the Good Shepherd searched for and found His lost lamb. They are learning that God, the Good Shepherd, will help them to obey and be good boys and girls.
At the end of the story, the tots sing a Goodnight Song, and then each Big Sibling prays with his or her children, in groups of three or four. After their prayer, they go to the dorms to get tucked into bed, often with a staff member singing a quiet song to help them fall asleep.
Intern Life according to Lexi Lobdell
(City Camp Intern at City Union Mission)
There are a lot of presumptions about the city. Growing up in the good ol’ Johnson county, I heard about all of them. If you go there, you will get mugged. Homeless people are all dangerous druggies. Everything we need is in Overland park, why would we leave? My friends in high school would joke about getting shot whenever we played a school downtown. Spending as little time as possible there, trying to get back to the shiny bubble that we lived in.We would talk about G-d and how great he is, volunteer at a camp or a soup kitchen a couple times a year. I would get that #blessed feeling then return to the land of new cars and worrying about what outfit you’ll wear tomorrow. The bubble is nice, comfortable. I had everything I needed but never felt like I belonged.
Even through this bubble, I felt a pull towards the city. An extreme peace in knowing that God is there. And this is where he wants me. I had heard about the internship and had friends that had done it, but I wasn’t planning on doing it. My friends mom encouraged me to apply, and I just felt God’s hand through all of it. Just the way everything fell into place was amazing.
From my first day at the mission, I felt like I truly belonged. Here were people from Korea, Texas, Iowa- all around. Coming together to show God’s love to the students around the mission. This common goal fostered strong relationships. After a rough day I knew I was coming home to friends who were on the same boat. There was constantly someone there to encourage me, and point me back to Christ.
Sure there were hard situations. Living with 10 other girls is not easy. Having 80 kids in one building is not easy. You go back to your room tired and cranky and done with the world. But through the difficulty and weariness, God shines through. When you were 500% done dealing with one of the students, ready to throw in the towel and believing that there is no hope, they ask a question about Jesus. They apologize without being asked to. Little things that refocus your eyes on what God is doing through the program.
Living amongst the clients also gave me a perspective on what they go through. I developed several meaningful relationships with adults, who showed me how God changed their life and how the mission is helping them draw closer to him.
Each day a little bit of the prejudice chipped away. Instead of a statistic, I started seeing individuals with stories and who needed Jesus’ love. Sure the city can be dangerous. But I see it now as raw, bare and real. Showing not the shiny exterior that’s rotting underneath, but baring all its ugliness and secrets for all to see. Within the ugliness that people focus on however, there is beauty. There is a God greater than us all working within individual’s lives. His love shining through for us to see, if we look.
Life’s Most Important Question:
“Am I Prepared For Eternity?”?
Please consider the following truths from God’s Word, the Bible.
1. The human race is sinful.
The Bible is very clear that every person in the human race has a sin problem – we are naturally rebellious toward God.
Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
The book of Psalms puts it this way, “there is no one who does good.” Psalm 14:1 These verses tell us that because of our sin we fall short of even God’s minimal requirements for right standing with Him. We obviously need serious help.
2. God loves every person.
In fact, God loves us even when we clearly don’t love Him. Romans 5:8 states: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Although we are rebellious and hateful toward God, He still loves us and reaches out to us.
Many remember the most well known verse in the Bible, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 God provided the solution for our sin problem by sending His sinless Son to earth to take the punishment for our sin. He did this because He loves us.
3. Jesus Christ died for us.
God longs to have every person in a right relationship to Himself through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:9 that “the Lord is not slow in keeping His promise (of returning), as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3:18
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
4. Each person must receive Jesus as Savior.
A person receives Jesus into his or her life by faith. Here’s how the apostle Paul put it in Ephesians 2:8, 9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.” Here are two other verses that will help clarify your need to have Jesus Christ as your Savior.
“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1:12, 13
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Just below you will find a model prayer that if prayed sincerely from your heart will be your invitation to invite Jesus Christ into your life as Savior.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for showing me your love even while I was still sinning against You. Thank you for dying on the cross and taking upon Yourself the punishment for my sin. I invite you right now to enter my life, to take away my sin, and to help me to live for you every day for the rest of my life. Thank you for saving me. Amen.
