james 1:27

We are two days into week 2 of camp... time has FLOWN by. Time flies when you’re SUUUUPER busy, I guess!

Week 1 was a huge success! We had 78 groups of kids at camp that week, so it wasn’t maxed out. It was so helpful to have a lower number of kids and Americans to work with since it was the first week! We got to see things that worked and things that didn’t throughout the week, so we were much more prepared and ready to go by week 2. Week 1 was also refreshing and very moving for me. My mind and heart were reintroduced to the purity of the love that comes from the heart of an orphan AND the purity in loving orphans. The Bible absolutely hits the nail on the head when it says that “pure and undefiled religion” is “to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). Greer, the founder of Family Legacy, says that working with orphans is like putting your finger into a spiritual electrical socket, and that it is a catapult straight to the heart of God. I was just so humbled and blown away again this year by how eager these sweet, sweet kids are to love and be loved. They have these hard shells up around them for protection because they all have to be so tough and strong at home; but it doesn’t take long for love, love in the name of Christ, to penetrate and melt those tough exteriors. These kids come to camp on Monday so closed off and guarded, but I get to see the transformation throughout the week into kids who experience joy and love and fulfillment. They get to be kids again for one week. And none of this would happen for them if it weren’t for Christ. They would be stuck in their chains and defenses and be bound up forever if they never felt the freedom and overwhelming love of Christ. 

Tuesdays are “rotation” days. In the morning, all of our groups rotate between a snaps (photos) station, a blessing time station (one-on-ones with the kids), and a coloring station. Usually, I am working the snaps station because coloring is usually covered by one of our younger staff kids, but today I was in charge of coloring. Coloring takes place in the main room that we do our big group sessions in, so it’s a huge room. The size of the room gives way to lots of running and yelling and general chaos with the number of kids that we have in each rotation. So I’m passing out materials and getting frustrated at all of these kids running around, making noise, etc... Then God basically slaps me across the face and says “Mariah, these kids don’t get to be kids anywhere else. They are orphan children who carry the world and then some on their shoulders.” And then I look at their faces and see how much JOY they were having from just being kids again. They were playing and laughing and their eyes were lighting up because they were HAVING FUN. Being a summer staffer means that I don’t get to hear the details of these kids’ stories. I am not the one listening to these kids when they say that their parents both died years ago and now they live with an abusive aunt who makes them walk miles for water every day. I don’t physically get to hear them say that they have been raped by their uncle and prostituted out to his friends for money. Today was a reminder that I desperately needed. I was reminded that these kids live in a darker darkness than I could ever imagine and that they get these five days to experience joy. And joy is a bright light in the darkness of their lives. 

God is doing big things here. And when He does big things, the enemy attacks harder and harder. Shipping containers have been a huge struggle to get here on time because of random inspections and border issues, and these containers have time sensitive materials on them that we need for house openings and camp. This week though, he has especially been on the defensive. As our Week 2 Americans were about to board their flight from Dallas at the airport this past weekend, their flight was cancelled at the last minute because of a broken part. Commence shuffling of flights and a long, grueling weekend of traveling for them. Today, we had around 15 of our Americans stay home because they all got very sick overnight. And from camp, we sent home about 6 more throughout the day. A fourth of our Americans are currently sick with an awful stomach bug. Satan does NOT want this specific week of kids to be reached. Please be praying for restoration to health for our Americans and against the attacks of the enemy this week (and for the rest of the summer). Our mission here this summer is to build up the kingdom in big ways, and Satan is throwing curveball after curveball to try to stop us. Pray for the ministry and what God has called us to do this summer, because it is an ongoing battle against Satan. 

Until next time!