We would like to share the story of Sara, one of the campers you have helped send to camp. This is a story from Camp New Journey, who partnered with us this summer to bring more fatherless kids to camp.
On the first day of camp this summer, my program manager quits. Children are checking in and heading to their cabins when she decides that this isn’t for her—it's more than she can handle. As the owner, I need to readjust, find a new manager, and keep the camp running smoothly. So, I step in as the program manager for the week.
I'm sitting in the lodge with my laptop, working on some Excel sheets, when I hear that one of the campers has been using offensive language. I agree to speak with the camper. Moments later, a little girl approaches my table, hands on her hips, ready for discipline. She says, "Well, aren’t you going to scold me?" I respond, "Do you need to be scolded?" She explains, "My mother curses, and I curse just like my mother—that’s how we communicate. I don’t always mean to be offensive, but I just know how to curse really well."
I explain that at camp, we avoid cursing because not everyone will understand her method of communication. I tell her we will work together to curb the foul language. I assure her that I want her to have a successful camp week and that we’ll use this situation to make a change. I ask, "Do you want to be successful?" She says yes. Then I remember I’m talking to a fourth grader. I ask, "What do you think success is?" She replies, "Driving a Tesla." She explains that only successful people have Tesla's. I ask if she has a plan to get her Tesla, and she says no. I say, "Let’s talk about your Tesla." Instead of sitting across from me, she walks around the table, pulls up a chair, and sits right next to me.
She asks about the Excel sheet on my computer. I tell her it’s a tool I use to be successful. We then talk about her Tesla: what color, what model, and if she has ever been in one. I explain that the path to her Tesla includes curbing her language, completing elementary, middle, high school, and college. Then she can have her Tesla. She is really a sponge during this conversation. She and some other campers explain the challenges they face at school: live shooter drills, bathroom gangs, knowing who not to buy candy from, people messing with them as they walk to school, and cars almost hitting kids around school.
With this information, I advise that there is another path to success that they need to be on. I ask, "Do you go to church?" Her response is no; her mother went to church before she had her, but now she doesn’t go at all. I explain the benefits of attending church and how it could help her be successful. Knowing she doesn’t have a church background, I explain who God and Jesus are. She says, "That’s that heaven or hell stuff." I say yes and explain heaven and hell to this fourth grader. She says, "Well, I want to go to heaven." Other campers around her say, "Me too." I’m about to disciple them to Christ when the counselors call everyone to line up for their next activity. They all run off to get in line. After they leave, I tell myself that I missed the opportunity to lead them to Christ.
The next day, after dinner, I’m in the lodge cleaning up when the little girl runs up to me and asks, "Are you still going to put me on that road to success?" With tears in my eyes, I say, "Yes, let’s do that right now." I lead her to Christ. She says, "But I’m still going to curse." I explain that with Jesus in her heart, she should try to do the best she can, and if she makes a mistake, she should simply ask Him to forgive her.
Finally, at the end of the week, parents are picking up their children, and many kids are getting on the bus to go back home. I see my fourth grader in the distance, being pulled by her mom with her wheeled bag in tow. I can’t get to her because of the crowd, so I yell out her name. It seems as if time stops for 5 to 10 seconds. I ask, "Where is Jesus?" She turns with a big smile on her face and points to her heart.
Thank you so much for helping get Sara and so many others just like her to camp where they can learn the true meaning of success with abundant and eternal life in Jesus Christ.
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