Weeklong camp

Hands at work selected 40 of the most vulnerable children from 3 different schools. The children arrived to the campsite on Sunday afternoon and we measured their feet to get flip-flops and shoes for each of them. They got their faces painted and played lots of games and acted out creation story again. 

Monday – Theme God is creator, 1^st proper day, God made a verse I had read in the morning become real today. In my morning quiet time I read Mark 9 and it talks in a section about being a servant and being last and then the next part was this verse that stood out to me –

 Mark 9:37 “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf (in my name) welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my father who sent me.” 

I was sitting and along came a little boy who looked so sad, weighed by so much. And so I picked him up and sat him on my lap and he was a bit rigid and I wondered how often he gets a cuddle when he is sad or sick and it broke my heart. And so I read his body language and he didn’t seem like he wanted to get down and so I put my head against his and I prayed for him, for him to be released by whatever was weighing him down, it was a really precious moment and as I was praying the words of Mark 9:37 popped into my head and I felt so blessed that God would make that verse come alive because he is the living word after all. And after this moment the boy hopped off my lap and he splashed some water then looked up at me with the biggest smile, the first smile I had seen since he arrived. And as the camp went on he became more happy and more at peace and seemed to experience the joy of a child and he has a really special spot in my heart.