I wrote a piece to share with the folks at my church about camp and thought I would share it here also:
“This was the best day,” said June. June was sitting at a picnic table finishing up a craft she had made with her counselor. She had spent the day singing, swimming and horseback riding.
June is 8 years old. The same age as my daughter. She has brown hair and bright blue eyes. The same as my daughter. She loves to dance, shoot basketball and swim. The same as my daughter.
But June and Sarah Bess live very different lives. Sarah Bess lives with two parents who provide all she needs. June does not. Sarah Bess was born in Apex and has lived in one house all eight of her years. June has lived in 6 different homes this year. Sarah Bess is able to go to sleep at night knowing she will be in her house with her family tomorrow. June cannot.
June is one of the almost 400,000 children living in foster care in the US. There are over 600 children in foster care in Wake County alone.
This past week I had the amazing opportunity to be a counselor at Royal Family Kids Camp. Apex United Methodist Church and our Family of Faith Communities supported this effort through sponsoring a child to attend camp and donating sheets and other supplies for campers ($500 from our pastoral discretionary fund, and over $400 for supplies).
Royal Family Kids Camp began as the dream of Wayne and Diane Tesch 23 years ago to provide a life changing camp experience to children in foster care who have experienced abuse, neglect or abandonment. In 2012, Royal Family Kids Camp served over 6,000 children in 160 camps in 35 states and 11 countries. This summer a total of 200 camps will occur.
I could share stories of 36 children that attended camp this past week. I could tell you of my two twelve year old campers. One who missed almost 50 days of school this past year. Her mother needed to keep moving them because she couldn't pay her bills. This made for an unsuitable home environment landing my camper in foster care. She was one of 10 sibling sets that attended camp, the oldest of four girls all separated into different foster homes. Or I could share about my 12 year old camper who cried when she learned that this will be both her first and last year at camp as a 12 year old. Girls who remain in foster care until they are 18 have life stacked against them according to statistics.
Children aging out of foster care often become homeless, incarcerated, trafficked or experience post-traumatic stress and other mental disorders. Royal Family Kids Camp aims to change this one child at a time. And while I can’t give you their real names or show you their faces, I can ask you to pray for them. And to pray for the children that will be coming to camp next year.
Before heading out to camp, I asked people to pray for me. In response, several very kind friends told me it was a wonderful thing I was doing. With respect to those friends, I would rather not put this on me. Because then it is about me and not about God. When it is about me and not about God, it makes it not about you. And it is about you.
“God calls us to do thanks. To give thanks away. That thanks-giving literally be called thanks-living. That our lives become the very blessings we have received. I am Blessed. I CAN bless.” Ann Voskamp.
Next year I hope to come back for a week at Royal Family Kids Camp and I hope to bring some of you with me. There are many needs at camp…counselors, activity assistants, photographers and cooks. There are even opportunities for those that can’t come for an entire week to pray for those attending, help with registration or the Wednesday night carnival. I desire for us to be a community that creates ‘best days’ for many children.
At 519 we say, “Love Well. Live Differently”. To live this requires Action. To Do Love. To Be Love.
According to Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest, the essential religious experience is when we come to know that God is a process more than a conclusion and that God is more a verb than a noun.
God is a verb. We are vessels filled with his spirit to carry him into the world.
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