Kevin's Last Stand...

i spent last week with the beautiful faces in the above picture. we battled mice in the cabin, played in the lake, learned memory verses, and laughed. in fact we spent most of the week laughing. each night as i lay down to sleep i would go over that day in my mind and i'd smile. there was such joy saturated in each day. it's hardly believable that 24 hours could be so full. and as i think about my students and what they will take away from the week i feel so blessed.

i pray they remember that they are loved. they are loved with a depth and a width that cannot be measured. they are loved by their home church that sent them to camp. they are loved by their parents that made sure they'd packed bug spray and sent care packages. they are loved by their counselors who were willing to let them stay up way past their bedtime. they are loved by the staff at forest home who give up their summers in order to teach them who Jesus is. they are loved by the God of the universe. they are loved by the God who created rivers and mountains. and of course they loved by me. sometimes i think my heart will burst with how much i love them. i love their crazy stories and the wild predicaments they manage to get themselves into. i love their hearts and their sweet smiles.

i know my students will look back on the week we just had and remember these friendships they made. they built dams together and made crafts together. i know they will laugh when they think of how they put war paint on their faces and charged onto the field for games together. those friendships will hold them when the wind is at their back and wolves are howling at the door.

this special group of students will have so many memories of this camp. but the one that i hope they hold onto carefully is what they learned about God. i hope they grasp tightly to the knowledge that there is nothing greater than a relationship with Him. i want them to rest fully, knowing beyond any doubt that with God they can change our world. i know the seeds were planted this week and now i will wait and watch God water them.

forest home changed my life. from the very first summer that Camper Chelsea threw her duffel bag onto a bunk at Indian Village to this last week while Counselor Chelsea made sure all her campers were drinking plenty of water. there's magic in the air. i can only hope that my kiddos will be as changed as i was by those big trees...