CRC
– Teen Week
Sunday July 11–Friday July 16
Teen Week was indescribable. There were so many experiences, thoughts, and happenings this week. God really taught me a lot, directly and indirectly.
I arrived at camp ready and ecstatic for the week. I was so excited to get back to camp, to be in direct contact with some of my fellow family(staff) members. I was so excited to pour myself into the lives of the teenagers coming. I wanted nothing more than to let God use me to reveal Himself to the campers.
My co-counselor and I had seven girls in our cabin. Each girl has her own unique story and situation. Each girl has her own challenges and struggles. As their counselors, Bethany and I freaked out a little because their challenges and struggles were more severe than what we’d dealt with before. We were very unsure of what we needed to do, so we prayed. We prayed that God would show us what to do and how to do it. God definitely answered our prayers and was definitely with us all week.
On Monday afternoon the girls headed to the water-slide while the boys played games in the ball-field. The female assistant program director and I decided to go down the water-slide together. We ended up going over the end and I smacked into the tree on the other side and broke my left thumb. It was an interesting challenge to adjust to not being able to use my thumb during the week.
Our speaker for the week is a man whom I truly respect and look up to, and I’ve only known him since teen week. This man seeks God on a continuous basis and blesses everyone he comes in contact with. His track record in youth ministry is amazing. He knows what he is talking about and he knows how to get to the heart of the matter with youth. I have learned so much from him in the two weeks I’ve worked with him and I truly hope to continue to learn more from him.
This week he taught the campers and the counselors what it means to be a Rebel for THE Cause, and he urged them to become Rebels. At the end of the week many of the campers were able to stand up and declare that they are Rebels. I encourage you to check out Brian’s website http://www.xposed2jesus.com/ and read his article about being a Rebel for THE Cause.
While all of my campers are special to me and all of their stories are important I am going to share the story of only one of my girls. (The video story of one of my other girls, Nicole, can be found on Brian’s website.) This Girl I am going to tell you about has seized my heart. The man that has become her spiritual Dad has said that she captured his heart more than any of his other spiritual daughters, and I can understand why.
This Girl is 14 years old and she comes from an abusive home. The man that has become her spiritual Dad was present during teen week. Most of the time counselors receive no details about their campers before-hand; counselors just roll with the punches as the details come. My co-counselor and I were fortunate to receive details about this Girl at the beginning of the week. On Sunday night her spiritual Dad told us that her Mom had made the decision to leave her abusive Dad some time before camp started. What this Girl did not know was that after leaving for camp, her Mom had decided to return to her Dad and that this Girl would be returning to her house when camp was over. Spiritual Dad, spiritual Mom, and Mom did not want this news to ruin the Girl’s week, so they decided to wait until the week was over before telling her. On Thursday spiritual Dad decided to tell the Girl the news. That way she would be surrounded by friends and counselors who love her. In my opinion it was a good decision.
I was with the two of them when spiritual Dad told his Daughter the news. And I wept the whole time. I watched this 14 year old girl, the youngest of my girls, go from a bright, vibrant, excited girl who had come out of her shell and was having so much fun with new friends to a scared child purposefully hidden away from everything, in a matter of minutes. I will tell you now that at that moment in time, with what little I really knew of this girl, my heart was in millions of pieces.
After spiritual Dad left I sat with this Girl outside for quite some time. I sat down next to her, put my arm around her and told her, “I have no idea and cannot comprehend what you are going through, but I will sit here with you and hug you and cry with you and listen to you for as long as you need.” After a while, the first thing she said to me was, “My dad use to hit me.”
As she continued to talk to me I learned that the repercussions of that short simple sentence were things such as cutting and suicide attempts. My heart has now shattered into trillions of pieces.
After some time we stood up to return to our cabin. I gave her a hug and she held on to me tighter than anything I have ever felt. I prayed.
Spiritual Dad came back a few minutes later and informed us that Mom and Dad wanted this girl to stay with spiritual Mom and spiritual Dad for two more weeks, so some things could be worked out. We continued through our day, but nothing was quite the same.
Despite everything that she learned that day, this girl stood up at the call and declared that she is a Rebel for THE Cause. “I’m in rebellion with Jesus against anything and everything this world tries to throw at me. I will not allow the world to dictate how I look, dress, or eat. I’m an original masterpiece created by my Heavenly Daddy. And it’s time to change the rules.” - Rebels
As it turns out this girl did not get to stay with her spiritual Mom and spiritual Dad for two weeks but has returned to be with her Mom and Dad. I have not shared this story with you to make you sad. I have shared this story with you because it is my heart. I invite you and ask you to join with me to pray for this girl.
Brian has started Xposed2Jesus to do exactly that; expose Jesus to youth. As written on his website, Xposed2Jesus is, “devoted to equipping teens to live for Jesus. We believe teens should be taught how to follow Jesus, and why following Jesus is important. We believe teens want and need to be exposed to biblical truth and theology to develop and strengthen their faith. It is also our goal to equip them to share their faith with others in their community.” I invite you and ask you to stand up and declare “I’m in rebellion with Jesus against anything and everything this world tries to throw at me. I will not allow the world to dictate how I look, dress, or eat. I’m an original masterpiece created by my Heavenly Daddy. And it’s time to change the rules.”
Now comes the hard part. If you have declared that you are a Rebel for THE Cause, do something, be a Rebel, live your life as a Rebel. Change the rules, go find your spiritual Sons and spiritual Daughters, expose them to Jesus.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Teen Week was indescribable. There were so many experiences, thoughts, and happenings this week. God really taught me a lot, directly and indirectly.
I arrived at camp ready and ecstatic for the week. I was so excited to get back to camp, to be in direct contact with some of my fellow family(staff) members. I was so excited to pour myself into the lives of the teenagers coming. I wanted nothing more than to let God use me to reveal Himself to the campers.
My co-counselor and I had seven girls in our cabin. Each girl has her own unique story and situation. Each girl has her own challenges and struggles. As their counselors, Bethany and I freaked out a little because their challenges and struggles were more severe than what we’d dealt with before. We were very unsure of what we needed to do, so we prayed. We prayed that God would show us what to do and how to do it. God definitely answered our prayers and was definitely with us all week.
On Monday afternoon the girls headed to the water-slide while the boys played games in the ball-field. The female assistant program director and I decided to go down the water-slide together. We ended up going over the end and I smacked into the tree on the other side and broke my left thumb. It was an interesting challenge to adjust to not being able to use my thumb during the week.
Our speaker for the week is a man whom I truly respect and look up to, and I’ve only known him since teen week. This man seeks God on a continuous basis and blesses everyone he comes in contact with. His track record in youth ministry is amazing. He knows what he is talking about and he knows how to get to the heart of the matter with youth. I have learned so much from him in the two weeks I’ve worked with him and I truly hope to continue to learn more from him.
This week he taught the campers and the counselors what it means to be a Rebel for THE Cause, and he urged them to become Rebels. At the end of the week many of the campers were able to stand up and declare that they are Rebels. I encourage you to check out Brian’s website http://www.xposed2jesus.com/ and read his article about being a Rebel for THE Cause.
While all of my campers are special to me and all of their stories are important I am going to share the story of only one of my girls. (The video story of one of my other girls, Nicole, can be found on Brian’s website.) This Girl I am going to tell you about has seized my heart. The man that has become her spiritual Dad has said that she captured his heart more than any of his other spiritual daughters, and I can understand why.
This Girl is 14 years old and she comes from an abusive home. The man that has become her spiritual Dad was present during teen week. Most of the time counselors receive no details about their campers before-hand; counselors just roll with the punches as the details come. My co-counselor and I were fortunate to receive details about this Girl at the beginning of the week. On Sunday night her spiritual Dad told us that her Mom had made the decision to leave her abusive Dad some time before camp started. What this Girl did not know was that after leaving for camp, her Mom had decided to return to her Dad and that this Girl would be returning to her house when camp was over. Spiritual Dad, spiritual Mom, and Mom did not want this news to ruin the Girl’s week, so they decided to wait until the week was over before telling her. On Thursday spiritual Dad decided to tell the Girl the news. That way she would be surrounded by friends and counselors who love her. In my opinion it was a good decision.
I was with the two of them when spiritual Dad told his Daughter the news. And I wept the whole time. I watched this 14 year old girl, the youngest of my girls, go from a bright, vibrant, excited girl who had come out of her shell and was having so much fun with new friends to a scared child purposefully hidden away from everything, in a matter of minutes. I will tell you now that at that moment in time, with what little I really knew of this girl, my heart was in millions of pieces.
After spiritual Dad left I sat with this Girl outside for quite some time. I sat down next to her, put my arm around her and told her, “I have no idea and cannot comprehend what you are going through, but I will sit here with you and hug you and cry with you and listen to you for as long as you need.” After a while, the first thing she said to me was, “My dad use to hit me.”
As she continued to talk to me I learned that the repercussions of that short simple sentence were things such as cutting and suicide attempts. My heart has now shattered into trillions of pieces.
After some time we stood up to return to our cabin. I gave her a hug and she held on to me tighter than anything I have ever felt. I prayed.
Spiritual Dad came back a few minutes later and informed us that Mom and Dad wanted this girl to stay with spiritual Mom and spiritual Dad for two more weeks, so some things could be worked out. We continued through our day, but nothing was quite the same.
Despite everything that she learned that day, this girl stood up at the call and declared that she is a Rebel for THE Cause. “I’m in rebellion with Jesus against anything and everything this world tries to throw at me. I will not allow the world to dictate how I look, dress, or eat. I’m an original masterpiece created by my Heavenly Daddy. And it’s time to change the rules.” - Rebels
As it turns out this girl did not get to stay with her spiritual Mom and spiritual Dad for two weeks but has returned to be with her Mom and Dad. I have not shared this story with you to make you sad. I have shared this story with you because it is my heart. I invite you and ask you to join with me to pray for this girl.
Brian has started Xposed2Jesus to do exactly that; expose Jesus to youth. As written on his website, Xposed2Jesus is, “devoted to equipping teens to live for Jesus. We believe teens should be taught how to follow Jesus, and why following Jesus is important. We believe teens want and need to be exposed to biblical truth and theology to develop and strengthen their faith. It is also our goal to equip them to share their faith with others in their community.” I invite you and ask you to stand up and declare “I’m in rebellion with Jesus against anything and everything this world tries to throw at me. I will not allow the world to dictate how I look, dress, or eat. I’m an original masterpiece created by my Heavenly Daddy. And it’s time to change the rules.”
Now comes the hard part. If you have declared that you are a Rebel for THE Cause, do something, be a Rebel, live your life as a Rebel. Change the rules, go find your spiritual Sons and spiritual Daughters, expose them to Jesus.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
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