Kids' Camp (Africa-Style)

"Lord, show me the reason why I have come," I prayed silently as we bounced down the dirt road headed towards the village. 

"Bounced" is not really the right word. A better description would be that my hands gripped the steering wheel and I'm not sure my back touched the seat throughout the entire trip because the road was so treacherously destroyed by rainy season flooding. I knew from the start that this camp experience would be like none other I had ever experienced. Just the trip out there was like a Disney World four-wheeler ride that kids in the United States would probably pay for. 

Of course as soon as I had heard the word "camp", I was already rip-roaring ready to go. Summer camp was an exciting and influential part of my childhood, so much so that I became a counselor during college because I couldn't stay away. To see what kid's summer camp is like in Burkina Faso, now that's something that I wasn't about to miss. 

As we drove out to the village where the camp was to take place, we saw kids waiting on the side of the road for somebody to pick them up along the way (I would have, but my car was already full). What I didn't know is that more than 700 kids would find their way to this regional camp! 

As they arrived, they came in singing - tricycles loaded down with more kids than safety standards would allow or bicycle caravans or walking trains with heads loaded down with luggage - all coming in groups and all singing songs of praise and worship as they arrived. It was beautiful; from every direction little groups of students came on different paths singing different songs all for the same camp and with the same excitement and for the same Father. 

They brought their own mats, buckets for bathing, and a bowl and cup for eating. They found a spot to sleep in the church, and old church building, the school, classrooms, or host houses...and they crammed in until not another person could be squeezed in! I still can't figure out where all 700 of them slept, nor how a dozen ladies could whip out that much rice for every meal using the small outdoor kitchen and pots on wood fires. 

When I prayed, "Lord, show me the reason why I have come," I truly thought that my purpose in being there was just to observe, learn how children's ministry is done in Burkina, and participate in the celebration of Jesus with the kids. Every once in a while, I felt like my purpose in being there was to pray for the children and for my teammate, Charlotte, as she brought two powerful keynote messages.

But it soon became clear that God had a few other things for me to do. I quickly became the unofficial camp nurse and treated many a mal-au-ventre (stomach ache), maux-de-tete (headache), fever, and minor aches and pains. I loved doing this with gentleness and compassion, and the amount of paracetamol and lumartem that I distributed shows that my presence was beneficial for the experience of the students as well. 

Another opportunity popped up that I know was from the Lord. God gave Charlotte a vision and desire to gather the young ladies of the camp (ages 13+) for a special session. This age group is particularly vulnerable, and we wanted to encourage and counsel them in regards to purity, relationships, and marriage. Charlotte asked me if I wanted to say something or give a testimony, so I instantly knew this was the reason that God brought me to camp this year. 

Using Psalm 139, a psalm that significantly shaped me in my teen years, I told the girls how much they are valued by God. I shared with them that the value, significance, and love for which we search cannot be found in a boyfriend or a husband or a marriage, or really any guy at all, but only in the name of Jesus Christ, the source of all satisfaction. I encouraged them to 1) know their value, 2) see that this value is found in Christ, and 3) guard their value. This means to protect it and to not just throw it away to the first boy that shows interest in them. I ended with my personal testimony and showed them my purity ring. 

"I wish I had a ring to give each of you, but that's just not possible," I said and they laughed. "But the truth is that you don't have to have a ring to make this same promise." I invited the girls who are virgins to commit to guarding their purity until marriage as that is God's best for them, and I encouraged those who have already given a piece of it away to seek the generous forgiveness of God and restart afresh today with a commitment to remain pure until marriage. 

The message was translated into three other languages after I spoke it in French so that every young lady could truly understand it in her own tongue. 

They hung on my words, maybe because I'm white or maybe because I'm a girl just like them - young and single, desiring a husband one day, but finding satisfaction in Jesus as I wait for the man he will choose for me to marry. 

I know that seeds were planted in the hearts of every camper throughout the experience of camp as a whole. Just like camp reenergized me in my walk with God, I saw how the campers were reenergized through whole-body worship. You should have seen the dust pouring out the windows in clouds like smoke as the children sang at the tops of their lungs and danced until their shirts were soaked! 

I know the students received something through the biblical teaching because 105 of them responded with the desire and follow Jesus and give their lives to him. 

I know that seeds were planted in the hearts of young girls as they heard that they are loved by God and have the power to resist temptation and live lives of purity as they wait for God's perfect timing to provide a husband for them. 

For the children that already know Jesus, I know their hearts were encouraged just by being surrounded by so many young people like them who believe and love to worship.

For those who don't yet know the Lord, I know that they were impacted by the experience they received, which had to be like nothing else they've ever experienced before because they found themselves in an environment where the praise of Jesus and the study of his word was so full of joy and truth. 

I know the reason I went to camp this year, and it wasn't only to observe and learn and participate and pray, but it was also to serve the campers through compassionate nursing care and to counsel the young ladies in their purity and encourage them to find their satisfaction in Christ. 

So my judgement on this whole matter is that camp Africa-style is a pretty great thing, just as great as it was for me as a kid. And you really don't need all the trampolines and rope swings and blow up things to love children and encourage them in the teachings of Jesus. Sometimes all you need is dancing feet and singing lungs and open ears that represent an open heart.