July 10, 2022
Charis
Starting last Monday, we had an awesome week of our KidzAblaze Camp!!!
Though I've been on the team almost 3 years now, I haven't made it to the actual KidzAblaze Camp before, so you'll get to see it through fresh eyes.
Have you been to a camp before? I went to a weekend camp 2 times, and one time I did a camp Monday through Friday. Yet it is so different to come to camp not as the receivers, but as the givers.
First of all, it takes quite a bit of setup to be ready for Camp. All Monday morning and afternoon we unloaded everything, set up the field for games, and practiced everything for the musical. While we had fun, of course, we had a mind to work and get everything done.
When the kids arrived that night, it was all worth it.
As far as activities, the days went something like this:
1) Bible Mania.
I learned pretty quickly that Bible Mania is not just about getting the kids outside to play field games and answer Bible questions. In fact, when Pastor Randy asked one of the organizers a question about why the kids had to do something for one of the games, she said, "It's just to get them messy." Many of the field games included food, and others shaving cream. For example, the first game was marshmallow dunking, and another included a dance off between kids while the team poured ketchup, mustard and chocolate syrup all over them.
The counselors and our own team did not escape the mess, either! Several counselors and one lifeguard from our team were transformed into human hotdogs, and in another game--we can just say some people will not be eating beans for a longgggg time. And none of us will be eating grits anytime soon!!
And, of course, we had to end the last day of Bible Mania with a shaving cream war (no one escaped that mess). It was my first one, and I have to say, there can't be many things more fun than running at kids with bottles full of shaving cream! Pretty soon I had surrendered my bottle to another kid, and ran back to obtain another. By the end lots of us were giving each other hugs and saying, "Oh, I think you could use a little more in your hair!" And while by the end shaving cream was all over us, and many of us on the team had grits and mud mixed into the shaving cream, it was still so awesome!!
2) The Musical and workshops.
Our musical went fantastic last week. If you're wondering, this year we're doing a mystery, "The Case of the Pink Flamingo". Alice, the secretary of London Yard, happened to be a favorite among the kids. And believe me, there were many parts where we actors had to refrain from laughing. Personally, my favorite part was when the detective knocked me out and his assistant dragged me off behind some chairs.
And the kids were amazing in workshops! I taught a human video to the song "Stand" by Britt Nicole, and I was amazed at how much they picked up in only 45 minutes of teaching! It was awesome to see the kids get up there and dance, act, or do puppets.
3) Night service.
While everything else was exciting and so much fun, I think my favorite part of Camp was the night services. We'd start of with praise songs, then do a Bible verse, Bible story, and object lesson. When we got to worship time, however, is when everything happened.
Monday night one girl was spoken over, and that started a strong spiritual momentum. Every night after that we went at least to 10:00 p.m. when we would've finished at 9:00, and several nights went longer. Tuesday night someone received the Holy Spirit before we even taught about it, and we learned she had never even heard of it before! Kids were prayed over left and right, and Wednesday night so many were filled with the Holy Spirit. Light overcame deep darkness, and people were filled to overflowing. I have never seen anything quite like it before. But what happened those nights is so real. And I know I'll never forget them.
God really moved last week. While so much more happened, it's too much to tell, so I'll say this: God can use normal people like me and you in ways we never could imagine, among groups of people we never imagined helping. And though to many people the 45 kids may seem like a small group, what happened last week created an everlasting impact!