Background
A lot of people ask me how we keep up with the kids once camp is over and to be honest it's not easy. With two Youth Programs staff members and crazy work and school schedules for volunteers, it's hard to track down every camper and keep up with them. We sure try though. Fortunately, there are a few families who help a lot. I know when that several camp families are well served and if I can't personally make it to visit them, someone else is. I am so thankful for these people and their servant hearts. Others we keep up with the after school groups. We are able to keep tabs on the family through teenagers. Other times we have to be more reactive and respond to families calling out to us. Anyway you look at it, it truly takes a village to keep up with all the families.
Story time!
Story #1
One sweet middle school camper calls Josh out of the blue. In their conversation, Josh learns that the family is no longer living at home and that they might be living in a shelter. Not being able to get too far talking with the student, Josh spreads the word and we start a search for information on where they might be. We drive around, try to call back (the number was disconnected), and pray a lot. We finally get a call back from the family and set up a meeting with the so we can hopefully understand what's going on and see how we can support them. Please pray for us and the family as we are meeting with them Saturday.
Story #2
I'm friends with a lot of campers on social media. It keeps me accountable to living every part of my life in a way that I wouldn't mind them seeing and it helps me keep track of all of them at once. Recently, a camper posted pictures of her arm with cuts she made herself. Having friends who have struggled with cutting in the past, I know what a real problem it can be. I was encouraged to see many people rallying around her, sending messages and inviting her to talk, but knew that there was more that needed to be done. This camper happens to be very connected with one of our volunteers who is a trained counselor. What a blessing to be able to send an email about concerns over this camper and know that the next day someone who loves her and knows her well would be there to support her. It's such a comfort to me to know the body of Christ is at work here and that I don't have to care for all these youth alone. Please pray for this family and the other youth in Clarkston struggling with or without such a strong support system.
Story #3
The after school homework group I help with has become such a blessing to my life. We've grown to about 15 girls and at least 5 volunteers who come every week. Annalisa and I were overwhelmed by the amount of interest people had in our group. After trying to work with youth within our own programs for so long, it's amazing to see all that can happen when two people come together and share their resources to work toward a common goal. We've been blown away by our girls too. We had one 7th grader write a thank you note for the wonderful Ms. Pam who has been bringing us dinner. Her sweet and kind spirit humbles everyone who comes in contact with her. She's a younger one in the group, but definitely sets an example for youth everywhere. We are also interviewing a few girls for a video to promote our program and after sitting in on two of them yesterday, I am completely blown away with how humble, wise, well spoken, and completely amazing our girls are. They left our videographer speechless and their stories about their dreams, struggles, and families is honest and powerful. We were worried about the girls not wanting to share about themselves on video, but I am confident that both girls left empowered as their resilience and hard work was put on display. I am so proud of these girls I work with. They bless me more than I could have ever imagined. Pray that we are able to empower youth and restore their dignity as they participate in our programs.
Story #4
Our Facebook page receives a decent amount of traffic, however we do not normally receive many messages. Recently we did. It was a short message in broken English explaining that this man was a Syrian refugee in Lebanon with 5 children who was trying to find a way to educate his children and receive asylum in America. The Syrian refugee crisis has been receiving a lot of news recently. In Clarkston people have been talking about it for a long time now. I don't think it hit me how desperate these families are until I read that message. It could have been a scam. I recognize that. It also could have been real. Pray for the people currently fleeing their homes in search of refuge.
Conclusion
After the events of this past week I am thankful for my family. I have never had to worry about ending up in a homeless shelter because I know that even if my parents were in a position where they couldn't pay the bills, we have more family and friends that could take us in. I am thankful that I don't work alone, but that there is a whole body of believers who I work alongside to achieve the same goal of seeing the Kindgom come to Clarkston. I'm thankful that the ones I serve serve me, humble me, and are already great all on their own. Last, I'm thankful for a safe place to live in a country where I am free to be who I am and I don't have to worry about someone coming after me or my family based on my political or religious beliefs, my ethnicity, or my social standing.
How was your week?
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