Camp Wrap-Up
June 15, 2008Friday – He Can be Trusted
The last full day of camp can be a challenging one. The kids know that camp is coming to a close and begin to put back up their emotional walls. However, this year the Lord blessed us with a really good day, and despite a couple of snags, it was pretty uneventful (as far as attitude issues go). The campers learned their last verse for the week, 1 Corinthians 1:9. It states “God is faithful, He will do what He says.” They saw the a video of their group leaders talking about how God had shown himself faithful in their lives. During the night service, they watched as two campers were blindfolded and had to listen and trust the quiet, calm voice of the leader guiding them as others shouted directions at them. Both the video and the skit were incredible testimonies as to how God can be trusted.
Though out the day, everyone was in good spirits. Down at the lake front, the ‘blob’ was in full use. Mr. Sean teamed up with another staffer, Mr. Ben, to blob many of the group leaders. The two of them sent people flying – and soon there was a line of group leaders who wanted to be blobbed. The kids loved watching it (Ben and Sean didn’t blob any of the campers – there was too much of a size difference to be safe).
The last night of Nikos there is traditionally a water balloon fight. The group leaders fill up water balloons all day long on their breaks, and this year they did great. There were four full big trashcans full of balloons and every group was assigned to a trashcan. By the end of the fight, everyone was wet, muddy and happy. Thankfully, showers were before night service.
The night concluded with a crazy night service – one for the kids to remember. Not only did the kids watch a simulation of an airplane flight through a storm, the slideshow was super long with pictures from throughout the day – lots of fun. Even Light Lady was different. After each camper of the day was announced and recognized, she brought up all the leaders to recognize their hard work and give them an opportunity to dance in the black lights. The campers loved it and all cheered for their leaders. While every leader had gone above and beyond, the staff at the camp and activity leaders provided feedback that one in particular had ‘shined’ all week long. Ryan W. was recognized for his outstanding love of not only just his campers, but also all those he came in contact with. He had a difficult group of boys but his patience and love were amazing to watch. As all cheered him on, he danced in the black light showing his energy and fun personality.
Saturday – Saying Good-bye
Saturday started early because the kids had to pack up before they headed to breakfast. After we got everyone’s name on his or her luggage and in the right pile to be put on the right bus, everyone headed down for one last meal. Afterward, we took a great group pictures…both funny and serious and then had one more time of worship.
Because each camper who came was in some way plugged into Mission:Possible and its programs throughout the year, the leaving was easier than in past years. Thankfully, the end of Camp Nikos isn’t the end of this kind of love for these kids. They will be loved on all year by people volunteering in the after school program, at Big Fish Club, during art centers, and at Crosstrainers. This made a huge difference in the attitudes of the campers as we left. Although we still had kids who wanted to stay and live at camp, there was definitely a peace and hope of more to come. Group leaders and their campers exchanged contact information to be able to keep in touch, and many of these campers will see these amazing people throughout the year.
Thank you so much for your prayers this week. We have felt them and have been encouraged by them. This camp is always amazing, but this was an incredible year. There were hard times and every leader and staff person was stretched to his or her limits. It would not be a lie to say that we were blessed at least as much (if not more) as the children were by the experience.
Don’t forget to check out the pictures and video from the last day by following the links at the top right of the page. If you want to see how you can be involved with Mission:Possible! and these precious little ones, please visit www.mpaustin.org.
God bless you!