'Saygetta', a girl from Newburg, Oregon has also been to camp twice. I met her early in the week and we shared a
love for Taylor Swift. She felt
connected to the messages from the beginning feeling like I was talking right
to her in all of the messages. The cabin times helped her to open up. Her life is complicated. Her parents divorced
and her mother married a woman. She
lives with her dad and step mom. At the
end of the week she put a tile with her name in the 'sluice box' to mark the
beginning of a new relationship with Jesus. She had done that before and was CONFIDENT that this year would be different,
with a strong sense that things are REAL about the relationship this time. She was extra teary when leaving the last
club, feeling both relieved and scared about starting a new life with
Jesus. When she arrived home, she began
to ‘come clean’ about her life and the stresses of living in two households
with her father. He was so thankful for having
caring adults—leaders and speaker (me!) in his daughter’s life—and space for his
daughter to process what it means to be new in Christ. He thanked the staff
people in the area who relayed the last part of the story to us. We are glad this young lady could be reunited
with her heavenly father and her earthly father! (* - sagetta is an alias)
There was a theme of gratitude that Tanya kept hearing from kids and from leaders who were appreciative of her story groeing of being a mixed/multi-race kid growing up, not being Mexican enough (didn't speak Spanish) nor white enough (people constantly commented on her being brown.)
A kid from Puyallup, a student of color, came to camp as a 2nd timer. Last summer he did not say 'yes' to a relationship God, with the reason being a lot of hurt from a church where he struggled to feel seen and belong as a young black man. This week our messages about Jesus caring for and valuing ALL PEOPLE, and diversity of voices from up front (work crew kids from Yakima and Royal City, and me, and Azzy on program) spoke to his heart. From up front I speak a lot about belonging---and that we belong to GOD! which reinforced the message and helped inspire him to give his life to Jesus for the first time!
Kids from North Idaho (in our region) were varied in story. Half of the kids grew up in strong families with deep faith roots. The other half were from broken homes, and having zero faith background. When Tanya spoke, and read words from Jesus straight from the bible, they had never heard that before. Some leaders described it this way: "my kids came in on a scale from -3 to +3, as -3's. They hated everything the first 2 days. Then, they began asking questions, their pride softened from the vulnerability of Tanya and those who shared and served. By the end, the kids were more like '-.5' -- like 'almost there' for wanting to start a relationship with God, but there was SO MUCH GROUND to cover in 5 days, which is why Young Life leaders keep meeting with kids after camp and helping them unpack faith and process through life's questions. We don't just celebrate kids saying 'YES' to God, we celebrate small steps and movement! 
Dietrich is working hard, doing great, making friends. Growing as a person. We are amazed at his toughness and lack of complaints. He smiles, works seemingly tirelessly in the dining hall and has meaningful conversations daily with fellow work crew kids. And campers each week end up cheering for him, showing his 'charm.'
On to week #3 now. We have 460 campers here and are mid-week, pray for God to move, kids hearts to be open, and for health for our work crew, summer staff and strength for Tanya. :)
-JEFF AND TANYA-
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| Tanya narrating Jesus inviting Zaccheus down from the tree to do dinner together! (relationship first!) |
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