The Old is GONE. The New HAS COME!

Wow!  What a week at Camp! 

God delivered more than I expected.  I received more grace, more love, more connection to him, more support and saw more girls laughing, more girls leaning in, more girls feeling accepted and more spirit working to renew the lives of teen moms at camp this week!

What the Hell?
One girl was didn't know she was coming to 'A Jesus Camp'. She had never heard the good news of Jesus before.  During the Resurrection Talk, really didn't know that Jesus would rise again.  When I said the grave was EMPTY because Jesus was alive, she looked up at her mentor and said, "What the hell?"  She had never known that died and rose again. Jesus is alive! How astonishing! And the living God began to work in her heart. For the quiet time, we gave the girls 'family rings' at the beginning of the 15 minute all camp quiet-- like the prodigal son received when he returned home.  She took the ring, and asked her leader about it again to make sure she understood and put it on.  At one point she LOST the ring.  Her whole cabin spent a section of time looking for her ring because it troubled her so much that she lost it.  The last morning, she attended the New Believers Walk where she received her first Bible and put her 'tile' in the Sluice box as an ebenezer! She stood up at 'say so' and said  "this week, I came home to God!".

Another girl almost didn't make it to camp, because she was plagued with anxiety. Her mentor had to release it and give it to God.  But the power of God is greater than her anxiety and she got on that bus.  At camp, she was miraculously brave and vulnerable.  She asked to see a bible, so her mentor gave her a bible. She was intrigued at how the pages were so thin, as she laid eyes on God's word for the first time.  After lights out she had her flashlight on looking through the Bible-- hungry for more.  She also started a new life with Jesus!  On the last day of camp, she even said, "this week made me realize I don't need drugs and alcohol to have fun."  What changes in store for this young woman!

As part of my talks, I consistently told them that they are God's beloved daughters.  Feelings of rejection run deep in this group of young ladies because they are often disowned or ignored by many.  I had some 'Beloved' decals made for the teens as a gift and I delivered them to the cabins.  All of the young ladies were thankful for such a simple and meaningful gift reminding them of their value to our Heavenly Father.  One girl burst into tears and said, "This camp is REALLY MESSING with me".  I hugged her as she whispered a "thank you" between sobs.  Sitting in the front row at the 'say so' service on the last day of camp was this sweet girl-- declaring her new connection with God. 

Young Life Dictionary:

All Camp Quiet= The holiest of times at camp.  Campers are released to go and sit and be perfectly still. Some pray for the very first time, some think, some begin a life with Jesus.

Mentor= Young Life leader for YoungLives are called mentors.

New Believer's Walk= On the last morning of camp, campers who begin a relationship with God, will get up early and attend this event with their leaders/mentors.  They receive a bible.

New Believer's Walk

The experience includes learning about some of the spiritual disciplines of how to keep growing and ends with putting a tile in the sluice box-- as a permanent monument of their decision to walk with Christ. 

Say So= A special service at a Young Life Camp, where campers who begin a relationship with God can declare it.  At YoungLives camp, girls attend this service with their child(ren).

Tiles in Sluice Box: Mom & Baby!

Sluice Box

Sluice Box= a miner's box for filtering gold.  At Creekside, the theme is a Miner Theme, and the campers write their names on a piece of 'tile' on the last day of camp during the New Believer's Walk, and set it in the sluice box, as an ebenezer, or monument to mark the day of their new life with Jesus.
*a special sluice box was made for YoungLives camp at this property because teen moms can't take their strollers and babies up to the main sluice box because it is difficult to get to up a hill.

Thank you for all your prayers. Thank you for those who help send kids to camp, support Young Life staff like me, for those who encourage and cheer and pray. Keep praying for these girls as they go home to a world that did not change like they did.  Pray for strength, hope, and connection with God. 

2Corinthians 5:17 "If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new has come!"    
                                                         -Tanya Rodriquez-Huber-