Week 7: A Time of Testing and Trial

I don't even know how exactly to talk about what this week was like for me. It was unlike any other that I experienced at camp this past summer. It was a time where God gave me some very broken and hurting girls to each and everyone of the counselors there to love on. I had some very young girls, (it was another Intro camp), who had been through some rough and really tough trials in their young lives and they desperately needed to feel Jesus's love for them through others.  I heard some really hard, sad stories that broke my heart for these children.

I so wanted to make things right in their lives and heal the hurts that they had gone through. But I couldn't. Only God could. All I could do was ask Him to help me love on these kids and give them one of the best weeks that I possibly could while they were at camp. And then pray that somehow circumstances would change for the better when they returned home. It wasn't easy but I felt privileged and blessed that God allowed me to give them comfort and any help that I could while they were there. One night when I was putting some ice packs on some of my campers who had gotten hurt they suddenly spoke up and thanked me for being there for me. They told me that a lot of other people weren't very nice or kind to them but that they felt very loved by all those at this camp. That brought tears to my eyes. During the night-time the girls that week oftentimes got scared or lonely even though they were all together and safe in the cabin. I played worship music from my Iphone for them and they all very quickly settled down as the words in the song praised God and talked about His love for us. And I heard some of the girls softly singing along to the songs in their bunks. Those songs soothed and comforted us all.

I myself though went through a lot of anxiety for my campers that week. I started experiencing stomach pains which I couldn't connect or trace to any other physical problems and felt a lot of overwhelming sadness. I was really helped and comforted by the verse that says: "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9.  I knew that even in my weakness God was still using me for his glory!

That was the week that I didn't see to the end though. By Friday morning I woke-up feverish and sick to a very hot early August day. My wonderful friends Luba and Ellen took over watching my campers that day while I rested in the room set aside for sick people at camp. It was all kind of a blur for me and I didn't even say goodbye to my campers. I wrote them farewell notes on postcards instead. Good thing because by that night my fever still hadn't gone away. I was sent home from camp to get a full weekend of rest. My dad came to pick me up. At home I crashed into my own bed. There at some point in the night my fever finally broke and the anxiety died down at last.

That weekend though turned out to be really fun. I slept in late on Saturday and woke-up feeling so much better. My friend Luba invited me to go shopping with her and I gladly accepted. We drove up to Medford together and had tons of fun shopping at the mall and then going to the see the new Marvel movie, "Ant-Man" afterwards. I was so thankful for the time to recover and be with a friend away from camp from a while. It was a special day that I love looking back on.
~Anna