First week

Today a woman came to the church during our day camp so she could register her son and bring him next week, and I was just talking to her and explaining what happens each day, and before she left she told me that she knew great things were going to happen with our camp because she could see so much love written all over my face. That was probably the best compliment I could have received...it definitely encouraged me to get through the day, even when kids were running everywhere and creating chaos. Just another example of how God works in the simplest ways to make each day better. Our first week of kids' camp was really great. We grew by 7 kids each day, and had a total of 42 kids today. We know of at least 4 more who are coming next Tuesday. We've done art activities, told Bible stories, made an edible ark to coincide with the Noah story and an edible commandment tablet to go along with Moses, and have generally had lots of fun activities and crafts that made the week go pretty smoothly and successfully. Even when I had a slight food crisis one day and was freaking out about how to feed the kids, God provided and everything worked out fine. Along with all the love and fun of the week, some of it has been pretty difficult for me to handle. The first day, one girl wet herself, so I went into the bathroom to help her clean up. She took off her underwear, and when she handed them to me, they were old, used boy's boxers. This girl lives in a home where probably up to 16 or 17 kids come and go all the time, whether they be cousins or siblings or what, and a lot of the kids come from the same mother but different fathers. It's a rough situation, but the kids are so sweet and creative and just want to be loved. So many of the kids have asked me if they could go home with me, and another little girl said she wanted me to be her mom. It's rough, already loving these kids so much, wondering what's happening in their homes at this very moment, and knowing that I can't do much to change their situation. I just have to show as much love to them as I can while I can and hope to help them in some way.













p.s.--Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments! They make my day and give me a lot of encouragement. Be sure to leave your name with the comment so I'll know who wrote it. :)