Camp - Day 3

We have arrived to the third day of camp. We taught the kids an American phrase during the morning program that we often call Wednesday "hump day".  It was a little cooler today and we needed that because it has been hot.

Wednesday's theme was – Conflict hurts.  Bára, who is the main organizer of the camp and Marek's daughter, had the opportunity to share with the kids about conflict in her life.  She shared how when she was a teenager she fought a lot with her parents. She always felt like she had to fight and try to win arguments. When she finally won the argument it felt good for her to win, but she realized that even though she won the argument it was still hurting her inside and hurting her parents. She shared that all of us have conflict and we cause conflicts because the Bible says, all of us are sinners, none of us are good. The good news is that even though we are sinners, God loves and cares for us and He has a solution for us.  Tomorrow will talk more about the solution God has for us. Bara finished by saying that everyone has make their own decision.

Selah and Elizabeth told the story: "The Rich Young Ruler" during English class.  This story was a great way to illustrate conflict. The rich young ruler was told by Jesus that even though he had followed the jewish laws he was missing one thing. Jesus told him to sell everything and give it to the poor. This was a major conflict for the young ruler and in the end he decided to keep his wealth. We are praying everyday that the kids would be receptive to the gospel.

We organized a trip down to the reservoir.  It is very close to Stephen and Jennifer's old neighborhood in Bystrc. The kids had to try and build a boat out of foam board and a wooden pallet. This boat had to float and was part of the weekly game of finding the treasure. The Kid's were successful and going to the reservoir was a lot of fun.

Every day the kids are divided up into discussion groups. The purpose of the discussion groups is to go deeper with the theme of the day. There are questions for the kids to answer. We want to help them process, what they are hearing from the testimonies that are shared each day. Thursday we will share with them the gospel again in the morning program. Our teenagers have been involved in the discussion groups each day.

Thoughts from the team on Wednesday

Mickey Ann says,
"WOW!  What a day for me! We walked and hiked to a reservoir to swim.  It was interesting to see the interaction with Christians and non-Christian people.  It made me think about the conflict that is universal with our walk with Jesus and the battle with the flesh!"

Elizabeth says, 
"We asked the kids if sin was a problem and they all said that everyone does it. They said that if everyone has a problem no one does… so Adam (discussion leader) asked if they wanted to fix the problem and they said no, because it would make them different. It really makes me kind of wonder because if there was no societal pressure, then would more Czechs be christian? And the same in America, but I feel like it’s the other way around. A lot of my friends say and act around adults like they are Christian, but no one actually wants deep conversations and it is so frustrating. I’m glad though that I can talk to kids where Christianity isn’t a 'routine'."

Lorraine says, 
"I loved the devotion from one of the Czech team leaders, Viťa (Vicki). She shared about the widow who gave all she had. It’s easy to feel like the widow that we have nothing to give but God has equipped us for every good work - even the hard ones. Pray. The battle is the Lords. Continue to pray the word and truth at camp will find fertile soil and that the believers here will be mightily encouraged."

Selah says,
"My favorite thing yesterday is hard to narrow down because we had so many good conversations with the kids. But I think it would have to be that I found out the kids know a lot of American music and I told a girl, who’s brother was annoying her, to 'let it go' and she sang the song.  Not only did that make the conflict de-escalate but it also provided a common experience."

Dontralisa says, 
"Today we spoke on conflict, which reminded me of the old folk tale 'The Tortoise and the Hare' conflict. How one believes it doesn’t take much to win something if you have the resources and ability. However, if you truly believe in something and apply yourself you can achieve your goal. The moral is God makes all things possible if you are willing to trust and submit yourself truly unto Him."