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Metro Camp was, in a word, AMAZING! Every time I come back from camp, people stop me and ask how it was. There are always many words that I could use to describe camp: Good, hot, exhausting, joyful, exhilarating, frustrating, encouraging… I always try to be positive. There are always good things about camp, but some years camp is just hard. This year there were definitely things that were hard about camp, but camp overall was truly amazing!

                Why was it amazing? Let me see if I can put it into a few paragraphs so that you can catch a glimpse of what I saw. We took 43 children and 14 adults to camp this year. We filled our bus to capacity. Those 57 people included various nationalities: white, Hispanic, African, and Pakistani. We took children whose parents have plenty of money and children whose parents have almost no money. Seven of the children have spent years in foster care. Six of those have now been adopted, and the last one will soon be adopted. We had kids with “normal” childhood worries and kids with worries like a desire to hurt themselves, a history of abuse, or parents who are on the verge of divorce. I saw individuals climb on a bus on Thursday, July 24 and by the time we got to camp, I saw groups of friends get off the bus. God had already started moving.

                Some of our children had never heard about Jesus before. And lest you think I exaggerate, let me tell you about one sweet girl who lost her mind when she found out Daniel was put in a lions’ den for no reason. She was SO mad! She had never heard this story before. Imagine her joy when she heard he came out of the den of lions without a scratch. There was a lot of yelling and cheering! In contrast, we had children who have been in church their entire lives. Yet somehow, God took children with these great spiritual differences and knit them together into one worshiping body. These children grew closer to God, one step at a time from wherever they were spiritually. They worshipped together, arms around each other, unabandoned in their praise for the God who created them.

                At the end of five days, our “numbers” said that we had three children who accepted Jesus as Savior for the first time. We had four children who confirmed their salvation. We have five who are seeking baptism. We had one child who expressed a desire to grow up and find a job that lets her help others less fortunate than herself so that as she meets their needs, she can tell them about Jesus.  Sounds a lot like a call to ministry, doesn’t it? We had several other children commit to read their Bible daily, tell their families and friends about what they learned about Jesus, and begin to attend church.  Those were our “numbers” turned in on a card at the end of camp.

                What I saw? I saw a group of children and adults who didn’t know each other well, or at all, connect and become a body of people who loved each other and love God. I saw 57 people take a step closer to God on their spiritual journey. I saw God move in children in a way that I pray has a ripple effect in their homes, schools and communities. God is good.

                Thank you to all of you who had a part in God’s work at Metro Camp. You gave scholarship money, twin size sheets, snacks, and prayers. You had a part in the miracles that God performed.  Thank you for pouring into children and families in our community. Thank you for pouring into our leaders here at Shady Oaks. Thank you for letting God use you! Metro Camp was AMAZING!