One Answer Matters. Jesus Loves You.

Our oldest boy is up at Camp Blue Haven this summer working as a counselor. We are thankful he wanted to spend his summer helping campers see God more clearly. It is a very demanding very tiring job with very little sleep and having to be mentally and emotionally ON all of the time. This letter is from one of the girl counselors there at camp this summer. She posted it on her blog. I thought is was so wonderful.
I agree Amy...The love of the Father demonstrated in Jesus is so much bigger than any of the burdens these kids bring to camp. We have a reason to sing. To dance. To laugh. Jesus is stronger. Sin is broken. He has saved us. He loves us.

A Reason to Laugh...Amy Ellis
Three weeks at camp. I've gone into town twice for Wal-Mart and Sonic. Other than that, my days have been full of the chaos that accompanies getting 200 campers to all do the same thing. My days seem to run together. Get 12 girls to get out of bed. Outside to be alone with God in the stillness of mountain mornings. To the morning devotional. Through the line for breakfast. Do the assigned chore. Make their beds and re-pack all their stuff in their suitcases ... again ... and refocused for bible class. Counselor meeting. Sitting in the directors' cabin until chapel, doing nothing but drinking my second .. or third ... cup of coffee in silence. Chapel. Another meal. Quiet hour ... or 20 minutes. Watching kids play volleyball, or nucom. Trading post. More volleyball. More food. Evening activity. Nightly devotional. Shower if I'm lucky. Bed. The same schedule. All session. Repeated six times. It's easy to get lost in routine. To think that the days are photo copies of one another.
But none of them are the same. All unique. All special. Days and campers. 12 campers times 16 cabins times 6 sessions. Close to 1,200 children of God. One cannot be allowed to be lost in the crowd. For each is created in the image of God. Each one has a story. Each one has wounds. Deeper than anything I have ever experienced. I don't have a file for these. I don't have answers to the questions. I'm not strong enough to carry their burdens. I can't piece their broken hearts back together. Here is the beauty. It's not about me. Hundreds of campers. Thousands of questions. Only one answer matters. Jesus loves you.
I'm done complicating it. I'm done planning what I'm going to do. It's not about what I do. All that matters is what He has already done. The chaos of camp is overwhelmed by the simplicity of the gospel. I get to look into these hurting eyes with a smile and tell them three life changing words. He loves you. That's it. That's all that matters. I can't help but say it over and over and over.
The love of the Father demonstrated in Jesus is so much bigger than any of the burdens these kids bring to camp. We have a reason to sing. To dance. To laugh. Jesus is stronger. Sin is broken. He has saved us. So we have a lot of fun.
I have the best job ever.