BSM

last week i was in Polo, Il for jr high adventure camp.  it was a small crew of about 30 jr high students, of which, about half were bsm students.  sometimes i struggle with jr high students.  no because i feel ill equipped or annoyed… they’re just different.  that’s all i can say… lol.  but the week was a blast.

we had an interesting mix of kids with different backgrounds.  some came from homes centered around God with strong foundations, and some came from jacked up circumstances with crappy parents and home lives.  

some of the highlights… one day we did a high ropes course.  it was cool to see the kids root each other on.  there were a few kids that really struggled through the course, but no matter what, the students on the ground continually encouraged those going through the course.  for a few of the students, you could tell that completing that course was a huge victory.  they would hit the ground pumped and walking tall.  everyone who tried, was successful, but we did have a couple of kids who didn’t go through it.

we also spent a couple of nights playing capture the flag in the dark with glow sticks as flags.  that was fun and exhausting.

a couple of teaching highlights… one day i came out of our eating shelter to see a bunch of students gathered around where we met for some sessions.  and amongst them were some guys having their nails painted pink by a couple of the girls.  i was really thrown back initially.  then a couple of them started to mock gays and started sarcastically saying pro gay statements.  so this was a prime teaching opportunity.  in a nutshell… the girls said they lost respect for the guys with pink nails but they gained respect for the guys who would not let their nails be painted.  i also put a lot of emphasis how righteous, Godly men are supposed to conduct themselves, and within being manly, there is no room for painting our nails pink, and following it by mocking the gay community.

our campfire times were amazing too! every night we had great discussions on life, scripture, christianity, and things we were learning.  different emotions arose every night.  there were times of joy and times of sorrow.  a lot of laughing and a lot of crying.

the week was awesome.  at the end of the week we were all sad to leave each other.  but before leaving, a girl asked me to baptize her in the pool! that was awesome.  her mom came to pick her up and she was able see her daughter be baptized along with the rest of our crew from camp.  and going home… we had 6 more that were going home to be baptized! it’s awesome to see kids stand up in front of their peers and say they want to give Jesus everything they have and everything thing they are… that’s what it’s all about.