Beloved Camper

A post I wrote last August but never published because I never finished it:


Camp is officially over (but I am one of the lucky few who is working an extra week). It's been a good summer. Unfortunately I am out of the practice of writing.

Last summer I met a camper who found a special place in my heart. He'd never heard of Jesus before but I told him what I could; he and I were (not technically) alone for a long time and we had a long conversation. He asked me if he could pray and I said yes so that little 7-year-old bent his head and folded his hands and prayed a silent prayer, and I prayed too. He had so many questions. He was so curious. I did my best to help him and answer his surprisingly deep, thoughtful inquisitions. He was so thirsty for Jesus, he kept wanting more. When I hugged him good-bye at the end of the week, I never thought I would see him again, but knew I would never forget him.

Well, I did see him again. This past week. Seeing him was just as amazing as last year. He had more questions. There was so much basic stuff about God and christianity that he just didn't know. And yet he asked complex questions, such as "Who is, no, what IS God?" Well, an 8-year-old won't understand what a superior, divine spirit is, so I tried to explain how he was the most good, powerful, perfect person of all and how he made everything in the world. This boy also asked a lot of questions about the difference between God and Jesus. I guess I can see how that would be a little confusing for someone so young. He was pretty uneducated, but he's probably one of the smartest campers I've ever had. He said he wished he had a Bible. I told him I would do my best to get him one. On the last day I told him I had one for him and that he could have it at the end and he kept asking for it all day. It was awesome how excited he was. As soon as I handed it to him, he opened it up and started looking through it.

He said a few times he doesn't get to see his dad. He sounded like he missed him. Children, I don't think they can fully take in events all the time, he told me his dad threw a bottle then he had to go to jail. His dad was not allowed to see him and he went to jail "a lot" and used to beat up his girlfriend but doesn't do it anymore. Those were pretty much his words. I'm sure there's more to the story than that, but through the eyes of a child, that's how it was.

He was a good kid. Real nice. Not always super social with the other campers; he didn't really fit in real well.


...and that's all I wrote.


God bless.