God is good...All the time!!

Hey!! Well one week down...that means Week 6 of Camp Life is completed...

I don't even know where to begin on telling you how good the Lord is with what He has done this week!! I can't believe how fast this week flew by, but I do know that God is on the move!!

Last Sunday, July 13, I was given my Zambian partner for the week. Her name is Phiona. She is my age and we were able to develop a really fun friendship out of this week...(below is a picture of us)


Monday, July 14 - Kids Arrived at Camp Life!! I wasn't sure what group I was going to be placed with, but I knew it would be little girls. After a long time of waiting for all the kids to arrive, I was given a group of 9 girls ranging from 7 - 12 yrs old. They were precious! We got to play, get to know each other and then have our first large group together. When we have large group we sing songs, watch a skit, and listen to Greer (our director) talk about our lesson for the day. I was so excited to have these kids for 5 days!! Monday's lesson at Camp Life: "The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters.."

Tuesday, July 15 - Coloring Day! When the kids got there we had 3 different stations for them to rotate through during the morning. Our rotation consisted of Snaps (pictures), Coloring, and Small Group time. My kids loved this day! Being able to color seems so little in America, but my kids never get to color at school or at home. I loved seeing their faces light up! Today, was the first day that I started doing "blessing times" which were one-on-ones with all of the girls. I also added 4 more girls to my group today so that was exciting as well! Tuesday's lesson at Camp Life: "...He restores my soul".

Wednesday, July 16 - Full/Busy Day! Today was the middle of the week and we had a full and packed day of everything. We had 2 large group session and 2 small group sessions along with trying to get blessing times done. I was definitely exhausted after today, but it was so worth it!! Wednesday's lesson at Camp Life: "He guides me in paths of righteousness for His Namesake".


Thursday, July 17 - Shoe and Community Day!! This is probably one of my favorite days because every kid that camp to Camp Life receives a pair of shoes, a brand new t-shirt and a bandanna. Watch the kids walk into the building with the biggest smiles on their faces is so worth everything!! All of the Americans were able to put shoes on each of our kids and then we got to bless them by praying over each one. Our hope is that these kids will receive these shoes as a gift from the Lord and know that He does provide for His children. When praying for my girls, they know that they are being prayed for. Seeing the longing of desiring to be prayed for hurts my heart. I pray that the Lord will be their guide as He has given them shoes to walk and share the news about Jesus Christ. Thursday's lesson at Camp Life: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil".
The second half of the day all of the American counselors and every group of kids loaded up on the buses and went to their community to share the gospel with their people. Let me tell you, I was not prepared for where I was going. My kids went to a school called Pillar, but I was unaware of where it was. The community that their school is in is Kanyama, which is one of the darkest and coldest places spiritually. The night before I went to Kanyama, we had dinner as a group and several stories were told about this place. To be honest, I was nervous about going. I didn't know what I was going to see or whom I was going to come across. So many of my kids have seen or been with Witches and Witch doctors. Kanyama is the worst place for all these things to happen. It is a place that is very, very corrupted!

As we arrived that afternoon I tried to take everything in because we really couldn't take pictures while we were walking around. Just thinking about what I saw breaks my heart. While we were walking around taking the evange-cube as a tool to spread the gospel, I saw huge mounds of trash that was burning itself because it had been there for so long. The thing about it was that little kids were playing right there in it, just digging through trash. And what's more sad is that they call that 'playing'.

As I was looking at the people who lived there I felt the Lord impressing on my heart several different words... 1 - SAD 2 - HOPELESS 3 - LIFELESS 4 - HELP US!

I believe you can see so much in a person by looking in their eyes and it was absolutely true that day! To tell you the truth, the way I would describe everything as a whole in Kanyama was Hell on Earth. Almost every person had no life in them and were overwhelmed with their living situation. I saw so many children there running around, but some I saw walking by them selves with tears streaming down their faces just dying for someone to love them. As the afternoon continued, we shared the gospel with several people. However, some of the people we would approach didn't want anything to do with the gospel and didn't have time for it. Knowing that so many people rejected God's word that would give them hope and bring them out of their situation really affected me. I wanted to chase them down and talk with them. There is such a need for God in this place and I just don't understand how someone can turn their back on a God who gave His only son for them and who loves them so much?

When we returned to Mulingushi Village, all of us got to share what God did in all of the communities. I do have to say, that God is so alive and active it's crazy!! Praise Him for how He works. Some of the stories shared were those who actually went into Witch Doctor's houses and lead them to Christ...I believe the Lord will affect and change everyone in Kanyama. The thing that I realized the most being in this community is that I am so thankful that the Lord developed Camp Life. So many kids need a place to be kids and have God's truth be poured into them. I know the Lord chose this area to establish a place for kids!!

Friday, July 18 - Last day of camp! This day is alway hard to say bye to your kids who you have loved on, fought for, cried over and so much more. Even though this day was difficult, it was so fun! We had a normal morning with a large group session, but right after that we went outside to have small group and as it being the last day of camp life, I got to anoint each one of my girls with oil as they confessed that the Lord is their Shepherd. It was beautiful moment at the least to watch these kids claim it for themselves. After lunch, we went back inside for our last large group and during that time Greer, the director, surprised the kids with their "blessings from the Lord". All the kids got a pencil, bookmarks, a cup (representing "my cup overflows"), 2 canvas bags from micheals, and then the best of all was a fleece jacket!! I was able to capture these moments on video. I can't wait to show you their excitement!! We then started singing..."The Lord is My Shepherd...what does He do?...He gives me everything I need!" They all were screaming that at the top of their lungs. I almost started crying watching them sing and finally see how God provides at the right time. Once we made it outside to give the gifts and have small group for the last time, my girls were just glowing!! On the last day of camp, our lesson was: "He anoints my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever".(this is my group of girls and my partner and apostle)

What a week it was!! All my girls were sad that they would not be with me anymore this week. They all asked if they could come to America with me? haha...but something that was encouraging to hear was that this little girl named Lubona said.."auntie joy, i'm going to miss you!" Hearing that at the end of an exhausting week, makes my heart rejoice with praise to the Lord that everything that is given during the week is worth it!

I'm sorry that this is so long, but not being able to write this all out for a week will make it be like a book. Know that I can feel the Lord's strength through your prayers!!

Keep praying though, I get a new Zambian parnter tomorrow afternoon and then start week 7 on monday. The best part about next week is that I will get all my girls from last year!! I can't wait to get to love on them for another year at Camp Life!! Pray that God continues to break through into kids lives and fully restores their souls from the inside out!

Love you all and I'm blessed to you know you!!

Embracing His Presence,
Joy

"...at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father". Philippians 2:10