“…In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message
with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Thes.1:6
Happy September friends!
In my last letter, I was preparing for summer camp (July 21-28) and promised that I'd give you an update when I got back. This week of camp truly was one of the highlights of my summer. My responsibilities included leading worship every day and being a crew leader for a group of six children. It took a lot of energy to lead little kid songs, with hand motions and holding posters with words AND playing the guitar. But I had fellow staff help me out and after a bumpy start the first day, things got much better. I was blessed to be able to lead in song and see the children's enthusiasm.
Driving a car to and from camp was also quite the experience. Between endless potholes, cows, horse drawn wagons, random flocks of sheep, cats, chickens, dogs and old grandmas, I had an adventure maneuvering through the countryside without hitting something or someone or blowing out a tire! More than anything, I found the driving to be like one of those hand held video games where you try to avoid all the obstacles on the road. I woke up at night dreaming about potholes! In any case, travel was “uneventful” in that I didn't actually hit anything or have any major problems.
A memorable scene from camp: twenty children splashing and playing happily in a rushing mountain stream, the current wrapping around their skinny legs and washing over their little bodies. Their contagious delight soon had many of the adults in the water playing right along with them, splashing, holding hands in a row and letting the current push against their backs as they sat down in the frigid water. “One, two, three, splash!” Together the children squeal in delight as drops of water fly into the air in every direction.
I stood at the side for a while, observing this scene, and I began to ask myself, “Where do these children find so much joy?” In addition to some visually apparent handicaps, I knew that at least eight of these children are HIV positive. Others come from broken families, alcoholic or abusive fathers and one lives with her mentally ill mother. Many are orphans.
I was broken from my spell of pondering by a tugging at my arm. Gabi, a young girl from a poor family, wanted so badly to join with the others, but was limited by her infected arm wrapped in a white bandage. She whined and pleaded until we finally decided to let her go in the water, on the condition that she would keep her bandage dry. I tried my best to help her by holding tightly to her hand and keeping her arm raised above the fast current as she sat down and began to splash. My efforts proved fruitless. After fifteen minutes her bandage was sopping wet. But she was having so much fun and I didn't have the heart to take her out of the stream. “Oh well,” I reasoned. “She's had this arm in a bandage for over two years now. I don't think a half hour of sheer delight is worth missing just to keep her bandage dry.”
Lesson learned: “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy…” “Be joyful always.” “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” “…When people insult you…rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” (Gal 5:22, 1 Thes 5:16, Phil 4:4, Matt 5:11) These verses from Scripture about joy are easily read but not so easily put into practice! I am especially struck by 1 Thessalonians 1:6 where Paul praises the people saying, “In spite of severe suffering you received the message with joy…”
The time I spent in camp was a time of new revelation for me concerning joy. That is not to say that all the children were perfect angels the whole time, but I was truly impressed by many of them, to see that in spite of the severe suffering in their lives they receive the message with so much joy. They truly love Jesus and embrace Him as their father and friend, teaching me about joy in the Lord and resting in His love for us, allowing Him to heal the broken places inside.
May the Lord continue to teach us to live with joy. May we learn from children, and give thanks to Jesus for His love for us that heals and restores our broken parts.
With love,
Rachel