God showed up in some
amazing ways during our week at Lost Canyon. From the time we loaded up in a
van to drive and meet the bus in Salt Lake City, the group of kids from Logan
who knew each other only a little bit began to bond. By the time we got off the
10 hour bus ride to Lost Canyon the campers from Logan already had the
beginning of amazing friendships which would blossom into deep bonds by the end
of the week.
Everyone was super
excited to get to Lost Canyon and immediately began to have fun and play all
over camp, everyone except for Jose. Jose only 10 days before camp broke the
big toe on his right foot so bad that the bone poked through his foot. The toe
had to be reset and it took nine stitches to mend his toe up. The day it
happened he messaged me on Facebook and told me he could no longer go to camp.
I was devastated because I had been pursuing a relationship with Jose for close
to a year and had already overcome so many obstacles to get him signed up for
camp. Originally his brother Miguel was signed up too, but he could no longer
go because he had to drop out of high school to work at the slaughter house
with his father to help support his family. So I knew I had to get him on this
trip because next year it might not be an option. It turned out the day we left
for camp was the day Jose was to get his stitches out, so I went to the
hospital along with his mom and asked the doctor when he got the stitches out
if Jose could go to camp. Luckily the doctor said he was fine as long has he
took it easy and did not get his toe wet. So after all this Jose is at Lost
Canyon watching kids play soccer, which he loves, playing Frisbee, and
basketball but he can't participate at all. He was dejected and just sat in our
cabin for the first couple hours. That night we had dinner which he barely
touched and some mixers on the basketball court which he refused to participate
in, all the time wishing he would not have come. After that we went to club and
he sat off to the side looking out of place among the loud noises and crazy
skits, but after club something happened. We all went back to the cabin and
changed for the obstacle course and Jose got changed with everyone else and we
headed to the gym to wait for our turn on the course. When they sent us to the
course my cabin was off and running and to my surprise Jose was running with
them. I was confused but happy to see it as I ran after them. Our cabin, along
with Jose completed the course, with Jose climbing the wall and diving in the
mud all the while not even thinking about his toe. Afterward Jose had a smile
on his face that beamed.
I told him how proud I was of him and that if he could
complete the obstacle course he could do anything at camp. Jose went on to open
up in cabin time that night about troubles with his family, he did things the
rest of the week he could have never thought possible. He complete the ropes
course all the while saying "I can't do this!", but he did. One day
he ran scared from the swing saying "I'll never do it!”, the next day he
rode the swing with the encouragement of two guys from our cabin.
I thought
Jose going to Lost Canyon with a broken toe would be the worst possible thing
that could have happened, it almost kept him from going. But the Lord used it
to make his week extra special, making all of his accomplishments that week
more meaningful. After the cross talk on night five I got to talk with Jose
about life and about Jesus. Jose opened up about all kinds of things going on in
his life and in the end he opened up his life to Christ that night as well.
This is just one of ten
stories of what the Lord did in the lives of the kids we took to camp. Jesus
showed up in other amazing ways that week too. Jackson our freshman friend with
Aspergers climbed out of his shell and made friends with everyone at
camp, especially the girls. At Lost Canyon he got the love and attention he as
always wanted. At the end of the week he stood up at Say-So and told everyone
at Lost Canyon about how he had given his life to Christ. Another of my guys in
cabin time after watching the Work Crew cardboard testimonies said his
cardboard would read "Lost a Dad" on the front and on the back say
"Found my Dad" on the back, since he was adopted from Russia and
moved to the US at age 7 never having known his father. The girls from Logan
had an equally impactful week having deep cabin times and revealing brokenness
at home, and two of the girls from Logan found a new home in Jesus as well.
The
Lord worked in some amazing and visible ways. It was a beautiful trip in which
we as leaders had a front row seat to watch God transform kids’ lives.
