A soft heart

I always find myself having an almost uncomfortably soft heart, especially on the last day of camp. Lots of friendships that, at the beginning of the week, were non-existent; emotional tiredness; and an intimacy that comes from looking back on a week full of God's presence.

This week 2 of the guys in my cabin accepted the Lord into their hearts. It was actually a huge surprise.. I had expected to be the one to 'lead them' into their salvation. There can almost be this pressure when you're a counselor that, if you don't do it right, then the kids won't experience Jesus, that they won't get saved, that they will miss out on the blessing....

False.

These guys didn't need me. Jesus didn't need me. Their salvation came from him, not from me. It was such a blessing for them to then share with me about their decision, and to feel the love and affection they had for me as their counselor, but it was such a relief to see Jesus wrapping his arms around these kids without any need for my assistance.

My cabin was great. Real joy and laughter occured every day... by the end of the week there was a real unity present that wasn't there in the other cabins. They made each other laugh, they made me laugh: it was just a good time. Oscar, Ainsley, Matt, Tony, Carson, Tyler, Carl, and Ray. What awesome guys.

Soft heart syndrome comes from a week of laboring. It truly is labor... maybe 6 hours of sleep a night, a full day of throwing your entire body--and emotions--into your cabin and into your team. I think lots of camp relationships occur because that's when people are most intimate--they are completely going crazy and passionate and they are seeing an extreme version of themselves and each other. I almost cried today hugging my co-counselor, David... it was his first week counseling, and he was such a support this whole week and it was a huge blessing working with him... I started to choke up and gave him a big pat on the back.

It was also a blessing to have such support from above.The directors continually encouraged me and blessed me with their leadership. Those guys do a great job.

What a week. There's rumors of going to see the new Harry Potter... but im so tired. Then again, i leave to go on vacation on lake michigan tomorrow... so i can still have 24 hours of exhaustion before i leave. Oh well.

Pray for Tyler and Carson. Those are the two guys that became christians this week--they truly are two awesome guys, and I really want their faith to continue to grow like it has this whole week.