Another update from Amani: Dear Lebanon family, Week nine was one that made a lasting impression on me. The girls in my cabin came from different home lives and backgrounds, but the desire of all of them to grow in the Lord bonded them together. By Tuesday we were all like a family, and that apart from Christ doesn’t just happen. I can honestly say, the Lord moved in all six of my girls this week, but I am going to just go into details about three of the girls, Ashley, Mia and Sam. During our one-on-one Tuesday afternoon it became pretty clear that Ashley was not a true believer. While she was not a bad girl, she didn’t have real fruit in her life, and she couldn’t even explain to me what salvation was. I showed her step by step the Gospel, and Ashley seemed to really understand it, but I wasn’t sure if she was at all seeing her need for it personally. As we continued to talk I learned more about her, and I found out she was dating a Catholic boy that she thought was amazing. As we talked about him a bit it became clear that she had no problem with dating him. I had to abruptly end our conversation to meet up with another camper but I left our conversation by asking Ashley if we could talk about this again. That night at the service, after Will Gaskin preached an incredible message on Ephesians 4, Ashley went out during the invitation and accepted Christ as her Savior! It was incredible, and I was truly amazed by God’s saving power. As the week continued Ashley seemed to continue to grow in the Lord and on Thursday night after a message on idolatry, I found Ashley in tears outside of the cabin. I went to talk to her and she proceeded to tell me that she thinks she needs to break up with her boyfriend but didn’t at all want to. She humbly admitted how he was a bad influence on her and did anything but point her to Christ. After spending time in God’s Word and prayer, Ashley made the decision to end things with him when she got home. Once again, God blew me away by His power to convict her heart through His Word. Friday during testimony time, Ashley shared with the other girls how God had worked in her life and she said, “this week it hit me like never before how amazing God is.” It was so cool to hear how she went from not knowing God personally just days before, to being completely amazed by Him, His mercy, love, and power. Praise the Lord for working so evidently in Ashley’s life, to Him be all the glory. On Monday evening after getting my last three campers, I didn’t know what to expect from Mia. Some of the very first words out of her mouth after getting to camp were, “I heard this camp is life changing!” Tuesday before dinner, Mia and I went out on the porch to talk, and it was then I found out why she was so excited for camp. She began to tell me about her parents divorce, and how she’s been living with her mom in Virginia for the last two years. She told me about the difficulties and tension between her parents, and she told me that her dad won custody over her recently. The reason that was so hard was because Mia’s dad and his wife are not saved and are living in much sin, and in a couple of weeks Mia will be moving to live with them in Miami. Mia began to break down and explain to me how she was miserable, and she’s feels so unwanted. She told me how she just started to get used to her Christian school and was just beginning to get involved in her church, and now her dad is going to take her from all of it and make her start her life over in a world apart from Christianity. Broken hearted, she then told me about some very tough things she’s had to endure in her split family. With tears in her eyes she told me of the many times she thought of taking her life, but the main reason she didn’t is because she knew she’d be coming to camp and heard it was “life changing.” It became clear to me that Mia needed to be filled with the hope and peace that God alone can give. While Mia claimed to know Christ as her Savior, she had doubts, and seemed to be hungry to be filled with Him and the joy that comes from knowing Him. At the end of our conversation I prayed for Mia, just begging God to do a work in her. To be honest, I really battled in my flesh with not understanding why such a sweet girl like her had to be bounced around between parents with such different standards. I found myself wanting to adopt her myself in order to keep her from all the hurt in her life. As the week progressed Mia continued to search for Christ, and on Wednesday night she went out during the invitation and truly put her trust in the Lord! She cried out to Him asking Him to forgive her of her many sins and to live in her. It was amazing, and I was in awe of my God. From Wednesday night on Mia was different. She was at peace. She no longer was afraid of going home and then having to move to Miami. She was filled with the joy of the Lord and was excited to carry Him with her. All the glory and praise be to God for breaking my sweet camper and showing her that despite her circumstances, He was enough for her. As Will Galkin said continuously throughout the week, “because God is in control, it will be okay!” What a simple and yet profound statement. This phrase became true of Mia this past week, and what a blessing it was to see! The same evening I met with Mia, I met with her friend Sam. Sam also comes from a broken family and her dad and his wife mock the things of God. After talking to Sam it was clear that Sam was a believer, but just really struggled to live for God consistently, and to love her dad and his wife, as they were so cruel to her. After talking with Mia and Sam on the same day I felt the weight of the world on me, just being overwhelmed with how tough their home lives were. I felt sick trying to point them to the truth of God’s Word when I didn’t know if the roles were reversed how I would be able to endure what they had gone through. However, despite my weaknesses, God worked and made His power known! I was able to see Sam everyday hungry to grow in the Lord and to better know Him. Late Thursday night, Sam opened up to me about much bitterness she has towards her dad and especially her step mom that she wasn’t quite ready to give up. But God broke her, and on Friday night Sam went out during the invitation and asked God’s forgiveness for many things, including her bitterness and made the decision to make her life fully about Christ and obeying Him. It was so encouraging to see how the Lord worked in her heart. Please pray for Sam as she has a very hard home situation she’s returning to and is seeking to share Christ with her family and public school friends. Pray that she stays faithful in the Word and relies fully on it to give her he fuel she needs. This past week really was amazing. Please pray for my sweet campers as they are now home, pray they make spending time in God’s Word a priority. Pray that they stick with the decisions they made at camp. Pray that they rely on Christ’s strength for each day as some of their circumstances are more difficult than I can fathom. To God be all the glory for touching the hearts of my girls, and for adopting two of them as His daughters. I am in awe of my Savior. Thanks again for your prayers and support to me this summer. I can tell many of you are praying for me as I am aware of the extra strength God has been giving me even though I feel totally spent. I can’t believe I’m going into my final week of camp. Never in my life has a summer flown by so fast. Thanks again for everything. Love you guys so much! Have a wonderful Christ-filled week. Your sister in Christ, Amani
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:39:26 +0000
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