Marketplace Day Camp 2011

This year was unlike any other year Marketplace Day Camp has ever seen!  Some of the most familiar faces around camp were missing and some brand new faces stepped into the spot light.  What a blessing it was to watch God continue to work and use day camp for HIS purposes even in the midst of so many changes!  Day camp was very different for me this year too.  My role was the same, camp nurse per usual but my heart and attitude have changed.  God has given me a hunger to share the gospel and see people forever changed by His goodness and His grace.

I did get a chance to share lots of gospel this week, many others did too!  I also saw the gospel rejected again and again.  I felt God teaching me a new lesson.  I remembered reading in Luke 10, "Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you."  Each time God gave me gospel to share and each time that it was rejected, I remembered this passage.  I felt as if I were the one saying "Peace!"  And I felt as if that peace returned to me each time it was rejected.  God taught me an important lesson about my motivation to share the gospel.  I won't share it just because others are saved, or because its good for me but I will share it because of the glory and honor God receives from His love and grace being talked about any time, any where.  Here's a little story from Marketplace Day Camp 2011...

A young girl came to see the nurse with tears in her eyes on the very first day of camp.  Her hand was on her head and she had this to say to the nurse, "Someone threw a crab apple at me.  I know who it was too."  The nurse offered a sympathetic apology and got this little girl some ice.  The little girl was reluctant to return to her tribe for games.  It was become very clear that her feelings were more deeply wounded than her head.  The nurse asked the girl if she was angry.  The little girl quickly nodded yes.  The nurse than asked if the little girl knew what the bible said about how we should treat people when we are angry with them.  The little girl slowly and reluctantly shook her head to say no.  The nurse went on to share about forgiveness.  She asked the little girl if she would like to forgive the boy who hit her with the crab apple.  The girl said "No."  The nurse then responded like this, "It can be very hard to forgive some one.  Especially if they don't apologize.  But the good news is that God is very good at forgiveness.  He's the best at it actually.  If you ask him to help you forgive the boy who threw the crab apple at you, I know that he will help you!  Would you like to ask Him to help you forgive?"  The little girl shook her head no again.  "Can I ask Him to help you then?"  The little girl nodded her head yes and the nurse prayed.

The little girl, might not have wanted to ask for God's help and she might not have understood what the nurse was teaching her, but I sure learned a lot from it and I am confident that the Lord was glorified!