Guess what? It is finally next summer , and once again, Mission Camp was phenomenal . My friends and I had the best time, constantly worsh...

Mission Camp 2015: Echo

Alexa Mintah

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Guess what? It is finally next summer, and once again, Mission Camp was phenomenal. My friends and I had the best time, constantly worshiping and learning more about the Lord, specifically His offer to come sit with Him at His table, whatever our problems, faults, or just plain imperfections. Plus, we got to serve (at the rec center again!), and just plain hang out and have fun, mostly with each other, but also others in our youth group and even a kid from another church. Like I said, it was a phenomenal time.

Last week was so full of Godly teaching, lessons in praise, and fun with friends who feel like family, that it would be impossible to write down everything I learned and share it with you guys. Well, I suppose it’s technically possible, but it would be very, very difficult and would take a lot more time than you or I have. Besides that, even though I’m supposedly a writer, I don’t think I could do it all justice. A lot of what I learned (as cheesy as this might sound) were things I felt in my spirit more than anything else, and I don’t think I could ever properly get them down in words.

Original photo credit: Unsplash on Pixabay

So let me just tell you about one of the biggest things I learned, something I believe God Himself gave me the words for.

As much as I loved working at the rec center, hanging out with those awesome kids and trying to show Jesus’ love to them, they were all pretty young. Like five or six to eleven or twelve. We did get a chance to talk about Jesus to one of the kids (which was beyond awesome, do not get me wrong!), but for the most part, we never got to tell them why we were actually there. I mean, I’m pretty sure they knew we were from a church, and they generally knew we were Christians, but very few of them (if any) knew what that actually means to us. Many of them were too little to understand or, honestly, to care that we weren't just there to play dodgeball, tag, and (in my case) be shown up by kids half our size. We were there because Jesus died for us, He saved us, and because He loved us enough to do that, we want to do our best to show that love to everyone we come in contact with. They didn’t ask about Jesus, because to them He didn’t matter, at least not in that situation. At best, we were more people to play with, laugh with, and use as personal jungle gyms; at worst, we were weird strangers to be spoken to minimally. And as much as I wanted to go in there and be all, “Sit down and stay there! We’re gonna talk about Jesus, and you’re gonna love Him!” I had a feeling that would be somewhat counterproductive.

At Church Group, while kids were sharing what they’d learned, or how they’d served, or how they’d been at a hospital for disabled kids and had had a legit worship service (hands raised, Holy Spirit present, and all), I was just like, “I played dodgeball.” And, as fun as working at the rec center was, a part of of me wanted to go out and do some kind backbreaking labor, just so I could feel like I was doing something for the Kingdom and—I’mma be honest—so I could have something awesome to share. Truth is, there was no Rec Center Revival, not even a hint of one, and I felt somewhat discouraged, disappointed, even like the problem might be me.

As I was getting ready for bed one night, the bridge and chorus of Echo by Blanca started playing in my head and the following words just came to me. Don’t ask me how I got them or where they came from, because all I can tell you is The Holy Spirit.

First, though, I want to share the lyrics that helped to inspire this:

“Whatever you ask, whatever you want, use me for your glory. Wherever you go, I wanna go too, until I echo you.

“I was made to leave a mark, carry fire in my heart. No matter where I go, I want my life to echo you. I was made to make you shine, be a reflection of your light. In everything I do, I want my life to echo you.”

“We are here on this earth, and Mission Camp specifically, to make Jesus shine. We’re just here to serve and show Jesus. So even if we’re not the ones who actually “lead them to Christ,” that doesn’t mean that every second we’re out there, showing Jesus through our actions if not our words, isn’t important. Because we’re all more people pointing them in the direction of Christ. Even if we’re not the ones who actually say the prayer with them, the fact that we even interacted means that the God of the Universe knew we’d be important to their lives and so placed us in exactly the right place at exactly the right time when they—and probably us—needed it. So even if we never actually see the fruits of this labor, even if we don’t actually get to hear them say His name and truly understand who He is, even if we never witness their conversions or find out the amazing things they do with their lives, Jesus has already decided that we are vital to their journey and that they’re vital to ours. So let's throw ourselves in, do our absolute best, and as our leader said, ‘brag about Jesus, and when necessary, use words.’”

I hope I carry this message—and everything else I learned last week—with me throughout my entire life, not just at Mission Camp. I didn’t get to see any of these kids actually give their lives to Christ, but I know we tried hard to show Him to them, and I know that God will honor that. All I can say now is that I hope I really echoed Jesus to these kids and that someday, God will help them to truly hear Him. :)

Have any of you been to a camp this year? Any other amazing experiences or life lessons you got to share? I wanna hear them all!

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