This Is Beyond Us
By Chuck on Jun 16, 2008 in Featured
I had a cool thing happen to me today. This morning, before chapel, a counselor walks up to me, introduces herself and tells me that one of the other counselors from her church knew me. I asked what her name was and she told me. It didn’t ring a bell. Then, she told me that she knew me because I spoke at the camp she had accepted the Lord at. That was cool.
But then she told me that it was a Jr. High camp and she was a student!!! Ouch, that made me feel old.
I met her and she’s a very cool girl. In college now she is serving in the Jr. High ministry for her church, which is why she was here this weekend. She told me about her experience at that camp and how that, for her, was the pivotal point in her relationships with God. Apparently ever since that camp she’s been walking solidly with the Lord. Man, it’s always cool to hear stories like this!
I remember this camp and I remember leaving doubting if it was worth it. You ever have those times when you’re just not sure if anything happened?
This was a reminder for me that God works beyond us. If you’re feeling like you haven’t had any fruit come out of your ministry lately: first, know those are just feelings, and second know that God IS doing things in the lives of those you’re around…you just might not hear about it until later! Keep going…
OH MY GOSH!!! You’re talking about ME!!! HI!!! It’s me!! Marlene! =D
I was about to email my Pastor (Bret Johnson) to ask him if he had your email, when I decided to look for you myself. “Maybe he has a blog or something”, I thought. And obviously, you do… and I found it. As I read your posts from newest to oldest, I started to realize that you posted during your week at Point Loma. THEN I read the one about the ‘Good People, Good Day’ one and thought, “Oh no. I better not be in this,” and I wasn’t. But then I saw the post of the day before . . . and here I am now. WOW. I’m completely blown away right now. My Mom walked in right as I was reading it, and I, just now, finished very loudly telling her about camp, and how you were there, and how I was looking for you, and how I’m so amazed right now!
I wanted to find you to explain myself better because when Bonnie (the lady that ratted me out ahaha) brought you to me, I was so unprepared (and it was kind of loud in there)!
At the first counselor meeting, I saw you walk up to the front of the room and I almost FELL OUT of my seat! For some reason, in my middle school brain, I thought that after that week at Alliance Redwoods you had dissolved into mid air or something, and I’d never hear about you again. And especially ever SEE you again. I quickly slapped my friend’s knee and was like, “OH MY GOSH SAM! That’s him! That’s the guy that spoke at my camp! That’s Chuck!” (in a very loud whisper). I’ve told Sam, and numerous people, about that year at camp, and about you. I couldn’t believe it was you!
REWIND: that year I was 12. I was the PK of the only Hispanic church that went to that camp. We were a group of about 10 girls and 1 boy (the ONLY Hispanics there). I was totally out of my element, but Moi (the worship band that week) was/is Hispanic and I could totally identify with them. And everybody was extraordinarily nice, including you. All of these things had to do with the most amazing week of my life up until then. Maybe even up until now.
When you talked about “Churchianity”, I felt like you were talking to me, and only me (PK remember?). Everything you talked about went straight from my ears, to my heart. One day, my camp counselor and I were talking about tattoos, and she said that we’d go and ask you what you thought. I don’t know if you remember, but we asked you to sit with us (the only Hispanic girls there) and talk about tattoos and what the Bible said about them. I remember leaving that talk with a totally clear view on tattoos and what I thought about them. I even remember talking to my Dad, on the payphone there, and telling him that I didn’t think I’d ever want a tattoo anymore. The other guy, who was there with you when you talked with us, said that he didn’t want a tattoo with a Christian message that said more of a message than his own life did, and that was exactly what I adopted that day. I remember you were wearing a red shirt, brown shorts, flip flops, made a joke about breaking the “shorts and socks” rule, and I sat next to you when we talked. I’m just saying this to show you how well a 12 year old can remember things God puts in their path.
This is funny, but I’m pretty sure I “gave my life to Christ” on decision night. I remember staying afterward, crying and praying at the altar for a very long time. Nobody came and talked to me, and I only went to the altar because nothing could have stopped me. I remember just being totally out of my body, and so so so so grateful for finally knowing Jesus as my personal Savior. I remember going to camp, and thinking about how I knew God was real, but couldn’t tell him “I love you” because I knew I didn’t. And when we talked about if we knew for SURE if we were going to Heaven, I would shrug my shoulders and say to myself, “Yea. . . I think so. . . aren’t I?”. I remember being 12 and hating not knowing for SURE all of these things.
Until that week at camp, I had almost never heard any sermons in English. I know Spanish, and my Dad preached in Spanish because we had a Hispanic church. I had only started reading the Bible about year before camp because that was when my Dad gave me my first English written Bible. Hearing and reading in English (my preferred language) totally changed my perspective on Jesus Christ. I wasn’t hearing the same words over and over. They were in English, and they were more real to me that way; I don’t really know why. I had always pictured God high in the sky. On the night I gave my life to Christ, I felt Him staring me in the face for the first time ever. I felt Him staring me in the face and showing me who He wanted to be in my life. I remember wearing a blue sweatshirt, and leaving the sleeves black with my mascara because of all the crying that went on between God and me that night. And nobody came and asked me why I was crying, or if I wanted them to pray with me, or if I was ok. One girl, a camper, came over when I was pretty much done with my cry-fest (by that time, the room was virtually empty) and said, “Are you ok?” and I was, so I said, “Yea, I’m fine thank you! =) “. And I got up and walked out of the “Tab” (Tabernacle). I know that God knew I needed to spend time alone with Him, but now that I’ve been a camp counselor and stuff, it’s kind of weird that nobody approached me. Except that girl I mean.
God’s Will will always be done.
And that night we had a little campfire moment, and they asked if anybody had received Christ into their lives for the first time, and I didn’t stand up. And then they asked if anybody had re-dedicated their lives to Christ, and that sounded about right, so I stood up along with other kids there (it was a small group of about 250 campers total, I think).
The whole week, every night, God worked in me. One time, one person on stage said something about how the whole week could have been for even just one kid. I remember feeling like I could’ve been that kid. I was just like, “Wow, I bet it’s me. Thank you so much for doing this for me.” I hope there were other kids that had an awesome experience too, though.
On the last day, Moi said that when we got home and felt discouraged, to think back to that week at camp, and hold on to what we felt. And I’m not joking, I do that all the time.
After that week I went home and stood in front of our (small) congregation, with the rest of the kids who went, and I totally hogged the microphone and told them all about how much of an awesome time I had. Not necessarily about my finding with God, but with other campish things like the recreation time stuff (which was fun). We didn’t have an established youth group at our church, but I remember having a bigger heart for the church and what it meant to be on the worship team (I played the bass then). A couple years later we moved to Las Vegas, NV. And that’s where I am now.
So to calm the pain, you’ll be kind of glad to hear that I’m only 16 now. So you’re not THAT old. It’s been 4 years, and so far, the most meaningful 4 years of my life. Especially after moving here.
I attend South Hills Church Community and am involved in so many things right now. I’m on the Sunday worship team where I play the acoustic guitar. I’m a student leader at Ignite: Middle School Ministry where I’m on the worship team (same instrument, faster and louder songs) and have a small group with the 6th graders going onto 7th grade. I love them SO MUCH. I relate so closely with their age and crossroads of life. Seriously, I talk about my experience at camp so many times with them. I also help with worship at the church’s college group: Jacob’s Well. Honestly, I connect more with the people at the college ministry than I do with the people at the High School ministry. I’m not sure if that has to do with the young age that I became an actual follower of Christ, but I feel more called to fellowship with college aged people. My accountability partners are from that age group, and I owe them most of the reason why I’ve been growing in my walk with God. And I also play at Starbucks every other Friday with my accountability group member, Heather. We cover songs both secular and Christian. We use it to invite friends from school and work just to hang with us in a non-church-facility environment. And it’s so much fun.
So on our first day at Hume SD, we had our small group time and we discussed our goals for the week. I went first and I told my girls about you and how surprised I was to see you. I made one of my goals to talk to you and tell you about the impact you’d had on my life. And so by the time I had talked to you, briefly, one of my girls was like, “So did you talk to that one guy…” and I got to tell them how I had talked to you and fulfilled one of my goals. Hahahaha!
The whole week I got to hear you say so many of the same things you said at my camp! Like the fact the your wife is “hot”, the airplane/stripper story, toilet story, Frank story (or NOT-story), and so many other things. I didn’t think it cheesy or redundant at ALL, on the contrary, I was so happy because I got to have my girls hear what I heard when I was their age. On our last day there when we had our church time for about an hour, the counselors got some time to share, with the kids, what God had done in our lives and I totally told them about you and how I had a sneak peak on the Frank story. ; ) . I told them how awesome it was to experience with them what I experienced.
That year in Santa Rosa with you, Moi, and everybody, was the only summer camp I’d ever been to. And the whole English thing was new too. And not until last week when you mentioned “Decision night” in the counselor meeting had I known about “Decision night”. But ironically enough, I’m pretty sure I gave my life to Christ on “Decision night”. Not because it was “Decision night”, but because it was my night.
And ever since, I’ve only been to one other camp (Hume Lake 2007) with the high school group at my church. It was still a very special experience, but that time was definitely a “pivotal point” in my life, and I think back at it often. And I never thought for a second that my first time being a camp counselor would turn out like this. Or even with the longest email I’ve every written. Or even that the first time I’ve written out my testimony would be for the man that let himself be used by God to change my life.
I’m sorry this is SO LONG and my grammar keeps getting worse and worse as I keep writing. Thank you for reading this far. I hope this finds you well, because I’m sleepy from writing so much. Thank you so much for being real with me at 12, and at 16. And thank you for being real with my girls. Thank you so much for being the humble man of God that you are. I hope I can keep in touch with you. Okay, I hope you write me back. Please? Okay, good night! God bless you and your family!!! =D
Marlene | Jul 1, 2008 | Reply