The first month in this new city has been an absolute whirlwind of joyous activity that I hope to abridge into these short sentences. Upon landing with (most of) our luggage and riding to campus, the new teachers received a warm welcome by the veteran team of English educators. Over the next two weeks of teacher training they gave us invaluable instruction and equipped us with a wealth of excellent TESL resources.
And then it began—an English Summer Camp, a two-week circus of crazy games, raucous cheering, and English-learning wildness that created an amazing environment to build lasting relationships with the over 180 students who were starving for love and thirsty for Truth. There is something about teachers acting like complete idiots that cause students to open their hearts more readily and inquire about why we do what we do.
One day at lunch I bowed my head to ask the Father to bless the food and to give me an opportunity to be a light. I opened my eyes to begin eating but was not able to take the first bite before Lane, a camper on my team, sat down beside me and said, “Can I ask you a question?” “Sure,” I replied. “How many people in America believe in God?” We continued a lunch-long conversation about the Truth.
And since Space was the camp theme, one evening activity we learned about our universe. After the presentation I walked outside with a few students and asked them what they thought. They said some of the vocabulary was difficult to understand but the pictures were ‘so cool!’
So I asked them where it all came from. Their responses were varied and completely inaccurate, and as students continued to join the conversation the Lord gave me almost an hour of precious time to share the truth of our origin, the purpose of our existence, the destination of our natural souls, and the good news about the brightest Son in the universe. This conversation spawned multiple others between students and teachers throughout the rest of camp, and I praise Him for the opportunity to reflect His light into darkened lives in desperate need of His illuminating power.
Camp has ended, and we are now replying to text messages and emails from students missing camp. The field is needy and we are weary. Please continue asking Him to give us grace and strength to walk worthy of such a high calling.
* This post is contributed by Buddy, pen-name of one of our American missionaries in China.
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