I am home from CYC, off hiatus and back to blogging.
Now, how do I explain the last two weeks? I can't possibly, not in any meaningful way, so over the next few days, I'll just tell a few stories and post a video or two. Someone asked me for stories of victory, so I will start with one of those.
I'll tell you about a camper who arrived anxious and homesick. When I say anxious, I don't mean run of the mill anxious. I mean the "I can't quite function" type anxious. He was feeling lost and not quite sure what to do in any given situation. He needed some extra support. He kept asking to go home. His parent said "no".
His counselor worked with him. The camp nurse did all she could. His teachers tried. Some of us put our professional skills into action. We enacted some advice from his family. We all prayed. But by the middle of camp, some of us felt we should simply send him home. Others were on the fence. First thing second Monday morning, we were ready to make the decision, but decided to ask his counselor first.
His reply: "Yesterday, I would have sent him, but last night he was laughing and joking in the cabin and intereacting with the other campers. Let's keep him."
So we did. It took some extra effort but we kept moving in the right direction. He was so proud of one of his accomplishments, that he sent the original home to his parents.
There was one more major incident that took a ton of effort but, by the end of the conference, he was friendly, occasionally confident, and even laughing regularly. He was talking about coming back. A victory for sure.
His wasn't the only story of transformation. We have several dramatic stories that ended well.
It's what comes of letting God work through our community and it is amazing to be a part of it.
Have you ever witnessed a transformation wrought by God's power?
CYC is a two week conference for teenagers that exists to strengthen the Christian faith of young people. We meet the middle two weeks in August on the beautiful southern coast of Maine and have smaller events in New England throughout the year.
Now, how do I explain the last two weeks? I can't possibly, not in any meaningful way, so over the next few days, I'll just tell a few stories and post a video or two. Someone asked me for stories of victory, so I will start with one of those.
I'll tell you about a camper who arrived anxious and homesick. When I say anxious, I don't mean run of the mill anxious. I mean the "I can't quite function" type anxious. He was feeling lost and not quite sure what to do in any given situation. He needed some extra support. He kept asking to go home. His parent said "no".
His counselor worked with him. The camp nurse did all she could. His teachers tried. Some of us put our professional skills into action. We enacted some advice from his family. We all prayed. But by the middle of camp, some of us felt we should simply send him home. Others were on the fence. First thing second Monday morning, we were ready to make the decision, but decided to ask his counselor first.
His reply: "Yesterday, I would have sent him, but last night he was laughing and joking in the cabin and intereacting with the other campers. Let's keep him."
So we did. It took some extra effort but we kept moving in the right direction. He was so proud of one of his accomplishments, that he sent the original home to his parents.
There was one more major incident that took a ton of effort but, by the end of the conference, he was friendly, occasionally confident, and even laughing regularly. He was talking about coming back. A victory for sure.
His wasn't the only story of transformation. We have several dramatic stories that ended well.
It's what comes of letting God work through our community and it is amazing to be a part of it.
Have you ever witnessed a transformation wrought by God's power?
CYC is a two week conference for teenagers that exists to strengthen the Christian faith of young people. We meet the middle two weeks in August on the beautiful southern coast of Maine and have smaller events in New England throughout the year.
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