Summer Camp

Ben has been very busy this summer. He was accepted to attend Christian Evangelical Fellowship Camp which is a big commitment for a teen.

He had to spend two weeks at a training camp learning how to evangelize children and learning how to run Christian camps for kids.

Now he is spending several weeks actually working on staff at Vacation Bible Schools around the island.

It was really odd not to have him around the house for two weeks. We didn't even get to talk to him. However, all the families were invited come out on Father's Day and visit our teens. We arrived just as they were snapping photos of the various groups of teens. That's Ben up at the very top.

I asked him what was the best part of camp so far and he said, "The food! We've had great food like shepherd's pie and there's enough for us to have seconds! "

I asked him what was the worst thing about camp and he said, "One boy keeps playing rap music every night! You can't spell 'crap' without 'rap'! Did I tell you about the shepherd's pie?"

I found out from other parents that one boy broke his wrist, and one of Ben's best friend dislocated his shoulder. Also, a mild case of flu had knocked a number of the teens down in the first few days of camp.

None of this apparently registered in Ben's mind as worse than the rap music.

Then another teen boy came up to me with his eyes wide and said, "Did Ben tell you about the house that exploded?!?!?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," said Ben.

Apparently, a house 100 yards away from the boys dorm had an explosion at three in the morning and burned down while the teens watched from their windows.

And the rap music was the biggest thing he had to tell me about??

He took me to see the boys dorm room.

And gave me all his dirty laundry to bring home.

Part of their training in the second week was running a camp for groups of homeless kids. Ben said they were the most well-behaved children he'd ever seen. He was very impressed with them and touched by how much the kids loved having the teens work with them. All but four of the kids accepted Christ by the end of the week!

The following Friday, we went back to see all the teens graduate from the program. Each graduate gets leis from their friends.

Now Ben is ready to work summer camps and teach children about the Bible.

I'm incredibly proud of him and all the teens who are doing this. They are selflessly giving up most of their summer to do some very important work!