A huge part of my summer this year was Young Life. I took girls to camp at Sharp Top Cove for the first time, and I also had the opportunity to serve on summer staff at Frontier Ranch for three weeks. One of my favorite things about YL camp is at the end of every week, kids get the opportunity to participate in something we like to call "Say So". It's based off the verse from Psalm 107:2 that says, "Let the redeemed of The Lord say so..." They get to stand up and proclaim that they have come home to the Father.This is such a beautiful picture of redemption. I love it.
With that said, The Lord answered my prayer and reminded me of Him this summer. He did some incredible things in my life and around me that I would love to proclaim. So, here I am to have my own "Say So" of sorts.
This first story is about my good friend, Jalen. Jalen is a junior at Elizabethton high school. We met last fall at YL club. Like most people, J has gone through some rough stuff this past year. We talked through it often, and I remember conversation after conversation where J found herself in a series of doubt, not knowing if God was real. She had a hard time with believing and trusting in a God when there was so much pain going on in her and around her. Because of this, I was really excited about J going to Sharp Top Cove with me. I knew that she would hear the good news of Gospel in an amazing way.
On June 30th, we were on our way! This was my first time leading at week long camp, so I was really nervous. At the beginning of the week, Jalen told me that she still was in this doubt, but that she was open and excited to listen to the speaker. I told her to not be afraid to ask God to reveal Himself to her, and that I believed He would do that. As the week went on, she was really receptive to the talks, and we had lots of time to talk about them together. On the fifth night of camp, the cross talk is given. After club, everyone goes outside in the darkness, and there is 20 minutes of silence throughout all of camp. This is a time where kids can talk to God, look at the stars, or just think about all they have heard up until this point. It had been raining almost everyday at Sharp Top, so they had told us in leader meeting that they were just going to send them out if it wasn't raining at the time to do it.
So, the time came and the rain had held up, so the 20 minutes began. About 5 minutes in, it started raining...and not just sprinkling, it came a downpour. When they rang the bell, everyone ran back to their cabins. The next day Jalen kept telling me that she wanted to show me something in her journal, but we never got around to it. That night after club they were given another opportunity to go outside and experience the same thing. In our cabin time after, we asked the girls how they spent their 20 minutes outside. Everyone went around, and then it came to Jalen. She said that needed to get her journal and then she said, "I wrote this last night in the 20 minutes. You can't read it well because it was dark, but I wrote...God, if you are real, make it pour." We all just sat there in silence for a few seconds soaking it all in. This was my favorite moment from camp. It brought sweet tears to my eyes, and Jalen came home to the Father that week.
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When Lauren and I returned to Uganda in January, the pastor of one of the orphanages we work with pulled us aside before we left to share with us a big need they have. He told us they really needed a van to transport the kids to and from school and church. He believed that God was leading him to ask us for help. He told us that he would like us to raise $16,000. We listened and said we would try. But, when we left, we both looked at each other like...he's crazy. There's no way two 20 year olds can do that. So, time went on. Occasionally we would talk about it and mention that we should come up with a plan, but we really didn't try to do anything. Looking back, I know it was because of lack of faith. In our minds, that was a big number that just wasn't reachable. It's funny now thinking about it. Up until that point, we never stopped and just asked God for help. We never presented the need to Him in faith that He would meet us. We completely relied on ourselves.
Towards the middle of the summer, I went to the beach with Lauren's family. One morning when we woke up, Lauren and I decided to start praying everyday that God would give us vision to raise this money. We begged him to help us.
A little bit before this, we had set up a donation page. We had shared the word that we were raising money a little bit through social media, but nothing too big. Time went by and in July, we had about $250 on there. We still just kept praying and waiting.
I went off to Frontier Ranch to work for three weeks. When you do summer staff, they ask you to turn your phone in, so you can grow with poeple you're serving with. Every Thursday, we would get our phones back for a few hours. A week goes by. and I got my phone back. I had a text from Lauren that said to go look at the donation page. I was shocked to see that we had about $1000. I knew that that was only a small portion of what we needed, but it was a start. The next time I turned it on, she had texted me saying, "This is a HORRIBLE time for you to not have your phone!" I went to the page and couldn't believe my eyes....$8,000!!! In two weeks! I sat there and tears just started falling. In my mind, God was doing a lot, and we should be happy that we were half way there. We could worry about the rest later.
The third Thursday comes around. I had an overflowing amount of texts from Lauren and friends telling me to go the page. I went and just sat in utter awe. Not only did we have $16000, but we had an excess amount of money. I once again started crying but laughing too. I seriously couldn't believe it. I remember I kept thinking this has to be a dream. There is no way.
Three weeks. That's all it took for God to move in a big way. I was reminded so much of the power of my Father. You know, I think Lauren and I didn't ask sooner, because I think we often just forget to ask for the big things. In our head, we think that it's impossible and too much to ask, but during those three weeks, I was reminded so much of the goodness of God. Nothing is too big for Him. Something I love about this story and that God taught me is that He doesn't need me to do it. I was away from my reality for three weeks. I didn't have constant communication with anyone, but yet all the money came through. He doesn't need me to do His work. This was really humbling for me.
I'm thankful for a God that deosn't need me, but still chooses to use me. I'm thankful for a God that does crazy, unimagineable things. I'm thankful for a God that sees His children's needs and meets them. I'm thankful for all of you that gave your money, so our friends in Pallisa, Uganda can have a means of transportation.
On June 30th, we were on our way! This was my first time leading at week long camp, so I was really nervous. At the beginning of the week, Jalen told me that she still was in this doubt, but that she was open and excited to listen to the speaker. I told her to not be afraid to ask God to reveal Himself to her, and that I believed He would do that. As the week went on, she was really receptive to the talks, and we had lots of time to talk about them together. On the fifth night of camp, the cross talk is given. After club, everyone goes outside in the darkness, and there is 20 minutes of silence throughout all of camp. This is a time where kids can talk to God, look at the stars, or just think about all they have heard up until this point. It had been raining almost everyday at Sharp Top, so they had told us in leader meeting that they were just going to send them out if it wasn't raining at the time to do it.
So, the time came and the rain had held up, so the 20 minutes began. About 5 minutes in, it started raining...and not just sprinkling, it came a downpour. When they rang the bell, everyone ran back to their cabins. The next day Jalen kept telling me that she wanted to show me something in her journal, but we never got around to it. That night after club they were given another opportunity to go outside and experience the same thing. In our cabin time after, we asked the girls how they spent their 20 minutes outside. Everyone went around, and then it came to Jalen. She said that needed to get her journal and then she said, "I wrote this last night in the 20 minutes. You can't read it well because it was dark, but I wrote...God, if you are real, make it pour." We all just sat there in silence for a few seconds soaking it all in. This was my favorite moment from camp. It brought sweet tears to my eyes, and Jalen came home to the Father that week.
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When Lauren and I returned to Uganda in January, the pastor of one of the orphanages we work with pulled us aside before we left to share with us a big need they have. He told us they really needed a van to transport the kids to and from school and church. He believed that God was leading him to ask us for help. He told us that he would like us to raise $16,000. We listened and said we would try. But, when we left, we both looked at each other like...he's crazy. There's no way two 20 year olds can do that. So, time went on. Occasionally we would talk about it and mention that we should come up with a plan, but we really didn't try to do anything. Looking back, I know it was because of lack of faith. In our minds, that was a big number that just wasn't reachable. It's funny now thinking about it. Up until that point, we never stopped and just asked God for help. We never presented the need to Him in faith that He would meet us. We completely relied on ourselves.
Towards the middle of the summer, I went to the beach with Lauren's family. One morning when we woke up, Lauren and I decided to start praying everyday that God would give us vision to raise this money. We begged him to help us.
A little bit before this, we had set up a donation page. We had shared the word that we were raising money a little bit through social media, but nothing too big. Time went by and in July, we had about $250 on there. We still just kept praying and waiting.
I went off to Frontier Ranch to work for three weeks. When you do summer staff, they ask you to turn your phone in, so you can grow with poeple you're serving with. Every Thursday, we would get our phones back for a few hours. A week goes by. and I got my phone back. I had a text from Lauren that said to go look at the donation page. I was shocked to see that we had about $1000. I knew that that was only a small portion of what we needed, but it was a start. The next time I turned it on, she had texted me saying, "This is a HORRIBLE time for you to not have your phone!" I went to the page and couldn't believe my eyes....$8,000!!! In two weeks! I sat there and tears just started falling. In my mind, God was doing a lot, and we should be happy that we were half way there. We could worry about the rest later.
The third Thursday comes around. I had an overflowing amount of texts from Lauren and friends telling me to go the page. I went and just sat in utter awe. Not only did we have $16000, but we had an excess amount of money. I once again started crying but laughing too. I seriously couldn't believe it. I remember I kept thinking this has to be a dream. There is no way.
Three weeks. That's all it took for God to move in a big way. I was reminded so much of the power of my Father. You know, I think Lauren and I didn't ask sooner, because I think we often just forget to ask for the big things. In our head, we think that it's impossible and too much to ask, but during those three weeks, I was reminded so much of the goodness of God. Nothing is too big for Him. Something I love about this story and that God taught me is that He doesn't need me to do it. I was away from my reality for three weeks. I didn't have constant communication with anyone, but yet all the money came through. He doesn't need me to do His work. This was really humbling for me.
I'm thankful for a God that deosn't need me, but still chooses to use me. I'm thankful for a God that does crazy, unimagineable things. I'm thankful for a God that sees His children's needs and meets them. I'm thankful for all of you that gave your money, so our friends in Pallisa, Uganda can have a means of transportation.
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| Pastor Sam and the children at Kerith |
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| The new truck |
