Camped

So. Camp. I am overwhlemed by the graciousness and the power of God when I look at our youth community. Lots and lots of young people desiring to learn what it means to love Jesus and live for him, and making sacrifices to do so. Ron and Julie and so humble and so inspiring. They so devotedly walk with Jesus and help others to do so, and they're real and honest about the struggle, about the grey in life, the messiness. The richness. I think it's brave to address this with a community of young people.

I think the Year 13 experiment went ok. Sometimes I feel weak and ineffectual but God moves anyway and all I really want is to be available to him and I feel like that prayer was answered this week. I saw some real change and a readiness and willingness from the Year 13 crew to address some hardness in their lives and seek Jesus afresh. The journey some of them went on throughout the week was amazing, and far exceeded anything I had prayed for or imagined. I feel so blessed and honoured to have been invited into these young people's lives. I'm tired, but have been significantly moved, as is the usual effect of camp.


The learning highlight of the week was taking a good hard look at what Jesus says about putting a lamb under a bowl, or under a table. It doesn't do the gospel any good. Lambs are better out in the open, according to one particular NIV publication which seems to have mixed it's metaphors. It was the source of much amusement one morning when we were all exhausted from the heat and lack of sleep.

The worst thing about camp was that I couldn't watch the inauguration, and only the Daily Telegraph and the Mercury turned up the next day. We got a SMH every other day except the day it mattered.

Oh, and they had powdered milk in the coffee machine.

I can't go on camp without making a comment about the camp food. Meatballs for breakfast, pink stroganoff, and crunchy rice all featured heavily. I drank a lot of cordial.