Junior High 1

Students playing a new game called "Tonga Tonga."

Want to know one of my favorite things about camp?

For me, it’s the excitement that comes with each group’s arrival. Each camper and each staff member that pass through King Solomon Christian Camp have been covered by prayer. Each person that comes to this oasis nestled peacefully in the country has been joyfully anticipated. Each person that I engage with throughout their time at KSCC, I look at and know God has brought them to this place for His purposes. That is humbling and produces incredible joy.

I remember the first camp of the summer when five and six-year-olds teemed the campgrounds. I said to my friend, Alicia, “I’m so excited that campers are coming today!” I believe it was the Holy Spirit stirring my heart and fulfilling Isaiah 11:2-3 which says, “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.” Looking back, I am able to see glimpses of God’s hand at work.

Junior High Camp was no exception.

On Monday morning 85 campers began the “Detox” journey. These adolescents were ready for fun, for fellowship, and for some time away from home. They came with excited spirits and trust me when I say they were full of energy. The highlights of the day included an introduction to the missions for the week, which will benefit a married missionary couple who live and serve in Japan. Students joined in prayer for their ministry and were able to video-chat with the couple later in the week. Another activity that encouraged campers to get involved was the Geocaching challenge. Each family group spread across the campgrounds and searched for hidden cylinders which held special tasks for teams to do. Following the “hunt,” recreation consisted of a newly revised dodgeball game as well as another ball game on the baseball field.

Students enjoyed some leisure time as they played basketball, crafted in the Activity Center, or participated in a few rounds of hand golf. The main session for that evening featured the band aka “The Dannefer Experience,” and speaker Travis Long. If you know any Junior High student who attended camp this week, ask them about the sermon illustration for the first night. (Warning: horses, arenas, and various forms of, shall we say, dirt.)  James 1:21 was the theme verse, and Travis presented the reality that all of us need to be cleansed, we all need to get rid of all moral filth, and we need to ask ourselves what are we holding onto. God wants to deal with our dirt problem; we just have to admit that it exists.

Tuesday presented the theme “Examine.” The day was full of activities from the morning show, encounter time, classes, lunch, missions, and to top it all off, a slide and an epic dodgeball tournament. After canteen and swimming, everybody headed to the chapel for the main session. The message that evening really focused on each junior higher’s value and how we are all worth dying for. One of the most poignant lines of the evening said it best: “we’re either messed up and we know it, or we’re messed up and we don’t know it.” This truth speaks volumes across generations. It doesn’t matter if you are in 7^th grade or seventy, we all are guilty of sin, and we need to examine ourselves.

Wednesday continued to weave truth into the lives of the young teenagers. The theme was “Act,” and the day was packed with action indeed. Post-breakfast and encounter times, campers split into two groups for classes. The young ladies went to the chapel and the young men went to the upstairs of the dining hall. Although I didn’t attend the boys’ class, I did get a chance to be a part of the girls’ class. It was phenomenal, and the wisdom presented by the seasoned ladies was applicable and timely. I hope the students recognized the value of the insights presented.

In addition, Wednesday was also the hub for the course challenges. Each family group started at a station and rotated after they completed the task. For example, one station was a tight rope between two trees and teammates had to help one another without falling off. As always, the group activities allowed the members to work together, communicate, and learn the value of each teammate. Later in the day, the main session gave feet to the overall theme: Detox. In order to move away from something, you have to move towards something else. In 1 Timothy 6:11 the Bible says, “But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.” If all of us pursued righteousness, wordly rubbish becomes less and less appealing.

As we continued through the book of James, Thursday was center stage for Chapter 3. “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:5-6). The family group leaders were instructed to set an example in edifying one another. In order to display this, there was an orange fence set up on the north side of the chapel. Each family group leader wrote encouraging notes to their campers and posted them on this fence. It was humbling to see all those notes, knowing that words were used for good. The message Thursday night capitalized on the desperate need for our youth as well as adults to speak words that encourage and benefit those who listen.

Friday concluded the Junior High campers’ time at King Solomon. They had a full week that was designed for them to draw closer to God and apply His Truth in their lives. Speaking of conclusions, remember when I mentioned above that one of my favorite moments during camp was the arrival time? Although the arrival of precious people is one of my favorite things about camp, that’s not the best thing. The best thing about camp is the opportunity for students to seek God and leave with a fire in their hearts for Him. So as campers come and go, I know that God’s hand is upon them and that He will be there for them wherever they go.

May you, reader, have that same comfort from the Creator.

 

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Blessings,

Leah Hill

KSCC Communications Liaison