Passport 2011: Ask. Seek. Knock.

Demaya finally talked to me at the
end of the week (after I made her
America glasses).

This time last week I had the pleasure of being back in Wingate, North Carolina. I was a chaperoning for a group of youth from FBC Gainesville. I have been able to become much more involved with the youth group here. Over the last few weeks I have gotten to know many of them and have begun to truly find a church family other than that of my home church, FBC Rome. With last week under my belt I also completed the trifecta of Passport Camps: camper, staffer, and chaperone.

There is nothing like living in a room with ten seventh and eighth grade boys to welcome you to the group, trying to control sugar/caffeine intake and waking them up in the morning. The one redeeming part? I was bigger and stronger than all of them, thus resulting in me being the wrestling champion every night. 

Creft Park-where I played Kobe and
everyone else was LeBron

I got lucky and was placed as a chaperone at one of the kids mission sites during the day. At these sites we went to local parks and YWCAs and play with the children, sing silly songs, and tell Bible stories. I was on a kids mission site during my summer staffing Passport and it was good to be back. Another adult at the site with me was one of my best friends from Rome who came with FBC Savannah. He worked camp the year before I did and we walked around striking fear into the bible study leaders as the dreaded former staffers. Ok, so not that much fear... the camp was run fantastically for Week 1.

Being a little older, not a camper and not worrying about logistics as a staffer, gave me a new perspective of camp. I was able to take a step back and watch the youth work through the week. The theme was "Treasure," with an emphasis on Luke 11's "for everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." We are God's treasure, unique and special to him, and he is our treasure, a gift that we must share.

Forgot how much I love four square... and big ball.