This week, we don't have our own campers. but instead, there's a group called "the royal family kids", which brings kids between the ages of 7-11 who are in foster care, out here for a week of camp. the kids they bring have been abused and neglected, and the camp allows them to just be kids.
one of the days i got to talk w one of their nurses. these kids are the sweetest kids ever, and just seeing them every day all week, we've seen them transform from kids who wouldn't say a word, to kids who are ever so polite. kids who put away the toys they use.saddest thing, most of them are medicated to keep them calm.
meet Josh. he is one of the sweetest little boy that u will ever meet. but when u first meet him, josh might seem a little queer, with a stoned look and not much to say. the first few days i met josh, i often wondered if he was ok, and the only communication i had with him was whatever random question that he would ask, and then walk away, lost in his own world. later i found out that josh, due to the abuse he's been through, is heavily medicated to prevent his violent tendencies. that broke my heart, just because i couldn't imagine what this little 9 year old boy has been through, or who would want to hurt him so bad.
over the course of the week, i learned a little more about all these kids, to hear each one of their stories. kids who would only talk through their stuffed animal, would now have small conversations or at least ask a permission for little things. it made me sad to hear all their stories, what they've suffered, and it made me admire all the adults present, who created this camp just so they could be kids and loved on.
i couldn't help but ask God why? why did He allow such things to happen to these kids? more importantly, i wanted to know if there was a solution to this. what can be done to fix it. His answer? "Just Love Them". there is nothing more that i could do for this kids, besides to love them and show them that they are special. just like all the campers that we have all summer. we never know what each of them go through. even if we did, there's only so much that we can do as counselors. but the very least that anyone can do, is to love these kids, show them that God loves them, and that they matter to someone.
its incredible how just a little love goes such a long way. loving a child, and making them feel wanted, changes their lives forever. the same thing goes just for people in general. give someone a smile, or a hug, cos u never know how a simple act of love will change their lives.
i remember this, as a church vision from years ago... "People matter to God, and God matters to us, so people matter to us." go out there and share the love.
