Today is Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008; Karen's Korner #1362
My last week camp experience was cut short by a virus which swept through the camp and the campers; the likes people who have been invovled with the program for more than 30 years, had never seen.
But in that short time, I had the opportunity to meet people who I would like to briefly introduce to you:
There was lean, dark-skinned Rigel, who was born in India and left by the side of the road when he was two; to either be picked up by another famiy or to die. Someone came by! He was adopted and now lives with his family in southern Minnesota. Rigel was attending the fifth and sixth grade camp with his cousin who lives in Iowa.
Nancy was helping with the camp and was attending with her great-grandson. She has partial custody of him with her daughter (his grandma). Neither could assume full-custody when his single-parent mom was killed in an auto accident when this young camper was nearly nine months old.
Craig also was a camp helper; attending with his youngest of four children. Craig is currently pastoring two small churches and is on his way to Bible college in Moberly, Missouri this fall to get formal training; something Craig himself couldn't have imagined a dozen years ago......when alcohol was center stage of his life. While his life had taken lots of twists and turns, it really turned after he found that his wife had been embezzling church funds. Craig believed he had to turn her in the church leadership. His actions, and hers, resulted in his becoming the product of a divorce and assuming full custody of his children.
In my brief time at camp, I had to admire - not the life stories - but the redeeming nature of Jesus. People were there who needed to be adopted; sometimes into a physical family and other times into God's forever family. They were there because they needed another dose of God's Love. They were there because their lives were tattered and torn and needed to be restored. They were there because when life makes no sense, God says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6). They were there because they had 'found' something and they wanted to share it with someone special in each of their lives.
They were there because when life makes no sense; sometimes God is the only thing that makes any sense and He picks each of us up from along side of the road of life, dusts us off, reminds how much He loves us, and tells us, "There now, you can go again; just hold on to my hand. Let's go!"
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