It has been an amazing beginning for this first time Summer Bible Camp Intern at Light of the Village! During the week of training and days leading up to the first day of camp, I was starting to get a little bit anxious. I wasn’t sure if the kids would think I was weird, or if they would even talk/interact with me. However, as usual, God had a plan and helped me ease right in through the first day of camp. Right when free time (the time before assembly where the kids can play on their own) started on the first day of camp, I had a girl race up to me asking “Can I do your hair?” As soon as she started braiding my hair, I had two more girls join us. So far every morning at camp the same girl and her sister have found me during free time to “do my hair!” This interaction showed me that the kids really just want someone to notice them and show that they care enough to interact with them daily. Like everyone else in the world, they just want some type of consistency.

The age group that I get to work with this summer is the 8-10 year old boys. They are full of energy that varies from normal everyday excitement to barely controlled (if controlled at all) chaos! Even though it is like trying to keep up with twenty small whirlwinds, I am really enjoying myself. My favorite part of the day so far is when we go to Dance or any other activity with music. The boys instantly start dancing! Their love to dance is contagious, and I can’t help but join along and feel like a kid myself again.

Every day after the kids have rotated through three activities, we end the day with Bible Study. At first I thought it was going to be very hard to have even one of the boys sit still and pay attention during Bible Study. Again, I was happily proved wrong. It shocked me at how many of the boys actually listened and interacted with the lesson. Of course with 8-10 year old boys there is always going to be some extra energy floating around, but for the most part the majority of them sat in their chairs and listened until the very end. When asked at the end what they had learned, some were even able to say the exact point of the lesson back to me, which really encouraged me. That is what really motivates me day to day. If God allows me to connect with or help just one kid become closer to Jesus, then any hardship or setback to get there is worth it. Camp has only just started and God has already done so much! I can’t wait to see what else HE has in store and where HIS plan will take all of us.

My name is Tammy, and this is my first summer working at Summer Bible Camp with Light of the Village! I have been working with the kids for one week now. I have already learned so much. Our kids are in desperate need of love and attention. I have learned that in order to reach them, one must be willing to go all in. And in order for them to reach out to me, I must earn their trust. The kids want to know that I will love them just because of who they are, and not because of what they have done or do. The truth is, they are already pulling on my heart strings after one week. They look at me with eyes that scream out the words “will you see me?”

As I begin this summer I am already challenged. I am challenged to give a love that lasts every day and every minute of that day, even when I am frustrated and tired. Honestly, the love our kids need could never physically come from me. In fact, the love they need is the love only Jesus Christ can give. However, I have the great opportunity to show that love through the strength that Christ gives to me. NOT that I am special in any way. I could not and would not be strong in giving out love without first being loved myself. 1 John 4:8-9 says, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was revealed the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” I have been given the greatest gift, the gift of love, and I must return it and pass it on.

Our kids are challenging me every day to give a love that is beyond myself. They say love me even though you are just getting to know me. They say love me as an individual, as someone who can do great things. See and love me not with your eyes, but through God’s eyes. The truth is, they have challenged me to stop being so selfish. It is so easy to get caught up with my own life and my own problems. Being at camp has reminded me that life is so much greater than where will I work, how will I pay student loans, or fill my tank with gas. Life is about sharing Jesus! Life is about showing the love that I have been given. John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  

The love the kids at camp need is way more than I can offer. However, it is very humbling to offer the love of Jesus Christ!! My hope for this summer is to continue to grow and show the love that I have been given. To see kids smile and know true love, not a love humans give, but a love beyond our own!