He is so faithful.

Laura, Amber,me and Avery

“My God, you are faithful and you will provide for me this summer, people to love deeply and who will love me also. I trust you.  Please bring people to camp this summer that I can form intentional God honouring relationships with... people I can laugh with and cry with and grow with.”

This was my prayer at the beginning of summer, going into a place which I knew no one and no one knew me. This was unusual and I was used to having a solid community already set up at camp to walk into each holidays, but suddenly I didn’t have anything.  I was the new kid.

And friends, I cannot even begin to describe to you how faithful He has been in answering this prayer and the reason that I grieve and am sad to have come to the end of summer is solely because of the women He has placed in my life these past few months.

I was part of a community that built eachother up daily with words and notes and hugs, a community that prayed together even while walking along the paths to meals or going to the bathroom, a community that was so aware that we could never do it on our own but needed the power of God and the support of eachother. I have been so blessed by them.

I want to share with you, a little but about some of the people I spent the most time with and loved the most deeply, because they have been such an important and central part of my life these past months.

Becca (Camp name Frazzle) was my section head, so she lived in the section and would support the staff and organise section times and events during the session. Becca lives in the Spirit of God in a way so beautiful that I haven’t seen very much before...she loves Jesus so deeply and it’s so evident in her life.  She has a passion for dancing and dances before God during worship in such freedom and watching her allowed me to step into the same freedom like never before. She is intentional about asking questions and listening and quick to give hugs and words of truth. Whenever I hit a wall and was convinced I couldn’t continue to love these girls well, let alone do this for another 6 weeks, she would let me cry then tell me truth that I needed to hear and then send me out again. I am so grateful for her friendship this summer!

Amber (Camp name Rukkus) is one of my closest friends this summer... she is 17 but has a wisdom and passion for God greater than I’ve seen in Christians a lot older than her.  She has an annoying ability to make me laugh even when all I want is to cry and be grumpy and sulk about things, but also has the wisdom to let me be sad when it was needed. The Pioneer girls were naturally drawn to her and I loved watching how they would enjoy being in her chalet so much. Amber has such freedom and such a childlike spirit which I have been so blessed by.

Chloe (Camp name Cadet) has taught me so much this summer. Wow. Sometimes when we talked about grace and about the cross she would begin to weep because she has such a deep understanding of it and of how much she needs grace, but at the same time she is so hungry to know more and understand it more...when she speaks of grace like she does, it makes me want to love Jesus more than I ever have. Chloe taught me how beautiful it is to be broken and unashamed of it, to cry and be okay about it. She taught me what it looks like to be so honest, both before God and before people. She’s just 16, but again, has such a hunger and wisdom so far beyond many people in their twenties.

Avery (Camp name Take-out) was such a blessing to me in so many ways. Almost all summer we played the question game whenever we had a few minutes together. For those who are unfamiliar, this is simply a game that you ask questions of eachother to get to know someone on a really deep level. This became such a joy to play with Avery and I loved to know someone so well and be known so well. She loves hugs and would always hug me when I saw her, which for me was so special because I also receive love well in the form of a hug! She has a gentle and kind heart which, in the craziness and pace of camp was so refreshing.

There are so many other people that I could write a lot about but for now, these people are enough. I love them deeply and miss them a lot already. I’m counting on Canadian public transport not being too expensive so that I can visit in the next few months, as all of them live several hours away.

God thank You for Your faithfulness and the way that You have loved me so tangibly through these women.