August 02, 2007

Thursday nights

Thursday evenings are one of my favorite nights of camp.
I had a long day today. Busy, busy. One thing to the next. Busy, but good. I took a 15 minute power nap and then jumped up and headed over to chapel. I knew it would make me feel better.
On Thursday nights, we do combined worship with our juniors (7-10 yrs old) and seniors (11-15 yrs old). That means that everyone crams into our largest meeting room to do praise and worship together before separating for their speaker. 140 kids crammed into one room. Plus all of the counselors and other random staff that slide in the door. It's close to 200 people. And it's usually hot and smells of sweaty kids.
But the moment the guitar begins to play and the leader begins singing, it is my favorite part of the week. I wish that you could all hear the kids singing. They sing with everything they have. They scream and laugh and have fun. They sing about Jesus and how He loves them and died for them. Many of them have never heard the gospel and many may never hear it again. But for that half hour, they sing those songs with all their might.
Throughout the week, I will hear kids singing the same songs in random places like the floating pier waiting for the tubes, on the banana boat, in line at snack shop. I love it...
Thursday night chapel always makes me tear up. I know that God must be walking among us smiling and just enjoying every moment of us lifting His name high and enjoying it! It's just a little taste of heaven. A small taste, but one that is a perfect encouragement for us weary camp staff. Kids singing to God. Can it get any better?!

2 comments:

jessica said...

yeah :) I love this! I can still remember the sound of kids singing "Here I am to Worship" in Romanian while we sang it in English. You could feel God's presence there. I imagine that's what it was like for you, too. It's a gift.

jessica said...

yes. i found sara's blog from your blog actually. she has really inspired me to evaluate so many aspects of my life. i love that she approaches everything from a biblical perspective, like being green or our possesions. thanks so much for sharing that :) i think i stayed on her site for a week straight :) that is so cool that you live in a cottage. i am in love with cottages and hope to have one one day. it's funny that you think you have so much stuff. when I dream about having a cottage one day, I imagine the simplicity that comes with being in a smaller home. i guess it's all about perspective. look at how sara and her family scaled down so many times. i'm glad you're thinking about these things, too :)