We're one week away from YL Camp!  It's a busy and exciting time as we prepare for over 100 campers to attend!  My to-do lists seem to grow longer instead of shorter as I focus on the details.  Camp is on the brain and leaves little room for anything else.  During breakfast, Ivan will suddenly have an idea on how to improve one of the games.  Kids are in full swing raising money.  My house looks like a tornado passed through, with materials for camp strewn all about (I promise, it's an organized mess!).  Right before falling asleep, I will think of at least 5 things that I forgot to write down on my list.  Leaders are exhausted from getting parent's permission for kids to go and tracking down confirmations from campers.  I wake up in a cold sweat after having a dream where everything that can go wrong goes wrong at camp.  Yup, this is pre-camp week.  The signs are all there. 
I have plenty on my plate to keep me busy yet somehow I've managed to separate an hour every day to tutor our 3 nephews in English.  They are staying for about 2 weeks with grandma to finish out their vacation time.  So, for an hour everyday I push all the camp stuff off to the side and pull out some English materials.  We paint, color, write, read, and sing.  Teaching kids is as natural to me as breathing.  These 3 rambunctious kids come to my door shouting and shoving.  But in the next 5 minutes you can find them each seated calmly on the couch, looking through a book, waiting for their turn when I read their chosen story aloud. 

It's something similar to what we will see happen at camp in a week.  Over 100 kids will arrive to camp shouting and shoving.  Over the course of 3 days we will talk, sing, play games, and laugh together.  Hanging out with these kids and loving on them is as natural as breathing to our leaders.  On the last night, those 100 rambunctious teenagers will sit completely still and silent, encountering their Creator.  I pray that like my 3 nephews, as they sit in that time waiting, they would know how they were chosen by God to be a part of the story He is writing. 
Each one of my nephews is unique and has his own personality.  You can see it just by looking at their artwork.  One is realistic, coloring things as you would see normally, doing his best to stay within the lines,  and paying attention to the details.  Another is thorough, who wishes to leave no space unfinished and becomes frustrated by any minor mistake.  The other is carefree, choosing whichever color is closest, paying no attention to lines, and happy with whatever the outcome.

Each child responds differently to the same task.  It's a good reminder to me that each kid who comes to camp is unique and special.  Each will respond in his or her own way and our simple job is to love them no matter what.  Whether they stay within the lines or not.  I pray for the leaders, as they hear the stories of these kids' lives, to also see the story God has been writing.