[This post was delayed because I kept falling asleep at the keyboard]
It is Wednesday night, and the camp is more than half over. We have a hike day tomorrow followed by our last full day of English lessons, then farewells. However, our work here has accelerated. In my last blog post, I shared that the gospel presentation has picked up speed. Yesterday, I shared how Jesus changed everything for me. Tonight, Tyler, the youth pastor from our partner church in Nevada talked about how God gives us a new heart when we become Christians. Following that there was a special interactive activity to help the students process what they have heard. Here are some other happenings that you might want to be aware of:
- Chris will give a testimony at the morning devotion time tomorrow.
- Caleb will give a testimony at the morning camp meeting with all the campers tomorrow.
- Pastor Andrew will present a message about Jesus as King tomorrow night.
- Andrew Mickey will give a testimony at the morning camp meeting following Pastor Andrew’s evening message.
What fuels us as we serve here is that we see God actively working in the hearts of students as they wrestle to understand God’s lifegiving message. The gospel provides believers with forgiveness of sins, but that is just the beginning. Jesus has far more to offer. Freedom, peace, purpose, and comfort are just a few of the many blessings once our sins are forgiven. Tonight, I was reminded about another important element of the gospel: acceptance.
Tonight, I had the privilege of walking with a young man through the “Labyrinth” activity. I believe that the Spirit of God is drawing him toward salvation. We had wonderful talks for more than an hour, during which we talked a lot about sin and the state of the human heart. He is responding to God in a very Czech way – thoughtfully, skeptically, and unemotionally. He is testing everything he hears because he doesn’t want to be taken in by clever sounding words and emotional manipulation – I respect that of him.
Somewhere in our discussions last night, something clicked with him. Even through broken English (and bad Czech on my part) God was able to break through. He came to understand a fundamental Gospel truth: all sin is bad and separates us from God. The conversation softened and he was willing to share more about the hurts in his life. I as able to see some of the deep need in his life and how our loving God could perfectly provide healing. Acceptance by God would change this young man’s life and bring peace to his soul.
We have not had time to debrief as a team yet, but I know that other team members were equally encouraged. We all hope to continue talking with our new friends. In this way, the healing light of the gospel is breaking through the darkness, one conversation at a time.
Thank you for following along with us. We are so thankful to have you as part of our extended team.