Camp LIFE Day 2: Ruth, Gift, Dorcas, and Blessing.

We had our first full day of camp today! It started out with a 4-way rotation before lunch where we first took “snaps” or photos of each of the kids and then each kid with my Zambian translator, Martha, and I. The photos will be used for sponsorships and for their Camp LIFE certificate.

Our next station was “Blessing Time”. Blessing time is where Martha and I meet with each kid individually to find out their family situation, and how we can pray for them. We also use the opportunity to talk to them about Jesus one-on-one. We actually spread Blessing Time throughout the week, and add on other activities during the Blessing Time.

For example, Family Legacy has a medical clinic during Camp LIFE where each child gets evaluated for the height, weight, body fat, and they are treated for any current ailments. All 10 of my girls were evaluated today during Blessing Time, and one of them has to return for treatments on Wednesday and Friday. I don’t know what is wrong because I couldn’t read the doctor’s writing, but they are treating her while she’s here! Another girl has bumps on her belly that she didn’t show to Dr. Brad Guffy, so we’re taking her back to be evaluated, too.

After Blessing Time, we got to play on the playground. Then, the kids got to do a coloring sheet. After rotations, we had lunch, and then large group time with singing and a message from Greer (President and Founder of Family Legacy) and his Zambian partner/translator, Teddy. They preached the gospel to the kids today, and showed them a video of the crucifixion and resurrection that was in Nyanja (Zambian language).

After that, we had small group time where I reiterated the message, and then more time for playing before the children left to return to their compounds for the night.

I have done 4 Blessing Times so far this week, which has led to the title of this blog. During my very first Blessing Time, I met with Ruth. I was nervous and she seemed terrified. She is a nine year old that is small enough to look five years old. She is a double orphan, meaning both of her parents have died. She lives with her paternal auntie, and her younger sister, Lillian. She said that she attends Catholic church, and that she gets three meals a day. I don’t believe her on the latter answer – not with her stunted growth. She had never attended school. I hope to meet with her again because I didn’t get her to open up very much.

It was the total opposite with my second child, Gift. She is a very enthusiastic, ready-to-learn young girl. She is 10 years old, and doesn’t even know when she was born. She is also a double orphan, and lives with her auntie and uncle, whom she calls mom and dad. In addition to her parents, she lost an older brother. She has two siblings and a cousin that she lives with. One of her other cousins passed away this week and she will have to go to their funeral. She lives in a two room house with 5 other people, and sleeps in the sitting room instead of the bedroom. She was very proud that her family owns their house rather than renting it. She has never gone to school, and she said she had never heard about God.

Here is the great thing about Gift: she is soaking up everything we tell her, and I think she’s understanding it. She prayed with us to receive Jesus, and she has prayed for us at meals since then. She answers our questions, and encourages others in our group to ask or answer questions. She is already on fire for Jesus after only 2 days!

Dorcus is another contrast. She was incredibly down today, repeatedly crying, and withdrawn from the group. When we tried to talk to her about it individually, she wouldn’t talk at first, so I asked her the “easy” questions about her home life. Like the other two girls, she is a double orphan who lives with her paternal auntie and uncle. She has two older sisters who are married. Her sisters mistreat her; when she goes to visit them in their homes, they chase her away. She is the only child living at home, and thus relies on her friends for company. She is 10 years old and has never been to school. She gets somewhere between 1-3 meals a day, and goes for prayers at a Pentecostal church. She is scared of gossiping too much, so I tried to tell her about forgiveness. She doesn’t know her own birthday.

The final little girl I have met with is Blessing. Blessing has been the biggest challenge so far. She has been to Camp LIFE for 5 years now, so she knows the lay of the land. This means that she thinks it is okay to run off by herself instead of staying with the group. When we go after her, she just runs further. However, at the same time, she craves affection. She hangs on me more than any of the other girls, which is difficult when I am trying to show them equal affection. She is sponsored, and thus goes to a Legacy Academy in her compound. She understands English quite well, and quoted her favorite verse to me in English: 1 Samuel 16:7.

Blessing lives with her parents and two older brothers. She had other siblings that died when she was small. Just because she isn’t an orphan doesn’t mean she’s not at risk, however. Her acting out and need for constant affection makes that obvious. Blessing has two scars on her face, and when I asked her about them, she said her auntie beats her up when she goes to visit her cousins. She has terrifying nightmares about her grandmother, who we think is a witch doctor. From what we could tell, her parents have talked about her grandmother killing her siblings, probably from witchcraft medicine. She doesn’t tell her parents about her auntie beating her up or her fears, and in fact she hides from her mother.

We tell the kids 4 things to do to access the power of God: Hear, Understand, Believe, and Speak. Blessing has already made a profession of faith in Jesus, but she needed some words of scripture to speak out loud to protect her from her nightmares. So I opened up my Bible, and God gave me Psalm 86:1-2,

“Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God.”

I taught Blessing to say, “Hear me, Lord. Guard my life. Save your servant.” I asked her to speak it out loud before she goes to sleep to protect her from her nightmares. I am praying that she listened to me, and that tomorrow she comes with a great story and no more tears!