7/11 Reflections on the Last Day of Camp and Church Day

July 10-11

Luke 15:3-7
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

As the camp comes to a conclusion, everything is bittersweet. Saturday is the day where we invite the students to come to church for a gathering. All week, our goal is to get the students to come to the Saturday event. At the same time, with the event comes the inevitable goodbye from the students and the local team. The last day of camp went pretty well. The main event was the STM question and answer time designed to share a little about us to the students and make them want to see us for the last time at the local church. As we answered each question, we tried to share God's love with them at the same time. What we've realized these couple days is that every opportunity is precious. We may not get that opportunity to share with them ever again, so we must take advantage of every one we get. As Friday came to a conclusion, we left with many of the students thinking about what we've taught and what is to come. I personally decided to write half to full page long letters to every of my students that wanted one in English that included the gospel message. I wrote them in hopes that as they spend the time to translate "what an American had written them", they would read and re-read it, and possibly stay with them. The students all left as Friday ended and the anticipation for our big event began. A lot of prayer went in to the next day's events as we hoped to put the church on the map for the village. As Saturday morning rolled around, approximated 35 middle schoolers showed up. To put it in perspective, at the only church within the village, 20 people attend service every Sunday. Yes, only twenty church going Christians in quite a large village. Needless to say, the pastor was quite pleased that so many people came. Saturday morning activities were purely personal interactions with the students, along with a skit and hymn singing. We all hope that some may attend Sunday service and may continue along the path towards being a strong Christian. The VGM bilingual camp program may be frustrating for some though as we're only here to sow the seeds. We won't see the seeds grow, nor will we see the fruits of the harvest before heaven. Despite this, we're all willing to come out here anyways. The parable Jesus tells about the one missing sheep out of 100 whose shepherd goes out and searches for anyways. However, this not only applies here on this mission’s trip. As we return, many of us find it extremely hard sharing the gospel to the people around us. Yet, we are called to do so. Despite the time consuming process of showing God's love, we are called to invest the time in it anyways. Evangelism isn't an option of being a Christian, its mandatory. What are we going to do in light of this requirement, remember what Jesus did for each and every one of us. Every human needs this Good News, and we must share it, no matter how long it takes for He says, "I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."