Community Fun and Games

After an extremely tough and challenging week and 3 break ins later we have come out the other end, dusted ourselves off and trying to figure out what we have learnt from all this. I am sure that there is a lesson in all this somewhere, it certainly has been a test of character. I started out feeling angry and bitter with the perpetrator and the situation, but have moved on to now feeling desperately sad for this person. Sneaking around at night, breaking in and taking stuff that does not belong to you must surely be a very sad way to live life. No one can feel proud of this behaviour and they will never value the stuff that they now have or the money they got from selling someone else's possessions. Through the week I have also grown to realize that this stuff is not mine or even Camp Sonshine's, we have been blessed by the contributions of many different people. By the grace of God alone we have been given these possessions, they have been provided by God and belong to Him! We truly appreciate the prayers of friends around the world during this tough week, I truly believe that by the power of prayer alone our hearts have been changed and our attitudes in dealing with this have been pleasing to God.



Today we celebrated with the community by holding a Community Fun Day. We wanted the people of this community to know that the actions of one person will not change the way we feel about them and will not stop us from doing what we still feel God is calling us to do. At 10 AM (the official start time) we had about 10 kids in the school hall ready to start. I am not going to lie, this was a MASSIVE disappointment! However, we started things as promised by singing some of our favourite camp songs. Slowly more and more people began to arrive and in true "African time" style by the end of the day we were topping 80 active participants! The crowd was mostly kids, we were hoping that they would bring their parents too, some did. We divided into groups and rotated around 4 activities. There was lots of cheering, participation, fun and laughter. We ended the day with some more songs, spot prizes and I then spoke a little about what had gone on during the week. I explained that we were sad about what had happened and would very much like anyone who knows anything to let us know. As everyone was leaving a parent came forward and told us they she knew who had our stuff, she did not want to be identified to the police and she even mentioned a stolen item that I had not listed. She gave me the alleged perpetrator's name and address! I have now passed this information onto the police. Not sure what will happen from here, but at the very least the community knows that we take these things seriously.

A highlight of the day was one little boy who volunteered to help one of the leaders pack away some equipment. As he was collecting balls and cones he said "my mom is dead", this is a shocking statement when it is just out of the blue. Haley, our awesome leader asked if he had a dad, he said that he did, but said that his dad was not nice to him and that his brothers teased him all the time. Haley asked him if he knew that he had another dad, he said "yes, I have Uncle Clive". This was obviously not what Haley was getting at so she explained about how God is his dad in heaven and how He loves him very, very much and will never hurt him or be unkind to him. This little boy seemed to have some vague concept of God, but then said "the devil is going to get me". We have no idea what this poor kid has been taught about God and the devil, but Haley was able to have an amazing conversation with this kid, telling him the TRUTH! We are so grateful to have had this opportunity and pray that little Maurice will sleep better tonight knowing this truth.