It is so hard to believe that camp is already over. Today we said goodbye to the students, and it's hard to put into the words the changes that took place within a few short days. They went from teenagers that we knew God loved, to priceless individuals that swept into our hearts and that we now truly love. We saw so many students take one step closer to finding a relationship with Christ and rejoiced with those who are now a part of our spiritual family! And, even though we are still processing through all that's taken place over the past week; we are so excited and humbled that we were able to serve Christ in this way.

Although many people got very little sleep last night—staying up to soak in every last minute of camp—there was a great turnout for the Good Morning Sunshine session that began our day. My dad (Pastor Tom) encouraged all of us on what it means to truly live out Christ in our day to day lives. It may be easy to put on our Christian clothes, but it means nothing unless it's changed us from the inside out. The gospel was also shared again as a way to reiterate the reason why English Camp even exists, and to present Jesus once again to those who don't know Him personally.

The rest of the morning consisted of meeting one last time with our small groups, eating with the students and our last main meeting time. Cory encouraged all of us as he looked back on what we had learned this week and how we can apply the theme of Listen, Think, Respond to our lives. He challenged those who are still searching for meaning to take time to listen to what God may be saying to us through other people or what He's impressing on their hearts. He encouraged them to really take time to wrestle with those things and, when they felt ready, to respond. It was amazing to see students who were going through this process over the few days we had with them.

Wrestling as process

An example of this was a 17 year old boy we met the first day. He came to camp as an aggitated, seemingly angry person who hated his parents and who had a lot of hurt in his life. He didn't know much about God and, in the first group time, didn't care to listen. He began to listen more intently during small group, and as we shared our life stories one night—he opened up. Being kicked out of school in second grade for behavioral issues, he was transferred to a different school. At age 7, he began to smoke and from age 13–15, this young boy got drunk every day. His life has consisted of fights, stealing, seeking love from many different dating relationships and even time in correctional "boot camps" for troubled teens. He's has had a hard life and has made many wrong choices.

But this week at English Camp, his eyes began to open to a new way of life. We loved on him—even though hugs were met by an overwhelming stench of cigarette smoke and days without showering. God enabled us to see past the anger, hyper activity and messed up past and to love him as Jesus does. And he felt that love. Each day this hardened life softened more and began to smile and joke around—even joining in on small group discussions. The step came when we were discussing what Cory talked about on Wednesday night. The idea of forgiveness was shared along with the how God can change our lives and offer us a new start. He seemed to be really listening, and when it was said that all you had to do to have this new start to life was to ask God for forgiveness—a step was taken. It seemed that he was having a hard time sitting still as though there was this growing anticipation in his heart. Suddenly he blurted out, "But how? How do you ask God for forgiveness?!" He truly didn't understand how to ask God for forgiveness. We explained how simple it was and that it didn't matter where you were or what you said, but that God will hear you when you talk to Him. And, although a prayer wasn't said at that moment to accept Christ, there was a tremendous change in his life from when he had stepped off the bus the first day. He is now listening about God and is starting to think through it all—and that is exciting!

Again, I can't begin to tell all that happened at camp—there are so many amazing stories of how we saw God at work in these student's lives. We truly appreciate your prayers and support as we've been here in Estonia. We can't wait to come home, and to not only share about the students, but to put into practice all that God has taught us this week about serving Him!

In Him,

Allie