Camp Voyageur

"Would you be interested in leading a missions trip to Greece?" our friend posed to us several months ago.  Our eyes lit up.  Greece?!  We'd love to go!

But then we thought about it a bit more.  We'd just finished 12 intense month of language school in order to better minister in French...in France.  

We decided not to go to Greece.

Then, a few weeks later we were asked to lead a service team for a Christian camp about an hour from Aix-les-Bains.  We asked ourselves:  Will we be making disciples? Does this fit into our job description?

The answer was yes.  Though we are not discipling the 11-13 year old campers directly, we are enabling the counselors to do so by providing meals, delivering their camping gear, and cleaning and organizing the chalet (our home base for these 2 weeks).  We are also stepping in while fellow missionaries attend their mission's conference, and we are most definitely using our French.

"It will be fun!" they said.

"It will be a lot of work in the mornings to prepare lunches but the rest of the day is free to relax, hike, and enjoy the mountains," they said.

Well, I wouldn't exactly describe it like that.  Having a lot of rain (guess I should have kept praying like the persistent widow?) has changed the schedule several times.  I have to continually remind myself that we are here to serve.  

If serving means waiting in vans with stinky camp gear for 3 hours, that's why we are here.  If it means washing more dishes or serving more hot meals, that's why we are here.  If it means working from 8am - 10pm to pack lunches, clean toilets, carry sacs, and re-arrange the menu yet again, that's why we are here. 

We are half-way through our 2 weeks of camp.  We are tired - kids and leaders alike - and some people are a bit sick.  Pray God would give the leaders and service team the energy and stamina and patience that we need.  Pray that the campers would learn and grow to be more like Jesus.