Starfish: 2008 Mega Kids Camp

The Soccer Team that Curtis and I coached: Natashia, Nathan, Devon, Hunter, Mikyle, Noah.

 

LifeChurch put on a sports camp for the Boys and Girls School down on Minnesota street.  It was clearly a "different" setting than comfortable middle class surroundings most of us knew.  Yet in some ways, it was the same.  A small boy, hit by the ball, not knowing how to be comforted.  A young girl, hurt in a soccer move, falls to pieces, yet becomes endeared to her coaches as most children did during the brief 5 day event.  That's what happened to Bill and I and others we realized that God was making a way for us to stand up and serve Him, even though we all felt so ill-prepared.   

We learned To Go the Distance you need…

Change (Monday)

Endurance (Tuesday)

Rest (Wednesday)

Teamwork (Thursday)

Finish Strong (Friday)

Reading Ps 23 on the last night with one of the parents was especially precious. Love is rare, but even more rare for these children.  No child should go unloved or feel unsafe.  Seeing children who have every reason to give up, yet reach out to love others is amazing. Days later as they met us at LifeChurch and the Ugandan Orphans Choir, even the crusty and hardened children reached for the hug they had been so longing for that morning, and they got what they deserved.      

Bill O., Jessica, Tony Portell, Curtis, Julie, Johnathan, Joshua, Amanda, Rachel, Steve A.,  Matt and Mellisa, Chris H., April C., Andy M., Scott H.,  and so many others came night after night to encourage the children and each other.   This is what we talked about.

I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
Now there is in store for me
the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day”
The Apostle Paul
2 Timothy 4:7, 8

Eric, the leader of the Ugandan Orphan's choir told the story about Starfish many of have heard...

Each morning as the tide receded, a young boy would walk along the
beach picking up starfish from the drying sand. Abandoned by the
water, the starfish were sure to die in the growing heat. So the boy
would toss each starfish he came upon back into the cool and calming
waves.

A passerby shook his head at the boy’s slow pursuit and grunted,
"Don’t bother, child. There are thousands of those starfish. They go
on for miles. You cannot possibly make a difference throwing them
back into the ocean."

But the boy picked up another starfish, looked at it thoughtfully
and remarked as he tossed it back into the sea, "It made a
difference to that one."

This time, it was personal.