Last week was our second and final week of foster care. Foster Care camp is by far my favorite camp that we do during the summer. No longer are we just the background people running the activities, with foster care we are on the front lines. We worship with the kids, dance, do activities and just love on them. So for three days that is what we do. We show love to a lot of kids who have been told their whole life that they are not loved. Not only are we working with the kids but we work with their foster families as well. We show them how awesome they are for loving kids who have never been shown love. For enduring all that these kids bring to the house and treating them as if they are their own. Its safe to say that foster care camp is a weekend full of love and joy.
Celest.
Vibrant, loving, young, joyful, demanding, courageous, caring, friendly, beautiful. Those are just a few words to describe young Celest. This little girl changed my life. I am not even sure how I met her, all I know is that the whole weekend she was my little sidekick. She showed me what a child like love looked like. Despite everything she had gone through in her short 6 years, despite being taken from here mom just six months ago, despite everything, she was joyful. She loved taking pictures with me and she loved to swim. All weekend I just hung out with her and got to know her. We watched movies, swam, danced, sang, and ate every meal together. Through getting to know Celest I got to know here foster family. They were an older couple who just loved children! I got to share with them my heart and they shared theirs with me. It was hard to say goodbye to Celest and her foster family. I did learn that they actually go to church right next to my college so I am hoping to see them again.
Jasper, Tyler, and Family
Jasper came up to us one night and asked to play volleyball with the staff. He is a 14 year old who had just been placed with his foster family two months ago. Its safe to say that he was better than most of us at volleyball. While the staff played I sat in the car and got to talk to Jaspers foster mom. She loved him so much! Her heart for the lost was beautiful. All weekend long I got to hang out with her and really get to know her. At the moms breakfast I sat with her and she stared in amazement at mama brown and listing intently to her story. I got to meet her son Tyler. He was mentally handicapped but was so loving towards everyone. It was a true blessing to get to know this beautiful family.
Those are just a few of the people that God allowed me to meet this past week. It was amazing to see the diversity between the families. I loved seeing the teenagers and how they interacted with the younger kids in the home. Everything about this week was wonderful. God tells us to love His children and this was a weekend where God was present and we were loving His children. They showed me so much love as well. Celest and her family just by being present in my life. Everyone telling us thank you for the hard work we do here. Little babies who hold your hand for 30 minutes. Every part of this weekend was love.
God's love is unconditional and our love towards His beautiful children should be the same.
This is my final week at Camp Buckner. Please be in prayer that God just softens my heart and opens my eyes to see His beauty in every situation.
Also as a side note that deserves jumping up and down over! One of our summer staff members accepted Christ a few days ago!!!!! Be in Prayer for Her as she begins her walk.
God bless <3
Heaven Slaughter
No comments:
Post a Comment