You can read the first part of this blog here. *All children’s names have been changed. Kevin, who is referred to often, is my husband who also served with me at Royal Family Kids’ Camps.
Wednesday Night
We had some visitors while we slept last night. I woke up to go to the bathroom with one of the girls and staring at me was a big fat raccoon! I screamed which in turn caused my camper to scream and become hysterical. Before I could count to three to get my bearings about me, the whole cabin was awake and screaming. Apparently, *Joanna was hording food. Not just packaged snack foods but half eaten chicken, lasagna in a napkin–YUK! She cried when she realized that her food was the cause of our visitor and all the uproar. But she cried even harder when the camp director took the food to throw it away. We didn’t understand what the big deal was and suddenly a light bulb went off. I turned to her, and said, “*Joanna, calm down. We’ll have breakfast tomorrow.” Through a tear stained face she stopped and said, “But what about dinner?” We realized the issue and assured her that for the whole week she could have breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack–every day. When I went back to bed I cried. How horrible to not be sure if you’ll be fed–and she’s only 8!
Prayer: Lord, help me to show these kids that you are the living bread and water. That you want to provide for all their needs. And that you love them so much, you weep when they weep.
Thursday Night
Tonight was every kids’ birthday party. I never knew birthday parties could be so heart breaking. Each kid got their own miniature birthday cake with their name written right on it. They also each got a box filled with presents: pencils, stickers, notebook paper, small toys, etc. One of our girls immediately took her things and asked for a marker. She very meticulously began to print her name on everything. She said that every time she goes to a new foster home, either her foster mother takes her things or one of the older kids in the house takes her things. She doesn’t own anything. We later caught her marking her underwear. . .until camp, she hadn’t even owned her own pair of underwear!
Prayer: Father, forgive me. There is so much I take for granted. Help me to see these kids through your eyes. How you must weep on their behalf. Help me to show them that you have a plan and a purpose for their lives.
Note: Kids often come to camp without the basic necessities. Part of the fundraising for camp entails getting things like underwear, clothing, toothbrushes, combs, etc. for the kids. We also had on hand a few volunteers from the sponsoring church who were willing to go shopping for a child if need be. This way the kids could go home with new clothing.
Friday Night
Camp is finally over. I am so overwhelmed with emotion I can hardly write. It was hard to face some of these parents and know the horrible things they’ve done to their kids or have allowed to happen because of their poor choices. On the other hand, you could tell amongst the campers who had good foster care or other family caring for them. They are my heroes. In so many ways, these kids are my heroes.
We had a debriefing session in which I think the entire staff of 50 people broke down in tears. As one of our camp social workers put it though, it’s not that no one loves these kids. It’s that the adults in their lives, often times don’t know how to love them. RFKC is one part of a puzzle that will help to end child abuse. One week is not enough. . .but it helps.
Prayer: Lord, let me not forget the lessons of this week. Help me to be diligent in praying for them. Help me to remember that you love these kids completely and you have not forgotten about them. May there be many more people in their lives to help put the pieces of their shattered childhood back together.
Follow Up:
My husband and I worked at RFKC from 1994 to 1999 until our first daughter was born. As a result of our experiences at camp, we have decided to open our home up to foster children once our youngest children are a little older. I still pray for my campers, all of whom are now adults. It is hard to trust that God will take care of them and yet, I know that He loves them infinitely more than we do. The Bible talks about planting a seed for the gospel. We often don’t see what happens after we’ve planted the seed, but it is important to be faithful in planting none the less.
Related Articles:
An Introduction to Royal Family Kids’ Camps