YFC Camp was amazing this year for our students! It was encouraging to go in with solid relationships with the students attending, and to know the leaders also had amazing relationships with the students.
One of those students, “Mark,” had been asking questions about God for the entire year. He never had any Christian influence in his life, so he was very curious. He has struggled with thoughts of suicide, depression, and anxiety. He would ask what the point of being a Christian was, how to pray, and why we decided to follow Jesus. He had gotten more and more involved with our afterschool program, and eventually decided to go to YFC Camp! We all had extremely high expectations for Mark’s week at camp, and Christ was faithful again.
While at camp, he started off having a very hard time. He was unwilling to engage in conversations and would mostly sit out by himself. After talking with him one-on-one, he began engaging in more activities and started asking his normal questions again.
He told me on the last day of camp he decided to accept Christ as his Savior! It was an incredible moment!
Mark went on to have a great 2.5 hour conversation with one of our volunteers about David from the Bible and the faults he had, yet God still loved him. This conversation really got Mark thinking about how he doesn’t have to be perfect to have a relationship with Christ, and he wanted to start fresh with Jesus in his life. Honestly, this was not too surprising to me. The Holy Spirit was obviously as work in his life, and I am confident he had him ready for camp weeks before we even arrived. The devil wanted to hinder his experience, but God is more powerful!
I cannot wait to see Mark continue to grow over the next four years!
Shawna Balsiger
Whitko Campus Life Director