A new day, a new opportunity...

Day two and three at Dorcas were great. Being around different people, the orphans from Miskolc, the university students, and the local church members, was such an amazing experience. We grew in relationships with each other and continued to love everyone in the name of Jesus. There was a bonfire after Monday night’s service and we all gathered around and sang out praises to God with Deej on the guitar. I (Shaun) wrestled some of the boys from the orphanage (about 16 or 17 yrs old) and unfortunately lost. There has also been a lot of arm wrestling the past couple days and us guys are getting tired. Even though there is a language barrier, I held some back flip lessons with minimal injuries. All this has led to some great bonding and hopefully a foundation for Christ in these kids lives. We were all sad to depart today, but the kids are really excited that we are going to see them . A team of us are going to the orphanage tomorrow afternoon. Please pray for opportunities that would affect their eternity. But there was also much more going on in Dorcas…

One such event shows how God can take heartache and struggles to encourage and lift up others. This morning (Tuesday), Kelly Shannon shared with the team members a message from her devotion. It was about secrets and how everyone has a secret secret that they hold inside. If they keep it in, it has power over their lives, but if they let it go and confess it to someone, they can be free. This was meant for our team only, but a couple Hungarian girls in their early twenties overheard it, and it tugged at their hearts. Later in the day Kelly shared with everyone about struggles, and how she went through over twenty years of heartache living with an alcoholic. It was hard for her, but she told her story and how God has poured out His peace on her, and that she can stand strong with Christ. Those same girls knew that they had to talk to Kelly. Later that day they approached her and told her that they had overheard the earlier devotion and that they had secrets they wanted to get out into the open. They all went to a cabin and for the next hour, poured out their hearts to Kelly about the struggles they had kept inside for so long. She prayed for them, and then felt like God was telling her to give her scarf (a handmade gift from a friend that meant a lot to her) to one of the girls. She did and the girl cried. Then again, she was compelled to give her new shoes she had just purchased from the bible book store to the other girl. The girls shoes were old and tattered. Amazingly, they fit perfectly and the verse that was inscribed on them, 1 Corinthians 13:13 (check it out) happened to be that girl’s favorite verse! God was at work and used Kelly’s trials for His glory and these girls’ benefit.

Another profound moment at camp was when Tim gave a talk on sexual purity, and how different girls view themselves. He used the illustration of a paper cup, an old mug, and a china tea cup, relating these to the different ways girls can be treated. The paper cup is used once and thrown away. The old mug is used over and over, and if it breaks, a new one is purchased. Yet the tea cup is precious, delicate, and requires much care. Many girls do not view themselves as a fine tea cup, but the truth is that they are, and need to be treated as such. To bring the point across, a beautiful tea cup and saucer was handed out to every girl there in hopes that they will start to believe their worth and God’s plan for sexuality.

One of our teams went out to the Gypsy church while the others stayed back and went to dinner (there was not enough room for everyone to go). Continue to lift us up in prayer as we on our own can do nothing that matters. But with God all things are possible, and it is His strength that gives us life, and life to the full.