A Reality Check

Written By: Shelby Lam, Summer Intern

Before camp even began, I made the mistake of underestimating my campers. I assumed that the campers of Kingston-Galloway’s Sonshine Daycamp wouldn’t know much about Christ, and based this assumption solely on the fact that the campers were from inner city neighbourhoods. I planned my bible stories for children who have never heard of Christ and worried about whether or not the campers would understand the depth of words such as “praise” and “reign”.

 I had forgotten that God is working in the lives of everyone, including my campers.

Over the first two days of camp, my kids amazed me. I was startled when my six year olds had no trouble answering the question, “What is sin?” and easily explained to me what Romans 3:23 meant. When asked, “What do you think the Everlasting Kingdom looks like?” during bible time, my campers came up with at least 15 different responses, from “a place where we will never be thirsty” to “a city which is protected by a big shield”. Watching my campers joyfully sing and dance during worship warmed my heart, knowing that they were praising the same God that I have been worshipping my entire life.

There were moments where my kids thought of God when I was too busy thinking about earthly matters. As the kids prepared to eat their morning snack, I asked, “What do we have to do before we eat?” I expected them to say something like “wash our hands”, but of course, my kids answered with “Pray!” After overhearing raised voices of children of whom I thought were arguing, I quickly realized that they were arguing over who was going to pray for everyone at the end of the day, because they all wanted to.

I am very thankful for the work that Toronto City Mission has already done in Kingston-Galloway. The impact that God has made through TCM prior to this year’s Sonshine camp clearly shows through the words and actions of the campers. I’ve learned that God has already been doing marvelous things in the lives of my kids, and I can’t wait to see them grow even more in Christ over the next few months.

Being a camp leader isn’t easy. Although I know that I am going to face great challenges and obstacles as I serve Him, I have now been reminded that God is always here, and I will use that as encouragement throughout the rest of the summer.

This is Shelby’s first year serving as a summer intern in the Kingston-Galloway community. Shelby is grateful that God has given her the opportunity to grow with and work alongside a group of passionate and God-loving individuals. Shelby could not figure out what her favourite moment of camp has been so far because each and every moment has been equally as rewarding, including moments when they were rejecting every single game she had planned, spilling their salad dressing all over the carpet, and fist-fighting.