Four years ago, I went to this exact summer camp with two of my close
school friends, expecting a fun week together and hopefully meeting some boys. Instead, it became the place where I accepted Jesus’ sacrifice and gift of salvation for the first time. I don’t remember the speaker or even what he talked about, but I do remember how refreshing it was to be away from the distraction of my phone and how encouraging it was to experience genuine Christian community.
As a camper, one of our cabin leaders really impacted me, and I was drawn to her maturity and passion for the Lord. My friends were doing things I didn’t want to be a part of, so I talked to her about it. She told me about her struggles of being different from her friends in school as well because of her faith. She gave me hope, and even after camp, she helped me navigate through hard things in life, and I wanted to do that for other girls.
This year, I will be going into my senior year of high school, and I reached out to Rachel to be a junior counselor. I was excited but also anxious, thinking about my expectations to be the perfect role model and counselor. So I tried to put that aside and be present where the Lord wanted me.
Throughout the week, God was stirring in the hearts of these 13- and 14-year-olds. I could tell they were hungry for spiritual nourishment — especially the girls in my cabin. One of the most encouraging moments for me was during free time on the second day, when thunder was coming, and we were called to take shelter for about an hour. Some girls were really scared, but we all went back to our cabin. One of the older students wanted to have a Bible study, so we all sat on the floor of our cabin and read through Philippians 1. Bella, my co-leader, and I got to pour into these girls on how to read the Bible, and a lot of the girls agreed that they wanted to make time to open their Bibles when they got home. We took turns reading, and it was truly precious to see their interest and focus on it. The gospel was being advanced to these girls. It all started with the initiation of one girl, and her love for Jesus spread in all the girls in our cabin.
From the beginning of the trip, I sat by two girls who didn’t know many other people going, didn’t know what to expect, and were carrying difficult situations at home. One of those girls quickly found her place, but the other one often stuck close to me, saying “I’m following you” and struggling a lot with wanting her phone and wanting to go home. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, I had a guy from the prayer team pray over the situation.
Throughout the week, I saw such a transformation in her, and it makes me tear 
up knowing I got to be a part of that. We had meaningful conversations about her life, God, heaven, and one day I shared with her the story of Job out of my Bible. As the week went on, she seemed to be having more fun, made a friend through one of the activities, and even prayed to God one night. On the last day, she related to one of the leaders, sharing his testimony, and she wrote down Psalm 23 to remember.
The biggest God moment was when, at the end of the camp, Brian, the speaker, invited any student to the stage to share what God had done, and she went up there. I was shocked, but it made my heart so happy. She said, “I came in not feeling close to God, and now I do.” This girl helped me as I got to help her, and that was the work of our heavenly Father. All glory belongs to Him. I was just moved to be a part of His work.
One thing I LOVE about the Youth For Christ camp is that it is raw. At our “club” time, we talked about Simeon-Peter and watched an intense video from The Passion of the Christ. The Roman soldiers beat Jesus, and Peter, his close friend, denied Jesus just like Jesus said he would. Brian, the head speaker, additionally shared about his own life and the spiral of sin he was in, and his words made for heavy and deep conversation during cabin time afterwards. Yes, they were heavy but greatly necessary. By the leaders being vulnerable with their students first, it allowed for guards to come down and conversations to flow. The Gospel story shared was not downplayed, and one thing God revealed to me was just how good He is to us despite ourselves. We are broken people, and yet He uses us and redeems us, just like He did with Simon the fisherman when he became Peter “the rock”, and started the church. God uses the unexpected!! (Acts 4:13)
Zoe Ayette, Student Leader