Day 5 and 6 Beach and Homeward Bound
By Sara Galyon
Bright and early (After wrapping up our work day in Starke, FL) we headed to Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island. The kids could hardly wait to get the van unloaded before bathing suits were on, towels were grabbed and they were headed to the water. After some fun on the beach they came in for some dinner at a local restaurant, and then it was back to the hotel for our final worship.
In the final worship session the camp director talked about God being the Prince of Peace. After worship our group had a chance to talk about the things that separate us from truly following God. We were given nails to symbolize the things that kept us from following God and were told to nail them into the cross when we were ready.
I am so proud of our kids, and maybe not for the reasons you’d think. Some of the students expressed the feeling that this exercise was just that, an exercise, or a symbol of something else, and didn’t truly mean anything unless you really had something you needed to symbolically let go of. So we decided that there would be no pressure to nail anything to the cross, if some wanted to it was fine, but if others didn’t because they didn’t feel this experience deepened their relationship with God, they didn’t need to.
I’m proud of them because they are learning how to discern the workings of God in their own lives, without being told how to recognize them. This is a huge step in our walk with God, and one that teenagers should be encouraged to make. No one criticized anyone else’s choice, we simply waited for each other to finish, and then headed out to the beach to once again experience the vastness of God’s creation.
The following day we spent time on the beach, eating lunch at a local burger joint, and enjoying our last day together. On Friday we headed home with some seriously sleepy teenagers, and some adults ready to return to our families. And the day ended, dark and late.
I encourage you to ask these students about their amazing experience in FL this summer, and hear their Temple Talk on August 6. Ask them how they participated in God’s work in the world, but be prepared for them to ask you how you participate in God’s work in your own world!