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So What Are You Doing This Summer?

by Jeanette Windle

“Señora, there is no more water. No—no more for many days, maybe a week.”

A colonial hacienda house in a tranquil Andes river valley, its high, whitewashed walls and shady verandahs surrounding a courtyard bright with flowers and potted citrus trees, is a beautiful place to spend five days. But not without water. And not with 200 children already spreading out mats in the dormitory salons.

Camping ministry is about flexibility. The overhead tanks could be eked out for drinking. Field trips to the river would cover bathing. But what about cooking and cleaning? And—worst of horrors—toilets?

The scramble that followed involved large packing barrels, pickup trucks, and that river a quarter-mile away. By the end of camp, staff were more than ready for a return to the city and a hot shower. The children had been too occupied with fun, new friends, and the exciting revelation of a God who loved them to even notice the lack.

The long, warm days of summer are here with children out of school and the promise of vacations as this BCM World goes to press (or is that ‘web’?). For BCM International, this is the busiest season of year with tens of thousands of children in more than 20 countries from North America to Surinam, Brazil and Peru to Ireland and Poland, Italy and Spain, India and the Philippines hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a fun-filled week of a BCM camp.

Every country and every camp presents challenges and unique experiences. Battling helicopter-sized mosquitoes in the Canadian rain forest to 100+ F. heat on an Indian plain or the frigid nights of the South American Andes. Cooking in stainless-steel equipment of a commercial kitchen or over a gas burner on the ground. Sleeping in a mattressed bunk, a hard board, a mat on the concrete floor, or a hammock. Bathing in a hot shower, swimming pool, lake, river—or not at all.

But if each situation is unique, BCM camps in any country or climate share the most important elements.

Every BCM camp is about children in need.

Street kids in Latin America or the Caribbean. Inner-city youth in North America’s urban centers. Village boys and girls in India or the Philippines. Handi-campers in North America or Eastern Europe whose disabilities have kept them from enjoying a camp experience. Or Christian youth raised in church who still need to come face to face with their Creator. All find their needs a priority from the moment they step foot—or wheelchair—into a BCM camp.

Every BCM camp is about sharing the love of God and Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For many campers from the most difficult family and economic situations, their encounter with BCM camp staff and counselors may be the only love and compassion they have ever experienced. Thousands each year come to know as well the love of Christ in their lives.

Every BCM camp is about transformed lives.

Ask BCM camp staff in the Ukraine about Sergei*—abused, neglected, raised in an atmosphere of violence, early photos of his young face tight with an anger he was only too ready to take out on his counselors. But under the steady persistence of camp staff’s patience and love, Sergei* learned to smile. Today he has accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.

Or ten-year-old Mike*. Mike learned to love fishing and the outdoors from his father. But when Mike’s father died in a tragic car accident, Mike closed up from everything he had loved and became a very angry young man. Through a sponsorship, Mike was able to attend Canada’s Mill Stream Bible Camp these last three years. He had never really smiled since his father’s death—until this last summer, when he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.

“We can see God transforming his life,” shares camp director Larry Chupa, “and it is a strong reminder to us to never give up on sharing God’s love with others.”

All around the world, BCM camp staff are refusing to give up on kids. Right now their biggest need is more volunteers. As you read this issue, pray with us for the thousands of children, youth counselors, and staff involved in BCM camping ministries this summer. And consider serving one week, two weeks, a lifetime at any one of BCM’s exciting camping opportunities worldwide.
You too will find your life changed forever.

* names have been changed