Kickball, "Rabid" Possums, and The Gospel

We just enjoyed our Annual Bethlehem Life Coaches for Kids outing at Ham Lake Baptist Camp!  God get's a little bit more glory this year since we had double the amount of kids and adults running around playing soccer and kickball (10 mentors/mentees total) and all of our muscles and joints held together!

Enjoying some carpet bowling before our trail hike.

The highlight of the evening was a chance to talk about the Gospel with the kids at the campfire.  I was asking the kids (all boys) how significant God was compared to a person, and they were having a fun time showing how much more important God was with hand gestures and suggesting "to the moon," "to the stars," etc.  Then we talked about how big just one sin against God was compared to one sin against a person -- the same superlatives came up.  "How angry is God over just one sin?"  The boys probably knew where this was going, but they continued to enjoy suggesting "to the sky!"  I asked them what the consequences should be, and they excitedly talked about how huge of a punishment we deserve.  It was a pretty interesting sight to witness.  I'd never seen a group so happily talk about eternal damnation!  I remember thinking there's no way I can get these kids to mellow out.  Then the possums came.

The peaceful pre-possum campfire.

We were right next to the woods and heard three animals getting closer and louder.  All the adults sitting closest to the woods were trying to figure out what was going on with all the clawing around.  We shined our lights around and found one of the possums.  He just stared back and seemed intent to continue looking for a way to get under the fence to get closer.  This was strange, and one of the hunters in our group mentioned animals will do this when they're rabid.  We must have felt confident enough in our small mammal fighting skills, because we decided to not give up camp.  We put a couple people on flashlight patrol in case the possums launched an assault.

At the time I thought, "Great, now the boys will be even more giddy thinking about getting attacked from some of the silliest looking creatures in Minnesota."  But, surprisingly, their mood was much more focused than before.  We talked about Christ as the perfect substitute sacrifice for all who believe, His role as our ultimate reconsiler, and how He is proof of God's immeasurable love for us.  Then we had a nice little Q&A afterward about what it means to trust in Christ. 

To my surprise, the possums had actually helped settle the kids down -- and they even wandered off for the rest of the night after their surprise visit.  Perhaps they were on "a mission from God." :)  Whatever the case, we're praising God for an excellent evening of bonding, discussion, injury-free games, and unique campfire experience!

Our group.  They represent one third of our Life Coaches & Kids.

A Mother's Plea

I recently received this message from one of the mothers of a child on our waiting list.  Her earnest desire for a Christ-centered mentor for her son is echoed among so many mothers we work with:

Dear Tony, my son is an active, loving, outgoing seven-year-old. He is really into sports, and is eager to learn.  He is very intelligent. He says his dream someday, is to be in the NBA. 

He may be our ministry's most faithful prayer.

My son has one sister. He is very close to his sister.  They have stuck together during hard times. Their dad was verbally and emotionally abusive. Fortunately, my son was only two so he doesn’t remember much. He was dedicated to the Lord a few years ago, and he loves Jesus. I strive everyday to show him what is best in life, but he is still missing a Christian male role model.

My son has been on the waiting list for 20 months now. We pray together every single day for God to bring the right mentor. He has been very patient. I know God has His own timing, and that is one thing My son is learning through all this.  

This young man lives in Bloomington and has the difficult distinction of being on our waiting list longer than any other.  We are doing our Fall promotion this weekend at all Bethlehem campuses.  Please join me in praying that mentors come forward for him and many of the 30 other father absent children on our list.  Please consider forwarding the blog link on to anyone you know who might be interested in mentoring, especially with the young man above.