Showing God’s love to sixth graders. -Silas Todd, Liberty-Benton MS
I attended Liberty-Benton (LB) schools growing up and remember going to Camp Storer for a week in the sixth grade. It was such a growing experience to be away from home and have the opportunity to
try several new things.
So, imagine how excited I was when I was asked to be one of the cabin leaders for this year’s LB sixth
grade camp! My hope in leading a group, was to build new relationships with students that don’t attend LB Campus Life and build into their lives. Also, serving the school in this practical way gives me the ability to build authentic relationships with the school and support the school administration.
The focus of Camp Storer is outdoor education, which allowed me to journey with students as we held
snakes, rode horses, fished and canoed – things I love! I also helped with the social growth of the students.
For five days and four nights, students lived in a cabin, away from home, with a leader and 10 peers. While many of the students had spent a night at a friend’s house, almost none of them had been away from home for so long without a parent. This meant that I got to walk alongside students as they learned to keep track of their things, prepare for each day, brush their teeth, use deodorant, and get to bed on their own for the first time.
One student, Xavier, was really missing home and in a simple way, I offered comfort through prayer. Additionally, I felt God use me as I counseled students who were missing their normal routines and dealing with people that they didn’t always get along with. Over the week, I saw tremendous
growth in every one of the boys within my cabin. I was blessed with the opportunity to help them become more capable people, and in doing so was able to show them the love of Jesus.
A praise is that one of my campers who had never been to Campus Life before, started coming after camp! Since then, we have had Christ- sharing conversations that have stemmed from our shared experience at Camp Storer! Praise God!