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Seattle Youth Take A Creation Journey
In the midst of urban Seattle, children's laughter trickled from Rainier Avenue Church's Journey Summer Day Camp. Instead of sitting in front of the television, unsupervised while their parents worked, over 130 children and teens had the opportunity to attend the 3-week OBI sponsored Bless-A-Child activity last summer!
Stahnzia was just one of the campers that got to take a journey through God's creation. Still dealing with her mother's recent death, this 6-year-old was very wary of being away from her father and beginning camp. "As she built trust, Stahnzia began to share with me her feelings about her mother," stated children's pastor Sara Schoenhals. "Her whole personality opened up and she was soon laughing and singing with enough enthusiasm to match anyone!"
Leaders focused on fulfilling physical needs, as well as emphasizing character development and education for both the multi-ethnic child campers and youth counselors. Activities included field trips to the Children's Museum, The Seattle Aquarium, Kelsey Creek Farm, roller-skating, and the beach as well as daily crafts, chapel, and group game time.
One day's lesson concentrated on God creating humans. The kids traced their bodies on large butcher paper and wrote "God created (and their name)" on the front. The finished self-portraits were hung around the building. One afternoon a little boy was going down the hall and Pastor Schoenhals followed a distance behind. He walked slowly looking at all the bodies and saying over and over, as though he was just beginning to understand, "God created me! God created me!"
When not with the campers, the youth were trained in cross-cultural urban ministry. One counselor wrote after camp, "The greatest thing I learned this summer was compassion."
Local community organizations also got on board in helping Rainier Avenue Church have a successful program! City of Seattle's Sack Lunch Program provided nutritious lunches and snacks each day and Child Evangelism Fellowship helped in advertising the camp around the urban community.
As Pastor Schoenhals and her team get ready for this year's summer day camp with OBI's Bless-A-Child program, they remember the many camper's whose self-confidence was brought to a new level while learning about friendship, the value of diversity, and language arts skills when writing in their journals. "The contributions from OBI made a tremendous impact on our ability to reach children in the Rainier Valley who couldn't afford registration fees or supplies," commented Pastor Schoenhals. This year, they hope by increasing the camp to four weeks, both the children and youth will grow more than before!
During the Bless-A-Child 2001 season, OBI is partnering with numerous national and international organizations in activities like the Journey Summer Day Camp.
Please help us make a difference in a child's life by giving your generous gift here...
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