The campers cannot seem to stop talking about what they experienced at Camp Reboot. Yesterday at school I was made to do a review of the camp for those who were not there, which included everything from playing the games and flowing into the talks. It was pretty exciting to think that the children didn't mind listening to an hour talk for the second time.
If anyone had ever told me that relationships could start off by just sharing about one’s physical scars, I would have never agreed. One grade 7 boy from Grandmore Primary and I bonded over our scars and we were able to relate to one another. I also noticed that this shared pain even enhanced cooperation and cohesion within the group. He was one of the first students who volunteered to do the obstacle course without having thought through the outcome. This opened up an opportunity for me to engage with him beyond just surface level conversation.
Saturday night we went through the little booklet called, "How to be a follower of Jesus?" On the first few pages were these words written in bold, YOU ARE SPECIAL because... coupled by reasons such as, just to mention a few,
1) God made You
2) God loves you
In our small groups, I could see the girls having that light bulb moment of I AM SPECIAL! Once we stop trying to self-identify and start seeing ourselves through God’s eye, we appreciate who we are. It was almost as though a veil had been removed from their eyes, especially for those who lacked confidence in themselves. They seemed to regain their self-esteem over night because the next morning they were new people who had chosen to believe in the very word of God that says we are created in his image. So this is a lesson for everyone: Once we start listening to the Creator instead of the creation we will have different perspective about everything. A product never defines itself, but rather, a product is defined by the One who makes it, not the one who discovers it. By understanding this fully means we won't have people struggling with their identity.
Kyle Middleton
KwaZulu Natal
