I just got back from 2 camps. I started out at Garden City (at the beach) for a week full of screaming, ice cream, water slides and of course ministry! After the Thursday morning session, I drove straight to camp #2--a Missionary Kids (MK) camp.
Although they will be stuck with the MK label for life, they're actually all about to enter college. Some of them flew straight in from the country where their family serves. Most of them don't really favor USA culture and want to go back overseas. Makes you re-think that missionaries are "giving up so much" to go overseas (at least culturally)--when in fact they wouldn't have it any other way. They see the average American Christian as really missing out.
The worship services confirmed my theory that the key to vibrant worship is the perspective of relying on God and grace in daily life and then coming together to celebrate in that together--not "being starved for worship" (as some think is the reason as to why missionaries worship so well) and not the "professionalism" of a service (people can congregate and be sincerely impressed by the Olympic opening ceremony without having a deep love of China).
All in all it was a good trip. Hard to believe it was within a week's time.
