The past few weeks have been my confirmation...what I'm doing means something. That it matters. And at the heart / the core of it all, it's been about Jesus.
I was in Petah Tikva at the Bapist Village working as a counselor (skit actor, dishwasher, human jungle gym in the pool, helper, food server, song leader, etc.) with other adults/young adults for the first two weeks of August. The first week the campers were rising 10th and 9th graders, the second, rising 8th and 7th graders.
The younger group listened a bit more to the authority of counselors and did what we asked when we asked, while the older group was easier to relate to and some good conversations of occurred regarding the deeper aspects of life.
(camp with rising 9th and 10th graders)
It was all exhausting as sleep never went above 5 or 6 hours a night followed by full days of activity. However, when Friday came all of us leaders could say "it was worth it". New relationships had been formed, kids knew that they had been loved unconditionally all week, and lots of kids were taking steps to making the biggest decision of life in my opinion, following Jesus.
Furthermore, in the middle of the two weeks, on Saturday, Aug 8th, I pretty much set up and ran my own Young Life club in this village called Ibiliin (ee-bi-leen) where we have literally just started YL. One introductory club happened in June, and we wanted to have one more before Young Life Camp - Aug 25th-Aug 29th (something to pray for).
My supervisor, Hunter, is the idea man behind this, but he was in America at the time. So it fell to me. This random kid from Ashburn, VA (more or less) to set up club in a little village just outside Nazareth.....hahaha. I went with a fellow part time YL leader here, Wa-el who's from Gaza (again, hahaha) and we did it. The games were fun, the songs could have used a better singer, and then I gave a message about Zacchaeus's encounter with Jesus. How some quality time spent with JC changed this wee little man's life. (oh and about 30% of my message was in Arabic, woop woop!)
It went great and I think there will be 10-15 kids from Ibiliin joining us for YL Camp! As Wa-el and I drove home, there was a smile on my face for most of the ride. I was simply happy and thankful thinking about what I get to do-----First camp, then club. I didn't think I could or would ever do stuff like this.
(dunno if I'm the boss but love this dude Nezar from Ibiliin.
Thumbs up because he's coming to camp)
After the camps I received some more words of affirmation from some of the "grown up adults" thanking me for my help and being a blessing of service.
For me, it's all I want. To say yes to opportunities to help while being apart of something that matters.
(cabin #40 boys - first week)
(while it took 30-40min to get the older kids to get ready for breakfast,
this is how the younger ones approached. First cabin to sit ate first...crazy)
Thanks for keeping up, and here's to another year of day to day life in Nazareth!
Your prayers and support are still needed as none of this happens without you.
donation link - https://ylx.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/zackmiller1
Cheers to the last weeks of Summer - Zack
