Camp Hope (Brian's Perspective)

From July 17- July 23rd the EOH interns have been helping out with running Camp Hope. Camp Hope is a 5 day camp where EOH partners up with another organization (Teen Mania) to teach about Jesus to the children in the Chongwe community.



Teen mania brings about 60 teenagers from all over the United States to live in tents and help to put this camp together. Its a pretty large operation and includes 275 children, 60 teenagers, 25 translators, 10 cooks, and everyone in EOH. All the cooks and translators are local volunteers who give up an entire week to work at the camp. I took a picture of all the cooks (we call them mamas) who helped to cook breakfast and lunch for 300 people with only a few big pots, firewood, coal, and water from the nearby well as their tools. It was pretty tiring just watching some of them get up at 6 or 7 in the morning to start breakfast and finish washing the last dish at 9 or 10 at night.




The children come from all over the community sometimes walking 20 km every day to arrive at camp each day. During camp, they get a free shirt, a bandanna, 2 big meals, get to do a variety of crafts, and, most importantly, they get loved by 60 teenager who all have a heart for children and who all want to tell them about the love of Jesus.

The children all arrive around 8 AM to eat breakfast. They then get in groups of 10-15 and together with 2-3 teenagers and a translator, they go out into a large field for bible stories, crafts, and fun. Even though English is the national language, most of the younger children speak the local dialect first (Nyanja) and don't understand English very well. That is the reason for the translators.

During this time, Andrea and I and the other interns are in the background making sure the teams have their supplies, helping to hand out and feed the children during lunch, and just making sure things are running smoothly. When we get some free time, we walk the field taking picture and praying for the camp in general.

Here are some pictures of the groups that were sitting around the field...







Honestly, sometimes it's hard for me to really get fully on board with these camps. It takes so much resources to put a camp on like this and I wonder if it would not be better to just use those resources elsewhere. I think its partly because I tend to just see the numbers and resources that gets put in and don't fully know the depths of the spiritual return and it makes me doubt . I know a lot people talk about the value of a single soul and I fully agree and understand that it is priceless, but when there are 70 people from teen mania who come out to Zambia for 2 weeks and they each have to raise ~4k dollars, I think about how the $280,000 dollars could have been used to build 6 or 7 more orphanages and I wonder if a 1 week camp makes sense.

It helps to know that EOH makes sure that anyone who has accepted Christ will be followed up with the local church and I honestly do hope and pray that those that accept Christ during this week will grow and that the seeds that we plant will fall on good soil (Mark 4:1-20).

I also know that a lot of the people who come to Zambia are changed and go back to their local church in the US and inspire people to get involved. It's one way to disciple the church and something I've realized is of utmost importance. I feel that the God of Zambia has so much to teach the American church and people who come here should go back to their local church to inspire the church and teach them all God is going in Zambia.

Sometimes it saddens me that the church body would gladly donate thousands of dollars for someone they know to come on a missions trip, but would not donate $50 a month to sponsor a child in Zambia to ensure that a child's spiritual and physical needs are met. I know there is a need for both types of funds though and I am happy that people are willing to give to God's Kingdom.

With all these doubts during the week, it was a struggle sometimes. In many ways, I am tainted and sometimes sceptical and cynical about how effective these camps may be. I wonder if I would be changed if someone spent a week with me. I don't know if my mind/heart works that way. But I know that I'm not like everyone and it's been a while since I was a little child. What encouraged me was that at the end of the camp, kids were hugging, crying and would not let go of their teachers. They felt so strongly towards these American teenager who could not even speak their language that they just wanted to hug them longer. And in that moment, I understand that maybe a week could change a child's life. Maybe not every child, but some and if just a handful of children were changed forever, then this camp was worth it.