After two weeks of English Camp, one tends to feel ridden hard and put away wet. But what a ride it was! It's going to be difficult to cram two weeks and two camps into one report. I'll strive for brevity, but I promise nothing.

During the first camp week, there were only 13 campers, and almost as many leaders. Even though small in number, the energy was there, and many said it was the best camp they'd been to. I "history" now with these kids and leaders, and smaller size meant more interactions with any one person. They're a part of my life now. It's cool to see how they have grown, not just in stature, but in character.

My first-week English group had a pretty wide spread of abilities, so it was a challenge to find activities that were appropriate for everyone. One of my students' English was excellent, so I don't know how much he got out of my class, but we got to be friends, and I think that helped him gain more confidence in his interactions with other campers (he was rather shy), and was glad to see how other kids started to encourage him as well.

The second camp week was nearly twice the population. I regretted that the two camps aren't separated by a week of rest! After an intense first week, my reserves were low. The first week made me feel like a kid, with all the requisite adolescent antics; the second week, I felt like an old man, and my interactions were more adult-y.

I ended up giving the message on the second-week Wednesday night, which is the main spiritual "come to Jesus" program of the week. I spent a lot of my free time until then holed up in my room getting ready for it, so I participated less in the activities the second week. But the talk seemed to go well. Afterward, quite a few kids expressed a first-time desire to know Jesus, and several more to reaffirm their faith in Him. And a few of them came up to me in the following days and told me they appreciated it.

I had a long and intense conversation with one leader, who is dealing with some really heavy things in life. I listened more than anything, but it was a privilege to be able to share this burden. I carry these quite regularly to God. For so many this week is an "oasis" from the struggles at home and life. The spiritual resources for young people (or old people for that matter) who desire to know and follow Jesus are shockingly limited in this part of the world--that's ultimately what brings me here.

I've now completed my fifth camp. I always go into these camps with some fear and trepidation; my English-teaching skills are not really where I shine, and hanging out with this age group, while I enjoy it, it also makes me relive my own insecure inner adolescence. But yet somehow at the end of the camps, I'm always glad I did it, and can see ways that God has used me, often in less tangible ways. Being able to watch God at work in their lives, and to see how they minister to one another, and to me, is a joy and privilege.

So now I'm back at my flat in the Krč neighborhood of Prague on Budějovická Street. It still smells like IKEA, especially today in our second day of a record-breaking heat wave across Europe. Fortunately, we should soon drop to more normal levels.

Thanks for coming along this camp adventure with me, and thanks for praying for me along the way...and please keep it up! And do be praying for these kids, many of whom face an uphill battle. Pray that God would raise up wise, godly leaders among them and for them.

And as my "lite" Czech class wraps up in a couple weeks, my "super-mega" class begins a week later...I will be counting on prayers to get me through!

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