After the Friday afternoon infusion in Girona, I was a new man… not 100%, but at least able to stand and speak with a stronger voice. On Saturday morning, we read: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3) What are these spiritual blessings we have in Christ? It is a good question to ponder and it good to search the Word to see what the Spirit says. It is encouraging to listen to brothers and sisters in Christ from different nations praise God for blessings in Christ. So many are using God’s gifts for His Kingdom.
Perhaps the best athlete in the group of American coaches is a girl about Karlyn’s age named Maggie. (I wrote about her last year.) She coaches college cheerleaders, high school and middle school athletes, and young girls in Tyler, Texas. Maggie has an unbelievable way of connecting with kids, but she is a no-nonsense coach. Having cheered at Baylor University and then professionally for the Houston Rockets and the Indianapolis Colts, she knows what it takes to be good. Maggie has the gift of ‘speaking the truth in love.’ This is a spiritual blessing in Christ that God wants us all to put to use. ‘Yes,’ the world needs to hear truth, but truth must be told in love. Jesus did this perfectly and we must depend on the Holy Spirit to follow Him. Maggie does just that.
On Sunday, we met in the large dining dining pavilion as many past counselors and leaders joined us for worship and Communion. The campers were to arrive Sunday afternoon. As the hour approached to kick off camp, where should we focus? While Jesus ate His Last Supper with His disciples before His death, He also taught. He gave new meaning to the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine in the Passover meal. He then left us an example: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:14-15)
As Jesus served, so we are to serve…. As Jesus loves us, so we are to love others… as Jesus gave Himself away, so we are to give ourselves away. The philosophy of L’Arcada is to provide a setting where kids can work hard at the sports they love and experience the love of God through relationships built. ‘They must see Jesus in us!’ At the end of the week, someone shares the Gospel verbally, but other conversations come throughout the week as campers notice something different in these counselors and coaches who follow Jesus.
Dave and Cindy reported at the end of the summer that God had worked powerfully in all of the 2022 camps. There seemed to be more ‘seeking’ than ever before. Teenagers who had never read a Bible were asking where they might get one. One hundred Bibles in the Catalan language were ordered and anyone who asked for one received. On their own, kids were getting up early in the morning to pray and seek God’s will in His Word. Coaches and counselors were able to answer questions and discuss ‘problems in real life.’ Several campers and at least one Spanish worker gave themselves to Christ and many seeds were planted.
We told everyone ‘good-bye’ Sunday night and the Sanchezes took us back to the Girona Hospital Monday morning. We hoped I could quickly receive two units of platelets and take the train to Barcelona to spend most of our last day in Spain. My doctor friend had other plans. I suspect she ordered the platelets be given to me as late in the day as possible so they would hold for the flight home. We spent 11.5 hours at the hospital. The trains had shut down by the time I was released. Dave, who had led the grueling first two days of camp, picked us up and drove 1.5 hours to a hotel Susan reserved near the airport in Barcelona. We arrived after 11:00 pm, then Dave turned around and drove 2 hours back to camp. He sacrificed himself for us. Dave and Cindy are true friends.
After a wonderful breakfast at the hotel Tuesday morning, we took a shuttle to the airport and caught our flight to Atlanta. The platelets held; our dear friend Tim picked us up; God got us home.
‘My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.’ John 15:12