Day one of camp, Alen was one of the first to show up. We could tell he was nervous but after a few games and learning our new camp dance, he started to loosen up. In English class, though he was one of the younger kids in camp he was excelling over some of the older campers, and by the end of the day he had started to really click with everyone at camp. After our first evening session, talking about Jesus as the original, that no one else could compare to, Alen opened up about some of the struggles he had in school in his small village outside of the city. He would try to fit in at school, but some of the kids would try to get him to do things he knew he shouldn’t, and when he would make excuses to leave, they would show up at his house, trying harder and harder to pull him in.
By the end of week, the best way we learned to describe Alen was a 12 year old with a 40 year olds personality, in an 8 year olds body. Small in stature, but intelligent, proper and matter of fact. When outside, he wore his European style man bag and a hat to block the sun, but inside out of the heat, would avoid any room with too much A/C to avoid ensure he didn’t pick up a cold (in serbia, sitting on the cold tile, or in a a room with moving air like a gust between windows or the pumping of the air conditioning is enough to give you a nasty cold, even when in 105 degree weather like we had at camp this year).
Before leaving I asked Alen if we would see him tomorrow. He just gave me a funny look and said “Tomorrow!? I’ll be here all week!” As if my question was ridiculous, why would he leave camp early after such an awesome day. We found out later in the week that Alen had been invited to camp after camp but never wanted to go. He had a lot of fear and anxiety about joining in on the camp in the city, but after just a few hours our team of Hungarian-Serbs and Americans made him feel included, safe, appreciated, and loved.
Half way through camp, Alen, of course came in tired and with a cold. He spent a lot of time in a small room in the back of church. Not wanting to be out in the heat, but also avoiding the air conditioning in the big room where the rest of the campers were playing. Again before leaving I asked Alen if we would see him tomorrow… This time he wasn’t so sure, just “I hope so.” I told him I would be praying for him at night and that I believed he would better in the morning and would come in ready to connect with us. He did.
Our last day of camp, the shy boy who at his first camp, worried about being bullied and catching a cold had opened up his life to us. We ended the night with our talent show, where his perfectly memorized poem about how kids should stop watching TV and start reading (remember that 40 yr old personality I talked about) had the Hungarians rolling, then he wrapped the entire camp up by DJ-ing our dance party and showing us all the traditional Penguin Dance (right, right, left, left, front, back, hop, hop, hop).
I learned a lot from the kids at camp this week, from Alen, I learned how to be exactly who God made me to be, nothing more, nothing less.
By the end of week, the best way we learned to describe Alen was a 12 year old with a 40 year olds personality, in an 8 year olds body. Small in stature, but intelligent, proper and matter of fact. When outside, he wore his European style man bag and a hat to block the sun, but inside out of the heat, would avoid any room with too much A/C to avoid ensure he didn’t pick up a cold (in serbia, sitting on the cold tile, or in a a room with moving air like a gust between windows or the pumping of the air conditioning is enough to give you a nasty cold, even when in 105 degree weather like we had at camp this year).
Before leaving I asked Alen if we would see him tomorrow. He just gave me a funny look and said “Tomorrow!? I’ll be here all week!” As if my question was ridiculous, why would he leave camp early after such an awesome day. We found out later in the week that Alen had been invited to camp after camp but never wanted to go. He had a lot of fear and anxiety about joining in on the camp in the city, but after just a few hours our team of Hungarian-Serbs and Americans made him feel included, safe, appreciated, and loved.
Half way through camp, Alen, of course came in tired and with a cold. He spent a lot of time in a small room in the back of church. Not wanting to be out in the heat, but also avoiding the air conditioning in the big room where the rest of the campers were playing. Again before leaving I asked Alen if we would see him tomorrow… This time he wasn’t so sure, just “I hope so.” I told him I would be praying for him at night and that I believed he would better in the morning and would come in ready to connect with us. He did.
Our last day of camp, the shy boy who at his first camp, worried about being bullied and catching a cold had opened up his life to us. We ended the night with our talent show, where his perfectly memorized poem about how kids should stop watching TV and start reading (remember that 40 yr old personality I talked about) had the Hungarians rolling, then he wrapped the entire camp up by DJ-ing our dance party and showing us all the traditional Penguin Dance (right, right, left, left, front, back, hop, hop, hop).
I learned a lot from the kids at camp this week, from Alen, I learned how to be exactly who God made me to be, nothing more, nothing less.
