Luther Springs counselor Ricky remembers what his camper Jack* was like when he arrived last summer. Jack was a part of a group that traveled from out of state to participate in a Disaster Response program on the Florida Gulf Coast, an experience that seemed to put Jack outside of his comfort zone.
“He was very stand-offish when he first arrived,” Ricky recalls. “He had never done disaster work before and wasn’t really sure what this trip was supposed to be for him. He wasn’t eager to participate at first and didn’t really want to be there.”
When the group began to drive out to places in the community where they would be serving, Jack began to see first-hand the hurricane devastation that was all around. “Jack later told me that he wasn’t aware such damage was even possible,” Ricky remembers. “What we saw really affected him and made him start to pay attention to people and what they had been through.”
At a food pantry near the beach, a local volunteer shared how the day after the hurricane moved through, they opened the food pantry and gave away all the food inside to anyone who needed it. “I noticed that story really started to open Jack’s eyes to what we were doing that week,” Ricky says.
Seeing the needs of the community wasn’t the only experience that had an impact on Jack. The opportunity to gather in unique ways for faith conversations was important too. “One afternoon our service project finished early, so we went to the beach,” Ricky recalls. “We decided to go in the water and have a Bible study right there. Floating around in the ocean and talking about God is so different than sitting in a church. For Jack, that really connected him to his faith in a powerful way.”
As the week went on Ricky says Jack started to open up and became an entirely different person. “He really started listening to the people in the community and was interested in their stories,” Ricky says. “He became more engaged with the group too. He was the first to answer questions and was eager to help out any way he could. And the more he was into it, the more his friends got into it too. He really became a leader in that way.”
At the end of the week, Jack shared his gratitude for the experiences he had. “I didn’t realize how much faith means to people in need,” Jack told Ricky. “They’ve lost so much, and yet they’re still hopeful. This week has shown me what faith is all about.”
Thank you for your gifts to NovusWay which give campers like Jack the opportunity to grow as they serve those recovering from disasters. Disaster Response weeks resume at all NovusWay camps this summer as we continue to serve those affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton.
* Camper named changed for privacy.
NovusWay Ministries
PO Box 830
Arden, NC 28704
www.novusway.org
