One of the greatest benefits of World Impact’s camps is the opportunity to take kids and families from the city and give them a retreat into nature. However, my favorite part of summer camps was always taking teens and young adults from suburban or small town areas and giving them a taste of urban culture. It often creates a clash, as these young people are made to learn to work and play together for a short time.
The last summer my family worked at camp, I clearly saw this clash of cultures. There were two teen girls who were on our summer staff and they clearly did not get along. One was a white girl from Topeka and another was an African-American girl from Dallas. It was evident from early on in the summer program that they were not getting along.
I took them both aside to figure out what the problem was. It took some patience but eventually the girl from Dallas said she decided she did not like the girl from Topeka because of a joke that she had made. The girl from Topeka was astonished – she had made the joke because she specifically thought that the other girl would think it was funny – she was trying to be her friend! It turned out that all it came down to was different ways of communicating, because they came from different cultures. Through some talking out, I was able to show them how differently they communicated. I guided them to learn how to meet each other in the middle and listen to each other with respect. By the end of the summer, they left as friends who mutually cared for respected each other.
That summer on our staff we had young people from Dallas, Wichita, Topeka; from suburban, urban and farm areas; black, white, Hispanic, and even one from Thailand. By the end of the summer, they had formed a family. They all had learned to work together and communicate with respect and love. It was a taste of “every tribe and language and people and nation” that we will experience in heaven (Rev 5:9).
During the weeks of July, young adults, teenagers and kids are gathering at Morning Star Ranch again to retreat and hear about Christ. Staff and volunteers will be interacting with cultures that are not their own. My prayer for them is that they will have that same taste of heaven and God will be glorified!
