It is night-time and everyone is asleep. The compound is quiet. A few dogs are barking and some music is
still playing at the nearby bar. Some
folks are drinking and partying although it’s the middle of the week. A small
girl is in bed, she tosses and turns as once again, her father appears in her
dream. He comes and she stirs but does
not wake, he gives her instructions and then disappears but not without warning
her not to ever speak of his visits to anyone. Some nights it’s not her father
who appears but her grandmother who lives on the other side of town. She does
not give her instructions but takes her to a faraway village. A place where there is a meeting going on. It is at that meeting where the elders take
her blood. She wakes every morning dazed.
There is no joy in her eyes, she goes outside and sees them. The men sent to watch her. She notices one day though that she is the
only one able to see them. This is no
ordinary story; it is the life of a little girl I met at camp.
Our family participated in CampLife the second week in June
and it was an amazing experience! After being in Zambia for more than 5 years,
working with children that have been abused, forsaken and forgotten, I felt
like I had this under control. We have seen so much, what’s one more story, one
more child? Every life story is
unbelievably painful to hear and without the grace of God, we would not have
made it one day, let alone the entire week.
It is very common for children to have nightmares due to
witchcraft, either in their immediate family or a neighbor who lives
nearby. This has been so shocking to me,
that every single one of the ten girls in my group had nightmares due to
witchcraft. I have done what I know to
do best, pray. I’ve prayed for the girls
to be delivered from the spirit of deception and divination. Conversely, the worship experience left me
speechless every time. To see 800+ children
worship and dance was more than my heart could take, many times all I could do
was cry. The Bible says “…at the name of
Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord…” That is exactly what happens at camp and in
three weeks when it ends more than 7000 children will have come for a weeklong
time away with God.
The children who come are from all around Lusaka, some are
orphans who are unwanted by even their relatives. Others have been physically, emotionally and
verbally abused. They come not really
knowing what to expect but when they encounter their creator, all the pain and
hurt disappears for just those few moments and they are free. For the first time in a long time, they are
free to dance, free to run, free to sing, and all of it they do with a joy that
comes from their “Papa God O”. Their
Father holds those things that have hurt them for so long at bay so that His
children can receive the hope that was meant for them since the beginning of
time.
The week of camp was life changing for us as a
family. Words cannot describe the impact
it has had on us, especially the children.
