Sonlife

As summer winds down and the new school year ramps up, I am reminded of a very special summer event David and I were blessed to host every summer for many years—Sonlife Bible Camp. It was only one week out of the summer, but one we all looked forward to with great anticipation. My son Drew and I were reminiscing over the weekend and talking about the powerful influence one week of camp had on the lives of the campers. Many came year after year and shared that it was their shelter in the storms of their lives.

David had the idea of naming the cabins after the tribes of Israel, and one particular summer a revival broke out in the tribe of Issachar of all places. That tribe was made up of 10-11 year old girls, and this particular summer the group was struggling with bonding.🙄. In fact, to be honest, at least one or two girls had come with no intention of “playing well with others”.

What happened that week was so beautiful I have never forgotten it. One little girl led another one to the Lord, and Jesus “moved in to that cabin.”One after the other accepted Jesus and the “mean and divisive” bullying (hurting) little girls were healed and set free.

Some adults questioned if it was worth the hassle, serving in very hot and uncomfortable circumstances, sleeping in bunks and trekking to the bathhouse in the middle of the night, with only one week to really make a difference in the lives of these precious kids, but for them it wasn’t one week, it was the beginning of their walk with God. It was the place where Jesus became real to them, where they were wrapped in His unconditional love, where lifelong friends were made. For some, it was a shelter from the storm.

When David was diagnosed with cancer in 2011, one of the hardest things to let go of was Sonlife. I tried desperately to figure out how to keep it going, but we spent that summer “recovering” from surgery.

But for those many years, we were blessed to be a part of a special move of God through Sonlife and experience over and over again the reality of Jesus’s promise.

“If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.”