We recently took 9 girls from Willow Pond to a Christian sports camp called Kids Across America (KAA). The theme at KAA this summer was Romans 5:8:
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Throughout the week the girls had the chance to be involved in lots of different activities. One of these activities was a challenge course called Tree Tops. Tree Tops is an opportunity to conquer your fear of heights by navigating through a course of ropes, lines, and nets. At the end, you repel to the ground from about 30 feet up in the air.
At KAA, the girls had plenty to do! There were dance parties and lot’s of sports (basketball, baseball, football, and numerous others). But, I think the most fun was during meal times.
During the meals, there there were chants or calls for everything. You never knew when someone would break out in song or dance. For example, our table would yell “we get hype for Jesus, yeah we get hype for Jesus.” Then you point to the next table and yell “do you get hype for Jesus?” This wouldn’t stop until every table had chanted! It was an emotional and exciting atmosphere where you could let loose and be crazy.
Another cool part of the meals was how we ate. We started off meals by serving the person next to us – never ourselves – and we didn’t eat until everyone at the table had food on their plate. It taught the girls how to serve and how to put others before themselves.
The music was amazing: Christian hip hop rang through the air all day long!
The girls swam every day in a pool with different rip lines, diving boards, and a blob. The blob is a huge air cushion that shoots you into the air as you free fall into the water.
I think my favorite part of the week was Crosstalk. Crosstalk is a time when every kid gets together and witnesses what Jesus did for them. Actors act out the Crucifixion and what it took for us to be forgiven. This was powerful. At the end, the kids are asked if anyone would like to give their life to Christ. I am proud to say three girls recommitted their life to Christ that night! With tears in their eyes, we prayed together as they asked God to forgive them, and we talked about what repentance is and how we need to feed our spirits to be a healthy Christian.
It was an amazing time that I know the girls will never forget, and on the way home we were blessed to hear all the things they had learned.
By the way, I learned a few things about myself, too, and we are all looking forward to going back next year!
-- Rickey Fanning
