2016 Archives: Story of Life Change at YFC Camp

November 9, 2021

story

By Maria Goodman

We recently took 32 Siouxland kids to two YFC Camps in late July and early August- Sunstream MS Camp in Odgen, IA and Quaker Ridge HS Camp in Woodland Park, CO. What a beautiful setting to unplug from normal life and be able to hear God speak! This year we talked about giving God our mess and saying YES to him! YES JESUS! is what I heard over and over again on a cool evening as hundreds of students wrote letters to God about their mess and contemplated giving their lives to him.

I had the privilege to sit by a group of boys from Le Mars. Matt is one of those boys that has a lot of mess in his life. His mom is a meth addict and he was removed from her home, because she wasn’t taking care of him. Then he was placed with his dad, who has anger issues. As I sat there and prayed for these kids, the music started and I started to hear, YES, from all around me! As we stood up and gathered our groups, student after student came up to me and told me they had said YES to Jesus! Then Matt walked up to me and excitedly exclaimed, “I’m a Christ follower now!” Did Matt’s mess go away when he got home? No, but now Matt has someone that he can lean on when times get tough!

Of the 26 Siouxland youth that attended camp this year, 13 kids made first time commitments to Christ, and four said yes again to God’s gift of salvation! Thank you to those that made this possible, and to the seven ministry staff and volunteers from Sioux City and Le Mars who took time to build relationships with these kids and by loving on them!