Coloring Contest at Camp!

I have contemplated what to write tonight, and I decided on the coloring contest we had in G5! Everyday at 1:30 we have a time for rest. It's called F.O.B., short for Flat-on-Back, Flat-on-belly, you can go on and on, but you get the idea. During the hour and fifteen minutes, the CIA's get time off while the campers are to REST during that time. I stayed during F.O.B. to help mainly with Destiny, as led by the Lord. During that time, our cabin DID NOT rest. Our cabin was full of little down's and autistic girls who lack in the social skills arena, and just about everyday wound up fighting with one another...

On day #5 I was in helping with Destiny when one of our campers threw up on herself, and the staff and I started working on getting her cleaned up, when the other 4 or 5 girls started fighting. I stopped and prayed. The Lord gave me an idea! A coloring contest!

I stopped, separated Ronni from whatever camper she was trying to steal from at the moment, and said, "Why don't we have a coloring contest!" The girls were excited! I told them they could only participate if they were on their beds and quiet! I got out papers and they each started coloring! Ah! I had them quiet, and coloring, and most of all, NOT FIGHTING!

For 45 minutes they colored! Some of them even had 3 pages done when everyone came back! They even said, "please" when they wanted me to come over and say "Good Job!"

One of our campers didn't color at first. And, I let it go. I mean, she was laying in bed, not bothering anyone, so I went on. I looked over a little while later and she was coloring, but she was trying to hide it from me! I acted like I knew nothing! After it was all over, she walked over and gave it to me and I gave her a huge hug! It was so cute!

All they really wanted was for someone to cheer them on as they colored! Even little Ms. Sara was saying "Please" and staying in bed! By the time everyone came back, I felt as if God had used me to do this amazingly huge task! I was ecstatic! In reality, it was just a coloring contest! Not a big deal. But, if you knew how those girls built our character at times, you'd understand why I wanted to do cartwheels down the aisle in the cabin. (Well, I can't really do cartwheels, but you get the idea!)

In thinking about it tonight, that's all we all want...someone to encourage us...give us a pat on the back...tell us what a good job we're doing! Even as adults we're not any different than those children. That's part of why I want to be the best, genuine, encourager on the planet! We all need that...we all need that unconditional love and encouragement.

By the way, I kept the pictures...they're all going in my scrapbook!

Life.
Is.
Good.