A Fabulous Year at English for Kids

ENGLISH FOR KIDS 2018 (St-Georges, Quebec)by Tristan Joy, Covenant OPC, Barre, Vermont (July 2018) This was one of my best years ever at "English for Kids" Bible Camp!This year marked the tenth year of this camp (in St-Georges, Quebec), and our theme was the Book of Jonah.The memory verse was “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you..." (Jonah 2:9-10). I heard at one of our staff meetings that the kids really loved that verse and that they had memorized it pretty quickly.This was my fourth year at English for Kids, my second year in sports, and my first year as a leader. I was the Sports Leader, along with my assistant Alyssa Lagee. There was a heatwave going on during the first three days of camp, but that didn’t stop us! Before the trip, I was afraid I wouldn’t be good enough to lead sports. But, I was wrong, God helped me throughout  the week to have fun leading the kids. Setting a good example is one important thing about being a good leader because you are the person the kids look up to.There was one child who was badly behaved last year and almost got sent home, but he did nothing wrong this year. I could see that our prayers were answered, and he was acting better. God was working in these children, as I’ve seen before.One little girl from a family without a Christian background came up to one of the staff and said she wanted to become a Christian. When I heard that, I knew that was a sign of God working in the children at this camp.Sadly, some of the kids that come to this camp are told by their parents not to listen to what we have to say about the word of God, and just to learn English. But, I pray that these families will one day know the truth and want their kids to learn about God at this camp.One of the extremely fun parts is talking with the kids during lunch at the park. Making friends with them is a really good thing when it comes to teaching them or leading them in some activity. It’s also fun to hear what they’ve been up to for the past twelve months since you last saw them. Some of them will ask for your email address, and you are on their “cool staff list” by the end of the week. It happens every year, and it’s awesome!Another thing the kids enjoy is our skits. River La Belle from the Cape Cod church, and now like a brother to me, played the leading role of Jonah in this year's skits. During the skits, we’ll sometimes add something that will give the kids a laugh, and River was the best at that!Finally, I would like to thank our camp leader, director, and the wife of the pastor at my church - Mrs. Olivia Durham. She has been organizing this camp and putting hours into it for the past ten years. I am very happy to have her as our camp leader, and I hope to be on the English for Kids team again next year.I feel that I have been blessed to be part of this camp for the past four years.All in all, another fabulous year at English for Kids! 

Learn More:

https://www.opcstm.org/2018/07/03/english-for-kids-2018-photos-and-reports-from-the-field/