Motorcycle Burn & Camp Shocco

The day before I left for Camp Shocco, I had a wonderful, adventurous Harley Davidson ride with my friend. Unfortunately, I accidentally hit an exhaust pipe with the right leg when I got off the wrong side and wore a capri (stupid mistakes) – I assumed it would heal quickly because I didn’t feel the pain. BUT I WAS WRONG!

The next day on our trip to the camp, I ended up having a fever and being forced by camp leaders to see a doctor immediately. At first, I was stubborn and didn’t want to see the doctor because I would rather spend time with my teenagers. They had to drive me to see the doctor about 20 miles away from our remote camp…I was disappointed because I had to miss the first meal and games/icebreakers with teens. When I entered the emergency room, I was told that I had a 2nd degree burn which turned out to be a serious burn infection on my right leg. A few nurses had to remove the dead skin layer…I had to exclaim in pain! Also, they poked me with needle twice! I left the office with prescriptions for antibodics, painkillers and cream for my infected burn and a box of tissue. Also, the doctor ordered me not to swim in the pool or lake. I had to limit myself to a very few physical activities at the camp which was a big disappointment.

When I arrived at the camp with the bandage around my leg, every camper treated me like a queen and asked me if I was okay. Every time I had to go to the bathroom to replace with a new bandage, several of my cabin girls kept their eyes on me…some of them seemed to pass out at the sight of my infected burn. I noticed that I had to lessen my time for doing physical activities which allowed me to find more time to develop amazing relationships with a few girls in my small group. Several teenagers did not want to play paintball or do rock climbing, so they decided to sit out…we had great lengthy conversations about our lives, God, and bacon from our camp cafeteria. I realized that God did use this burn infection to teach me how to endure the pain with patience and without complaining. They asked me how I suffered all of it…I said, “a lot of praying and no whining!”

Everyday at the camp, we had a small group time where we can discuss about anything. Some of girls bought up great deep questions such as “Does God have feelings?” “How do we know for sure if we are Christian?” “Why do I still have to save my virginity even though I have a wonderful boyfriend?” “How can we share with others who don’t believe in God?” “God and Jesus – are they the same?” …and some silly questions such as “When can I start dating?” and “Why did God give me bad grades?”

We also discussed about how we felt obligated to follow rules and laws to look “holy” in today’s world. The girls started explaining that they felt dirty and worthless as they tried to follow God’s rules. Then I shared with them about how I learned to celebrate the life that God has given me instead of trying hard to follow the rules and about how I continued to live more and more in harmony with God here on the Earth. Some of girls started asking me questions about how they can live more for Him…wow! Pray for these girls as they can find support system/accountability partner in their hometowns that can encourage them to seek God’s will.

One girl from my small group had always been introverted about sharing her faith with others for a while. To my amazement, she stood up and wanted to share her story with other teenagers during our “team” discussion time. She boldly signed about how God actually protected her when she was raised in an awful home and placed to live with a foster family. Then she explained about how she came to know God through her foster home. Many teenagers were very moved by her testimony because some of them could relate their life stories to hers. I praise God for letting the light of Christ inside her being shown to others! Many teens started standing up and sharing about their life stories and struggles with us. It was rare to see that happening because I have been a camp counselor at many (hearing and Deaf) camps where many teenagers refused to speak up. During our last night at the camp, several teens mentioned that they wanted to come to Camp Shocco because they desired to learn more about God’s Word and find steps closer to God.

Of course, we had tons of fun at camp – paintball wars, watching fireworks on the 4th of July, playing “toilet” tag game, etc!! Sadly, we didn’t plan any major pranks this year like we did before. Maybe next year!

Gotta go to meet my friends at IHOP in a few mins! Bye bye!