Holding on for dear life.

Hello to all back in the United States. Well we are smack dab in the middle of the trip, and today was another day of experiences for all of us. We spent time working in the orphanage for the first half of the day, then on to the camp.

The camp was quite a site. There were kids of all ages that welcomed yet another group of Americans with their new tricks they had learned from the team working with them. They also welcomed each and everyone one of us with big warm smiles. The camp soccer team had a deal with a group of city prosecutors that if the camp team beat them, they would buy a television for the camp. It was the highlight for the day for all the camp, as well as big even for us. All the boys we worked with seemed so much more welcoming, not only because we all ate lunch with them and talked more, but I think becasue we were on "their turf" which had to help. However what was really fun was seeing the entire camp sit and watch the soccer game, cheering on their fellow campers as they challenged the other team twice their size and three times their age. It was good fun. Every single person had campers all around them. The boys hung on us guys like we were their heros, without even knowing us. It just shows that when you show love, love is received, especially by those starving for it. At one point in the game I had a little boy on my shoulders, watching the game. As I was told, the little boy had smiles from ear to ear, holding on to dear life, as the tallest person in the camp gave him a view that he probably had never seen. I am pretty sure the scratches on my neck and chin show evidence, that in the beginning, he was holding on for dear life.

I tell you that, to tell you this, hold on to your loved ones. Hold on to your parents and family. And most of all, hold on to Christ for dear life, as he takes you to new heights and places you may not want to be, and are probably very scared of. Hold on...but when you put your total trust in Him, well, you can release your hands, see His perspective, a view you probably never experienced or imagined. Let those hands go, and enjoy the ride!

Those that have blessings similar to my own, well I promise you this, you don't thank the Lord enough for each of them.