Anticipation filled the air as wide-eyed and expectant campers started to arrive. Immediately, previous campers reconnected with familiar friends, while new campers started making their own memories with their new campmates. Our first activity was a camp-wide game right before dinner. It was organized chaos, and it was a blast!
After dinner, it was time for Mishkan. (Mishkan is the Hebrew word for Tabernacle, but at Camp Kesher, we use it as our term for a chapel service.) At Mishkan, campers get an opportunity to connect with God’s Word in a way that they can understand as well as participate in Israeli dancing and praise and worship. Camp Kesher’s speaker, Toby Mann, introduced the campers to this year’s theme, Own It, by sharing 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Toby encouraged the kids by sharing his personal experience of when the faith he grew-up with became his own.
After Mishkan, the campers went back to their cabins for a special time to process what Toby had shared and discuss with their counselors and cabinmates. This special cabin time happens every evening, allowing kids to ask questions and share from their hearts. It is our prayer that each camper would receive the opportunity to consider, receive, and own their new life in Messiah.
