Young adults who give

We had the pleasure during the second week of August to host three young men in our home. They were counselors with Pine Cove Christian Camp's "Camp in the City" program. Since 2010, Pine Cove staff and counselors have been packing trailers, vans and trucks with some of the really cool equipment from the base camp in Tyler, TX and going to churches in large cities. These churches host Camp in the City for elementary-age children who may have never attended camp before. In the midst of the water slide, bungee jumping, chants and competition, the children hear about their heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ.

Their small group counselors are college-age young women and men who've applied for and gone through extensive training with Pine Cove. Flash, MacPhelps and Lettuce (camp names, of course) were on the 12th and final week of their summer employment when they came here. Since it was the final week, I expected that these young men would be absolutely exhausted. However, what I found was that they were still excited to share the Gospel message with the 360+ children who attended camp that week! They left our house at 6:35 each morning and didn't return until 6:30 that evening or later.

Each one had his own unique personality, but they watched out for each other probably better than most actual brothers. MacPhelps was from Texas but Flash was from Louisiana and Lettuce was from Tennessee. Yes; they ate heartily like most young men that age, but they helped with clean up, spent time watching the Olympics with us and played the board game Ticket to Ride with me and my husband.

These young men worked in the heat with hundreds of children each day, giving of themselves and receiving blessings. So, the next time you want to bash a Millenial, think about those who've chosen to be unselfish for a season. They want to give back and provide the biggest gift of all to children--hope in a world that's continually becoming more chaotic. I thank God for Flash, MacPhelps and Lettuce. May you have a great fall semester!