“Someone took my money!”

Meet Jamar…

 

Written By Camp Director Ben

 

Tuesday afternoon I was told we had a camper threatening to break the General Store window. I found *Jamar outside sitting at a picnic table.

 

“I want my money,” he fumed.

 

“Someone took my money!” he said with clenched fist.

 

His counselors told me the team had searched but they weren’t able to find it anywhere. After a brief talk with Jamar he stormed off to the hammocks.

 

Letting Jamar settle down, I went to the cabin to see if I could find his money. Sure enough I found $15 tucked in a pocket of his backpack. When I told him what I found, Jamar refused to admit any wrong.

 

“I don’t want anything to do with anyone here at camp,” he fumed and he stormed off again.

 

We hate to send campers home but at this point it didn’t look good for Jamar. Several of us began praying silently. About five minutes later Jamar returned to the front porch and sat across from me at the checkers table. I could tell Jamar was still sure he had been wronged.

 

Trying to be understanding, I asked if I could tell him a story of someone from the Bible who was punished for something he didn’t do. For the next 20 minutes we played checkers as I told him the story of Joseph. As we talked, Jamar relaxed. When we got back to what had happened in the cabin, Jamar was willing to apologize and serve his consequences.

 

The rest of the week Jamar did much better, excitedly participating in chapel and all the activities. Thursday, Jamar asked to be baptized because of his desire to follow Jesus and his need for God’s help with his anger. When I called and asked his mom if he could be baptized, she was thrilled.