Royal Family Kids Camp

Yesterday I had the privilege to help with camp registration for our local Royal Family Kids Camp program. I was not able to get it off of work to be able to be a camp counselor. This was something that both my husband and I struggled with because our hearts really go out to these kids. For those of you who do not know, RFKC is camp for foster kids. It is their one-week event of the year to get away from their hard lives and be shown how valuable they are. They get to enjoy what it is like to be a family as well as know just how much they are loved.


During registration I was given the role of helping hang out with the kids before the bus arrived to send them away to their secret camp destination. The two hours that I had did not seem long enough to shower them with all the love that I felt that they deserved or needed. But I knew that it only takes a second to plant a seed of love in someone’s heart and God can grow it into a beautiful cherry blossom tree!


Many of the girls were my shadows. Some of them knew me from the Church program and felt safe to tag along with me. Others seemed to just know that I was there to love and protect them for that time. It was encouraging to see how they responded to me. It brought me hope, amidst the heartbreaking things I saw in their eyes, when some of them began pouring out their hearts about how they felt about what was going on in their lives.



I still see their faces. Many of them revealing innocence stolen, shattered dreams, hope lost, and in place of love, fear like a big blackberry bush, which has taken over their ability to trust and live in freedom. I recall one whose eyes revealed such despair that it seemed as if someone had been feasting on her soul, stealing away all that God had made so beautiful and good.


My dreams for these kids are: that they would live in safe homes and have full stomachs of good food everyday. The broken parts of their hearts and lives would be mended through the years. Freedom instead of bondage; Love instead of hatred, bitterness, or rage... Oh that perfect love would come into their lives and cast out fear! Joy instead of shame; Peace instead of fear; Light instead of darkness; Truth instead of lies; Forgiveness instead of revenge; that they would come to see how amazing, how beautiful they are! My dream is that their broken lives would be made whole and instead of seeing themselves through the eyes of those who have abused and abandoned them, that they would see themselves through the eyes of God. They are his most favorites! I say this as a prayer and I know that this is a piece of the heart of God for each child.


My heart aches for what has been done to them! I have the hope that the seeds of love from RFKC will harvest a beautiful cherry blossom tree in full bloom to be able to destroy the blackberry bushes that are trying to take over their hearts today. Please pray for the abused, the neglected, and the stolen ones today so that they may find themselves in the arms of Love and be restored. Write a love letter upon their heart. Plant a cherry blossom tree that will bloom love, joy, forgiveness, peace, and freedom!