Foreign friend

So today was the first of a few days of hard goodbyes as we closed out week 1 of Swamp Camp India. I feel like I can't really put into words the ways that I connected with the boys of week one, but a couple of the relationships were especially note worthy and I feel I have to mention them.  One camper who came from two states away was sharing with me last night how he had a dream a while back that he made a foreign friend but he didn't think this dream would ever come true.  He shared how amazed he was to have made his first foreign friend and how he never thought he would be able to really connect with an American. This morning as we were saying our goodbyes he cried three times just sharing how grateful he was to make a friend accross the boundaries of culture and this really just painted a physical picture for me of what I feel about this camp. India is VERY different and I won't lie and say it isn't a bit uncomfortable coming here but to see cultural lines be crossed simply because of our unified love for Jesus. The second camper I want to share about.. wow. This boy, 17 years old, was Hindu until his parents were converted just six months ago. All week we had real conversations as he worked through questions about how to really believe the Bible and talked about his desire to become a disciple. When we shared with one another last night about things we appreciated in each other, I was thinking about how I loved this kid like he was my own little brother and then he shared with me that his elder brother had passed away and all week he had the same connection to me that he had to his own kin. It was a simple statement but I felt so clearly in that moment that God sent me to another country around the globe to connect with this boy specifically.

Im really glad to have one more week here but it's so encouraging to feel like I have already fulfilled a purpose in coming here. Please continue to pray for all of us as I'm sure it will be tempting to let exhaustion lead us to laziness this week.

- Jacob