Let Us Be Changed!

As the counselors started collecting their belongings after a staff training session on emergency planning, Zambian counselor, Lazarous Kapisha passed me a handwritten note that read, “Please, may I talk with you privately?” For many years now, the camping corporation has participated in the International Camp Counselor Program through the ELCA. We’ve received young adults from Zambia, Tanzania, Slovakia, [other countries], and more who have served an important ministry role in our synod’s outdoor ministry experience. One of the goals of this program is for camps to experience the global community of Christians and take part in cross-cultural learning. It’s been a joy for staff and campers to be introduced to new languages, new songs, and new perspectives. But being an international counselor is not without its challenges. In my head, I started to run through the list of possible obstacles that Lazarous wanted to discuss. We speak too quickly. The food is too unfamiliar. The schedule at camp is too different.

When we sat down in my office that evening, all my concerns were put to ease when Lazarous shared, “I want you to tell me if I need to do things differently. I want to be a good counselor. Not for me. But so that I can take the things I learn here back to Zambia and be a light for others in my community. Already, I can feel God has changed me and I want to share that with the people of Zambia when I return.”

I was moved and inspired that day by the power of our shared goals in ministry. It serves as a reminder that God’s love knows no boundaries and that discipleship reaches far and wide through the work of our camps. Only a few days after returning to Zambia, Lazarous posted pictures to his social media account of a lesson he led in his local province, inspired by his time at Kirchenwald. Because of the ELCA International Camp Counselor program, everyone involved grows and benefits from the unique relationships that form in our Christ-focused community. Tiyani tichinje (Let us be changed)!