Maybe you’ve heard, or even used, that expression before. People use it to describe an action or account they can’t explain any other way. We know all things are “God things,” but sometimes He uses special circumstances and events to remind us that He is still in control and that with Him all things are possible. Here is the story of one such “God thing” as told by Anette Shanks, Director of Ministry Mobilization at Divine Shepherd, Omaha .

Through a number of interactions throughout the years, our congregation developed a special relationship with an adopted downtown public school in Omaha . One day, the idea of giving students at this inner city school a chance to go to camp presented itself. As I thought about and prayed about the idea, a plan began to take shape.

What if our church could offer these kids the chance to spend a weekend at camp, a chance they might never have otherwise? What if that camp experience would include the opportunity to tell these children about Jesus and His great love for them? The reality of life for many of these children includes broken families, gangs, and low incomes. Many of these children had never heard of Jesus and most weren’t ever going to experience summer camp any other way.

The principal of the school was willing to present the opportunity to the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th graders, but because it was a public school, she couldn’t encourage attendance, only share the opportunity. That was all it took to watch a miracle unfold!

Next came the reality of raising the funds to make this dream a reality. Through support from the Nebraska District Lutheran Ministry Foundation and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, as well as generous donations and fundraising from our congregation, the money needed to cover the weekend at camp was raised.

Director Hank Rausch of Camp Luther in Schuyler was excited about the thought of being involved in such a wonderful outreach project and worked with us to find a date we could come. The largest obstacle came in trying to work around the summer school schedule. In the end, a date in September was decided upon and God’s miracles began to unfold.

As registrations began streaming in, other realities presented themselves. Kids who go to camp need sleeping bags. These children didn’t have anything like that and the families couldn’t afford to buy them. The Office Manager at Divine Shepherd made each child a fleece blanket to use and take home with them. Other members of the congregation donated sheets for each camper. A dentist from the congregation donated toothbrushes and toothpaste, and the school donated soap, towels, and deodorant for each child. Through the generosity of many people, these kids were outfitted to head off to camp.

Finally it was time to go and a school bus was lined up to take the 40 students, chaperones, and Divine Shepherd youth group and congregation members to Camp Luther . Parents who had never met anyone from Divine Shepherd brought their children to leave for the weekend with people they didn’t know. Children whose families couldn’t even afford to pay their rent were eager and excited for an opportunity to spend a weekend at camp.

After arriving at Camp and looking around a bit, many things became apparent. This was the first time many of these children had ever been away from home for a weekend. It was also the first time many of these children were without a television or video games. That night we realized these children had never experienced true darkness – there is no darkness in the city.

Then it came time for all those things one does at camp – roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire, archery, canoeing, and hiking – all new experiences for so many of the campers. We also did crafts, sang songs, and had devotions. One of the Divine Shepherd youth gave a devotion in the morning, and the children asked him many questions about Jesus, God’s love, sin, and baptism. This college-age volunteer gave a wonderful testimony about His faith and the love of Jesus for each of us. The campers also asked questions about the crosses at Camp Luther , giving more opportunities to talk about our Lord Jesus and His gift of eternal life. Each camper was sent home with a T-shirt from Camp Luther with a Bible verse on it.

Even though many of these children didn’t know anything about Jesus, they were all open and willing to participate in every activity we did, including praying before and after meals, singing Christian songs, and other activities. In fact, they asked for copies of the words to all of the songs we sang, and one student told me later that he sings his new favorite song with his mom every night before bed.

God blessed the time we spent at Camp Luther that weekend. There were no difficulties, just plenty of opportunities to share our faith with these children. As we returned to Omaha , the campers told us it was the most fun they had ever had and wanted to know when we were going to take them back. The Lord has opened a door for missionary work right in our neighborhood.

A few weeks after we returned, the principal of the school told me, “I don’t care how you do it, you must take them back. It’s all they talk about.” What a miracle – the Lord used a weekend at camp to touch the lives of 40 “at-risk” kids. Not only did that weekend make a difference in their lives, but our congregation now has a relationship with families we didn’t know before. We will be able to use this connection to continue to interact with these students and their families right here in Omaha for time to come.

Our prayer is that the seeds that were sown at camp will take root and the Lord will bless them with growth. We also prayerfully look forward to next year, when we hope to spend another weekend at camp with precious children who do not yet know the love of Jesus, their Savior.