The other day I found myself missing a huge part of me that I found this summer. I am a counselor for an amazing, non-profit foundation that allows underprivileged children to go to camp for free. I remember the beginning of summer as if it were yesterday, and the person I was before summer is very different than who I am now. Thank God for the truths that I was opened up to, the experiences he provided me with, and my own personal experiences that gave me insight throughout summer. I was beyond scared to work with children, and I was entirely out of my comfort zone. I am a bit of a bucket lister, and due to that I wanted to do something entirely out of my comfort zone, and working with kids did exactly that. God led me to this foundation through my university, and I couldn’t be more thankful. I remember praying throughout our staff training, asking Jesus why he led me to camp for the summer. Within a short amount of time He answered my prayers and instilled passion in me.

To all of the amazing children I was blessed enough to come in contact with this summer, thank you. The days were long, exhausting, and emotional, but nothing will ever replace the love, laughs, dances, activities, and the spectacular memories made. I found myself and my calling through camp. We all find ourselves in slumps and when I do I pull out my Kentahten 2016 shoe box of letters, pictures, and my journal from the summer. Reading though the days makes me so thankful to be a part of so many lives, holding positive impacts on lives of children that need and crave love, and continues to inspire me to stay on track with the changes I want to be apart of.

Kids are light, they are innocence, and they should be loved and happy. I truly believe once you’ve seen so much pain within a child it changes you, regardless of who you are or your experiences. I never would have thought that I would be able to truly love hundreds of children in the span of a few hot, summer months. My heart was taken home by so many lives. Encouraging a shy child to sing and dance and watch them grow daily into their happy, silly, selves, and being told that camp was the reason they have confidence, felt capable of more than what they have been told, and that they found ways to be themselves within the time you spent with them is a feeling that doesn’t go away.

After you meet kids with broken spirits from abuse, bullying, and disabilities and you are given the opportunity to reassure them that they are beautiful and capable of so much more. To me, that’s a taste of Christ’s love. Summer was filled with children finding their happiness and self-expression again. It makes you want to strive for so much better, not only for the children you know, but for the lives of so many that you’ve not had the chance to impact.

My question after leaving camp was ultimately, why? Why did I meet so many children that are mature beyond their years because of the pain they’ve had to experience throughout their lives? Why does America not focus on the mental health of our future generations? Why do we not talk about and advocate harder for the poverty in our own homes of America? Why are we not demonstrating love and positivity everywhere? America is a country that holds the power to allow anyone to work towards achieving their goals, so why is it that our country’s children’s spirits are crushed before they have time to dream and believe in their selves? So many children are growing up unhappy, depressed, and anger filled. It is clear the effects that holds on an adult if you look around in the news or social media of today.

At the beginning of the summer we were told The Starfish Story. In the story, an older man is slowly walking down a beach carefully throwing starfish that were washed up on the shore back into the ocean. A man watched the elder do this and walked up to him and asked why he was tossing them back in. The older man said to him “Because the sun is up and the tide is going out and if I don’t throw them further in they will die.” The young man then replied, “But, old man, don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it! You can’t possibly save them all, you can’t even save one-tenth of them. In fact, even if you work all day, your efforts won’t make any difference at all.” the man then simply picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean, and said to the man, “It made a difference to that one.”

We should make the difference. Be a generation of change. A generation of love, growth, and positivity. Lend helping hands, go the extra mile, make America beautiful through reforms, nonprofits, and advocacy. Build strong families and parents. Even daily smiles and courtesy go such a long way. This summer our goal was to #DoSomethingAmazing, but why is that not America's goal? To support those around you, encourage growth, love with open arms, and accept differences? Lets be the difference.

1 John 3:16-18
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.