My Champfleuri Experience (Graham)

During my two weeks in France I grew close to a couple of other guys. One was in my small group, who I will refer to as B. I really started talking to him after he read his testimony in front of the whole group in the grange (or our meeting area). He talked about the death of his sister and how deeply it affected him, specifically his grades. It was a depressing story, but through all his struggles B managed to find God at work. After his testimony, I began talking to B more regularly. About his church, his faith, and above all offering my time should he ever need to talk to someone for support. It was a sad goodbye when he parted two weeks ago, and sadly B does not have a Facebook.

Another camper I grew close to I will refer to as P. P spoke perfectly English so his interest in the camp wasn't about learning the language, but growing closer in his faith. I gave P my copy of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis during the camp and asked him to read what he could in hopes that we would be able to discuss it later on. We finally had a chance to when the camp took a field trip to the largest high ropes course in France, which was about an hour and half away. During the trip we discussed the first half of the book; my mission through the book discussion was to try and bring P a step forward with his faith, where he would start baring witness to others and teach others of Christ. And while I believe I made significant steps forward with P, I also spent a lot of time offering support for problems in his life that he shared with me.

Part of my job at Champfleuri was to bring others further in their faith, but during my time there I found myself also helping the spiritually-wounded. This I believe will stick with them more than anything. At camp, all the campers developed a passion for one of the worship songs called Shelter by Jars of Clay. If you haven't heard the song, I strongly suggest you listen to it. The song gave us the push to support and help one another in our faith, to bare our sins and struggles onto each other so that we may be cleansed by Jesus. A verse I always keep in mind surrounding this experience comes from James 5:16: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 

I will always remember the lessons I learned at Champfleuri and carry them with me to college next year. I hope to return again at some point.