Champfleuri was an awesome experience for me and I saw God in the relationship's that I formed with the French (and Belgians). At camp I became closest to M. He was from Belgium and was a fairly fluent English speaker. I sat at the same table as him for some of the first meals we had at camp so it did not take long to get past the basic intro questions and to get into the questions that went in depth. During the hike up to the campsite on top of the mountain M and I got to talk about what we wanted to do in our future's and how we both have had to put our faith in God by trusting the career path's he has chosen for us. We both shared a common interest in serving in the military so that gave us another subject to talk about and how we both have to trust in God to watch over us as we serve our countries. For the long bus ride to the ropes course and campsite we both talked about the fellowship we have in school and how it is a small percentage of the student body that is Christian. Belgium, like France, is only about 2% Christian so finding fellowship in school for M is even harder. This really gave me an appreciation for the relationships I have with people my age at school and through the youth group. Another thing we talked about on the bus ride was country music. M had never heard it before but loved it when I played it for him. I have kept in contact with M since camp ended and he has said that there is a possibility of him coming over to Philadelphia so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
It was a blessing to have the opportunity to go to Champfleuri and spread the word the of God and to build relationship's that will last longer than the two and a half weeks we were at camp. One of the biggest things I wanted to have happen was to have no regrets of missing a chance to talk to someone or a chance to build a friendship. I can happily say that there is nothing that I can think of that I wish I would have done when it comes to relationships with the campers. Thank you to everyone who helped make this trip possible and for all of the prayer we received because France and Belgium are countries that are in huge need of outreach. I was truly blessed to be a servant for Christ during this trip and hopefully will be able to be a better one at school.
God Bless,
Jeremy Holland
