Cooking for Campers

By George Moran

Recently I went on a trip to East Asia.  I started off my trip with many flight challenges.  At the end of the flights I had been up for fifty hours!  It was a long hard day but I was filled with excitement for what God was about to share with me. 

While I was overseas I cooked meals for kids attending a camp.  There were 110 campers who were children of missionaries in East Asia.  My kitchen was an outdoor patio area consisting of a sink and a grill. The biggest challenge was the flies because cooking area was about 100 yards from a pig pen.  To say that there were a lot of flies is an understatement.  I prayed that first night and the next morning asking God to help keep my focus on why I was there and to get over my circumstances with the flies.

The first three days of camp were focused on fine arts.  On the third night we took the kids into the local town to the dancing park.  The kids performed Christian songs and skits that presented the truth of the Gospel that they had been learning at camp.  They performed for a crowd of about 200 locals most of whom had never heard the name of Jesus. It was inspiring to see these kids do what a lot of us “adults” fail to do and that is enthusiastically sharing their faith!

Throughout the camp I felt drawn to one young man.  He had just graduated high school and will be returning to the states for college.  Later in the week the young man shared that he had felt lost in his life for a long time.  He said that he could not see God’s purpose for his own.  Although he was a Christian he felt alone.  Then God revealed Himself through his Word to this young man.  God showed him that he is loved, that he is valued and that God does have a plan and purpose for his life.  The last night of camp this young man shared his experience with the other campers.  It was amazing to see God use him to help others. My prayer is that we will follow the example of this young man and use our own stories as opportunities to impact others as God presents them to us.

When we traveled back we gave thanks for the opportunities God provided us to share His word and serve His people.  We prayed lives were touched while we were there.  I know that I will never be the same.  My plans now that I am home are to continue to seek out opportunities to serve God and His people.  One of these ways includes making a cooks training program that will give the homeless or unemployed training in the proper techniques of cooking.  My hope is that this will give them the skills needed for long term employment.  My wife Ann and I are planning on taking our children on mission next year.  I would love to go back to East Asia and continue to spread His word and love but I will go where He leads us.

(For more information on how you can join a TSC mission team, go to http://www.goctw.org/, and check out the Missions at a Glance page for all future trips. All work done in East Asia is supported by the GOCTW yearly offering, which aids in providing food, supporting and sending workers, and whatever else is needed to minister to the community there.)