fighting till we're in HIs arms

Last year during this time we had a school come to outdoor science with an AMAZING group of counselors. these guys brought so much spirit into the week; giving their boys bandanas with nicknames on them, performing crazy songs up front at line up, and just investing all of themselves into those 5 days, with those kids in their cabin, and with us. now, us as naturalists don't ever really pour a lot of effort into the counselors. of course, we need them. and some weeks they are a huge help. but then there are others where the counselors are more of a burden to the group than a blessing. but not these guys. these guys for sure blessed us.
there was one guy counselor who was deeply impacted by his week at outdoor science. he ended up writing a letter talking about how much he was impacted in those 5 days. he left mount hermon changed. but we didn't really know the whole story. the cool thing is that ramsey stayed on our hearts and minds long after that week. and we prayed for him that whole year, stayed in contact with him, and thought about him a lot. we usually don't think about the counselors at all after they've left. our schedule is so crazy that before we know it we're onto the next group of kids and counselors to focus on. but ramsey stuck for some reason. a reason we did not know of until this week, one year later.
i knew he was coming this week and on sunday night i thought to myself "i wonder if he'll be my counselor, how cool would that be?" but dismissed it right away, just assuming i wouldn't get him. well i got my roster on monday morning and guess whose name is on the top of it? ramsey. i couldn't believe it. ian pulled me aside before my first class and asked me to pray with him for ramsey that week. we prayed that god would use him to impact the kiddos and that we would be used to impact ramsey. we had no clue how important that prayer was gonna be.
my week was....well...amazing is an understatement. i had 19 sixth graders. and 5 high school counselors. and the kids were great. but to be honest, it was the counselors that really made my week. ramsey made my week. i saw the kids in a different light because of him. i saw them through his eyes. and he gave me a whole new perspective to ministering to kids.
yesterday ramsey went into the office and started talking to ian about how he feels called to work with kids, how he's felt this tugging on his heart for a while. ian asked him where he thought that calling came from. that it came from god. well...long story short...ramsey accepted christ as his savior.
i see connections of this all over the place. why he came last year. why he was in tinas trail group, with someone who loved him so deeply. why he was the one counselor we thought about and prayed for all year long. why he had a special place in all of our hearts, even those who barely had any interaction with him. why he stayed in contact with some of us. why he came back. why he was in my trail group. the reasons and possibilities are endless. maybe the only reason ian was in this job was to lead ramsey to the lord. maybe the only reason ramsey came to outdoor science camp was so that he could be shown an example of the body of christ in us as a staff. so that he could be loved in a way he never has before. and so before he left today we took him into a room and gave him his first bible, signed by all of us. and we laid hands on him and prayed for him and the new life he is about to begin. we welcomed him into the family. it was beautiful.
god's goodness and faithfulness is all over this.
our god fights for his children. he will stop at nothing until they are in his arms.
again. i got to be witness to a life transformed. AGAIN. who are we to be allowed to see that? but god does it every day.
one life was drastically changed today. he will never be the same. and we will never be the same for knowing him. i love god more today than i did yesterday because i was able to watch this transformation happen. and that is exactly why he does it.
so...pray for ramsey. he's the one in the back giving me bunny ears :) he has a long road ahead of him. but the journey is sweet.