Friday marked our final day in Camden. Before we left the Urban Promise campus, our entire group signed and presented to the Founder and Executive Director of Urban Promise ("UP") a basketball that we used throughout the week in games against Camden youth. The Street Leaders from Urban Promise were continually complementing us on how nice the ball was.

We presented it by stating how much the state of Kentucky has a love affair with basketball. As an expression of our love and appreciation for the ministry being conducted, we wanted to leave a small token of encouragement for those remaining. We felt the basketball represented tremendous strides taken in the relationships we built through friendly competition between our students and their students/staff.

As we leave Camden, we will certainly reflect on our time spent there. Perhaps the most significant reflection to me personally is truly seeing the hand of God at work. So much of the time, we fail as Christians to see where God is active. Our busy lives and our self-sufficient attitudes "blind us" and prevent us from experiencing the blessings that God would love to pour out on each of us. For example, many of our students have expressed that they felt like they were not doing "enough" or at least not as much as they were expecting to do. The reality of the situation is that the expectations that we placed on our participation were not necessarily what God had in store for our group.

In what God had planned for our group, however, our students (and adults) performed wonderfully. Both students and UP staff continuously praised and thanked us for our hard work and willing attitudes in whatever requested of us. They especially appreciated the friendship that we extended to and accepted from them from the moment we first walked off the bus to the moment we left for the final time. We were the first group ever to challenge them to a basketball game and show extended interest in spending time with them (Amazing!).

Our experiences remind us that God is so much bigger than we are. He can take what we feel is small and make it HUGE! He took what we might be tempted to consider under-utilization and affected the lives of others in a tremendous way. A couple fish and a few loaves can still go a long way in God's economy.

When we have enough, we often don't see the need for God's provision. When we feel we are in control, we often don't seek God's power. The fact is that we continually need to be reminded that God's strength is seen in our weakness; likewise, God's riches are arguably seen most clearly in our poverty.

God was visibly at work in Camden. My prayer is that each participant took the time to see and appreciate what God was doing even if this work conflicted with their pre-conceived notions. After all, God's perfect plan always trumps our imperfect plans.

Please pray for the leaders of UP as they have 5 more weeks of camp!

Wally