Wiggin was our speaker during Middle School Camp #2!
Wiggin is the second youngest in a family with nine kids and has been coming to Camas Meadows since he was a junior camper.
This week, Wiggin spoke on what it means to be human.
During Monday’s chapel he spoke from Genesis chapter one. His theme? Being human means we were made for connection.
Wiggin showed a clip from the movie Wall-E where the robot hero sees a movie with people who hold hands. Wall-E stares at the TV for a long moment and then tries to fit his own hands together.
Wall-E’s longing for connection is so palpable in that scene. God did not make us to live alone, without connections to each other and without a deep and abiding connection to him.
On Tuesday, Wiggin’s theme was: being human means we belong even when we feel lost.
He showed the clip from Lilo and Stitch where they read the story of the ugly duckling. Sometimes we feel lost even when surrounded by friends and family.
The Scripture passage for Tuesday was 1 Corinthians 13. We are lost when we act in ways that are opposite to God’s instructions for us.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
For Wednesday’s chapel, the theme was: being human means we are pursued and wanted no matter what!
The Scripture passages were Luke 15 and Romans 8. God pursues our hearts like a Shepherd looking for a lost sheep, like the desperate woman sweeping her entire house to find her lost coin, like the grieving father looking down the road for his lost son.
Wiggin showed a clip from Finding Nemo, where we see another desperate father looking for his lost son. God loves us even more than that determined clown fish and he is seeking us just as diligently, waiting for the beautiful day when we will run to him.
On Thursday Wiggin talked about how being human means that we live a different kind of life. He showed the clip from Moana where she confronts the lava figure singing, “You know who you are.” I have to admit, this one made me cry.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17
Wiggin asked campers the question, “What’s one way your daily life would be different if you remembered who you truly are?”
Some of the campers’ answers . . .
“I would have more quality friends.”
“I would be more respectful.”
“I would show more grace.”
On Friday, the theme was: being human means we are never alone. The scripture, Psalm 73:26.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Wiggin showed a clip from Toy Story 4 where Forky keeps trying to run back to the trash can because he still believes that he is garbage instead of a beloved toy.
So often we feel drawn to run back to how life used to be before Christ made us new. But we are not living this life alone. We have the strength of Jesus and we have others walking this path with us. When we stay connected with others and with Christ it lets us continue being human as we were meant to be. Just like how Forky had Woody to remind him that he was a real toy, beloved and precious to his girl.
Friday night was the campfire. Where campers walk down to the meadow in the quiet of the evening and sing songs while the light fades and the stars begin to shine. As the last night of camp winds down, they stand and share about what they’ve seen God do during the week of camp.
“Every day at camp you feel and see God reaching out to people.”
“Camp has given me a chance to reflect on my life and who I am. I got to think about it and I got time to think about what I need to change”
“Every time I go to camp I feel like I get closer to God.”
“I’ve always gone to church but I feel like this week I’ve made deep connections in Christ.”
“Camp reconnects me through all that happens through the year. It’s like a refresh to start new.”
“I went through a hard time. I just knew that coming to camp would make everything better. This camp makes me feel connected to God, it makes me realize my faith in him.”
“Feeling his connection here makes me want to go church and follow that faith.”
“Whenever someone asks me what my special place with God is, I think of camp.”
For kids who didn’t know very much about God at all, for children whose parents are in ministry, for each and every camper God is reaching out to them in love. At campfire, we were reminded how powerfully God uses a simple week of camp. Again and again, year after year, to forge a deep and life-giving connection with his children.
