Hiba sharing the good news at Capernaum club. (notice Taryn with Doha in the front row on the right)
This is a guest post by James Madison University student Rayah Martin. And the next to last post of our trip. We have 2 days left.
This week we had the privilege of working and serving at a Capernaum Camp! I am a Capernaum leader in the states, so you can imagine how excited I was. Day 1 was filled with joy and laughter as we welcomed campers into the Murad Hotel where camp would take place. The day consisted of field games, pool time, meal times together, and club. The joy and freedom of these friends with disabilities was a true testament to the joy and freedom that Christ offers us when we walk alongside him. Our team served many different roles throughout the day, but our biggest goal as a team was to love the campers well – sometimes physically helping campers who were blind get from A to B, sometimes just dancing with a camper during club.
A highlight from Day 1 was getting to watch a camper named Mira steal the show at club as she danced up front during every game, every song, and even helped translate the club talk. She was hilarious and fun to be around, and she also reminded me of how fun life can be if we don’t take ourselves too seriously. She challenged me to live freely and authentically and be the woman that Christ has created me to be.
Day 2 of Capernaum Camp was equally as crazy as we got to start the day off with club, have lots more pool time, more meals, and a second club, PLUS a late night dance party! Our speaker, Hiba, gave the club talks in Arabic. It was emotional for me as I realized that the God that I pray to and follow is a God of all nations and all languages. Hiba was telling our Capernaum friends the same stories about Jesus in a totally different language – how great is our God that he is a God of all people! For people with disabilities and for people without special needs, for people who speak English and people who speak Arabic! Another highlight of Day 2 was watching my friend Taryn (part of the JMU team) lovingly care for a little girl with Down Syndrome as we swam in the pool, her name was Doha. Doha wanted to swim the entire 4 hours of free time but she couldn’t on her own, so Taryn held on to her and played with her through the whole afternoon (even sometimes getting slapped in the face). It was an incredible picture of Jesus’ patience and selflessness! Shout out to Taryn. (you can see her in the front row holding Doha in her lap in the picture above)
These past few days working with high schoolers with disabilities was powerful because in this part of the world, people with special needs are often especially forgotten. Many of these kids have been rejected by both of their parents and currently live in a group home. So having the opportunity to share God’s love with them was so beautiful. Thank you all for continuing to pray through our last few days here in Palestine. We are thankful and grateful!