Good Morning Everyone.
Today marks our final Wednesday Words Post of 2014! We had someone lined up to write this post, but that person let us down at the last moment and Michael Dupuis agreed to fill in. Thank you, Michael, and welcome…
” How has Daycamps affected my life? That’s something that usually I can’t really give a straight answer to, as I would get lost in thought and then just derail to a totally different thought train. But I’ll try for this!
Daycamps has affected my life in many ways that I still don’t know yet. I started Daycamps when I was 15 turning 16; I’ve done it for 3 years now. That year I went to Saskatchewan in the towns of Melfort and Arborfield, both fairly small communities, and then off to the Cree reserves of Cumberland House and LaRonge, LaRonge being one of the most northern communities in the province! My second year was leading a team in Ontario, and the third was leading the team in the Montreal area.
Daycamps has affected my life in many ways that I still don’t know yet. I started Daycamps when I was 15 turning 16; I’ve done it for 3 years now. That year I went to Saskatchewan in the towns of Melfort and Arborfield, both fairly small communities, and then off to the Cree reserves of Cumberland House and LaRonge, LaRonge being one of the most northern communities in the province! My second year was leading a team in Ontario, and the third was leading the team in the Montreal area.
I’ve had many unique experiences, like giving a native kid named Ronald my leather jacket for his birthday and seeing the happiness glowing from him. Or doing doodle drawings with kids and trying to make the less artistic ones feel better by the fact that I draw like a 5 year old sometimes. Or like when me and my team member were doing aerobics and we just made stuff up on the spot like being ducks and then suddenly switching to mighty lumberjacks! The point of these last 3 summers is to spread the love of God with many a children throughout this great land. But in all of this it was about helping me as much as the children. For the last 3 years hasn’t been easy for me, and doing Daycamps was a way I think for God to make me mature, grow and do new things that would help me in the future with whatever God wants me to do.
God used Daycamps to show me things about myself that I wouldn’t have guessed that I had. Things like the passion to lead, however lazy I can be sometimes! The fact that I loveto work with children and watch them grow. The fact that I also love working with people! I haven’t figured it all out yet, but I suspect the good Lord has more in store for me.
But most importantly of all the greatest gift so far has been the chance to share the love of God with children across Canada, some of whom have never been outside the Reserve or town they’re in. To plant the seeds that will grow and bloom into beautiful flowers, however long it will take. These past 3 years have been like a roller coaster ride for me for many reasons, but through it all God has brought me places I wouldn’t have imagined I’d go and shown me things about myself that I never knew before. It was instrumental in my development into the adult I am today, and hopefully it will continue to shape who I am and what I do. And for that I’m ever thankful.”
But most importantly of all the greatest gift so far has been the chance to share the love of God with children across Canada, some of whom have never been outside the Reserve or town they’re in. To plant the seeds that will grow and bloom into beautiful flowers, however long it will take. These past 3 years have been like a roller coaster ride for me for many reasons, but through it all God has brought me places I wouldn’t have imagined I’d go and shown me things about myself that I never knew before. It was instrumental in my development into the adult I am today, and hopefully it will continue to shape who I am and what I do. And for that I’m ever thankful.”
