Camp

Whew! What an amazing week last week we had. 

Zane, Zeke and I attended our local church camp. It was every day from 9 am - 1:30 pm and it was PACKED full of fun and Jesus. :) 

I am so excited to share some of our favorite parts. 

(1) It warmed my heart to see how the kids in Zeke's group made such a genuine effort to communicate with him in HIS way. They would ask him yes or no questions and then they would smile with delight when he answered them. They were quick to help him and it still brings tears to my eyes to think of how often they looked out for him. Some examples:

- Zeke didn't have a plate for the craft, so before I could even ask for one, one of the 5th grade students said, "Zeke needs a plate" and ran off to get him one. 

- One friend noticed me helping Zeke make a bracelet and asked if they could help him make it. I agreed (and so did Zeke), and to my surprise, she exactly copied what I was doing. She asked if he liked the bead she had or she would hold up two options. It was pretty amazing to watch. 

- Zeke had friends in other groups, who would be sure to come say hi to Zeke in the opening and ask him if he was having fun. 

- Gym is always a favorite of Zeke's, and this year was no exception. It is always funny at first to watch how the kids react to Zeke b/c they aren't sure what they are allowed to do. But this year, we had Zane AND a good family friend (let's call her T) in our group and they did not go easy on Zeke at all. And he loved every second of it. Once the other kids saw how ruthless Zane and T were (and Zeke was to them, for that matter), it was GAME ON. So funny. Lots of laughing happened in gym. 

(2) I was so blessed by the teenagers. The teens at our church are another level, I tell you. I could not believe how many of them jumped right in and interacted with Zeke. Some were more shy, for sure, but there was a large number of teens who did not even hesitate to interact with Zeke. Asked him questions, played with him, held his hand. One precious teen even noticed that I never, ever, let spit come out of his mouth - I'm constantly watching that - and when I had walked away for a moment, she picked up where I left off. Just gently making sure his mouth and chin were clean. I could cry thinking about it. I didn't even ask. She just saw it, knew it was for his dignity and did it. God bless that sweet girl. 

(3) I praise God for the adults in our church - starting with the pastors - who so sweetly model kindness. The vast majority of adults I came in contact with said good morning to me and then good morning to Zeke. Several adults would stop and interact with Zeke on a daily basis. Two of our pastors even sat down and had quite a long chat with Zeke. These are the moments that nourish my heart. For Zeke to be seen, known, loved and included. Words just can't express fully my gratitude for all we saw and experienced this week. 

(4) Zeke's favorite parts was gym, missions and dancing. He LOVES the church clap and anything Forrest Frank. :) He really made sure I got my exercise this week. Dancing is great exercise by itself, but dancing AND pushing his chair - whew! It was worth it -- the joy on his face as we danced and did relays and all the activities was worth every sore muscle. 

(5) Zeke really enjoyed Bible as well, and it made me chuckle b/c that is the class that he vocalized most in. The teachers were super gracious about Zeke's chattering, but I am praying that all the truths they shared about Jesus were sinking in to my little chatty son. 

Zeke loves camp. It's probably one of his favorite weeks of the year. It is a definitely a week that we will always remember.