My Week with Autism!!

Hey guys!  I got back Wednesday evening from my week at camp.  Let me tell you, it was sooo amazing.  God showed me and taught me and loved on me so much during this week.  First a little about the camp, it is called Camp Barnabas, Texas and is a smaller sister camp of the larger Camp Barnabas, Missouri. Anyway, it is a camp for kids with special needs (mainly down syndrome and a wide variety of Autistic disorders) where they can come be a normal kid for a week while their parents get a break.

I love camps (see my post on Sky Ranch) and have wanted to work at a special needs camp for a little over a year so I was excited when I saw that they accept counselors for only one week and that going last week would fit my busy schedule this summer.  My camper was an 8 year old boy named Spencer who had autism.  He was non-verbal, which meant he rarely used words (I learned a lot of signs, haha).  He was such a joy!  He had to have been one of the most content people I have ever met in life.  A few of his favorite things: turning light-switches on and off, flushing the toilet, splashing in the pool, watching and playing the drums, and swinging on the porch with me.

Spencer seemed to see all things for the first time and was always overwhelmed with awe and wonder at the beauty and complexity of everything around him.  In many ways I felt like he was able to see and observe the world much more than "normal" people are.

I learned many things at camp, including but not limited to: 1)A love for kids with special needs and their families, 2)a confidence in dealing with Autistic kids, 3)God further revealed himself, his love, patience, and the Cross to me.  I will be back next summer- and hope to take a good group with me so we can experience more of God's grace and participate more fully in his deeply life-giving Kingdom-building work.