Muy fuego!

We spent this past week in the small town of Eunice, Louisiana, at a place that, for many, has become a second home. Driving by, it does not look like much. A few brick buildings. A gym. A large worship center. More frogs than you can count. And don’t even get me started on the mosquitos. Despite the heat and humidity of south Louisiana, this location is home to one of our very favorite weeks of the year and a place where several of our students count down the days until we return. This campsite is surrounded by crawfish ponds and rice paddies, and the moment you start to see them out the windows of the bus, anticipation builds. This place is Camp Fuego, and it is truly a special place. 

Our high school students loaded the bus around 7:00 am Monday for the 6-hour drive. The first day was full of travel, Canes chicken with 3 other church groups (sorry Canes), and finally arriving and settling in at camp. After dinner, students pressed against the worship center doors, waiting to be let in for the first worship service of camp. When the doors open, they all rush in to try to be in the front row. After worship, we had a brief church group time in which our students set goals for themselves throughout the week of camp. This allowed them to focus on their reasoning for being at camp and to mentally prepare for the week ahead of them. The night was concluded by students meeting their DG’s – discussion groups – which are led by Fuego staffers and comprised of students in their grade but mixed with other churches. This allows students to get to know people from different places. The first event a DG does together is build a boat out of cardboard, duct tape, and plastic wrap. Once they build their boat, they take them to the pool to race them. Winning the Fuego boat race is a coveted accomplishment, and a few of our students were on the winning team this year! 

The three days are full of intermural tournaments (which we are quite competitive in), where we get to know their DGs better and spend time with each other. One of my favorite moments of the week happened one evening when I walked into the common room of our bunkhouse. At this time, students could have been anywhere, but they chose to be in the common room together, hanging out and getting to know one another deeply. As I surveyed the room, I noticed many students who were not in their “normal” groups. These students truly view each other as family; it is so special for me to see them care for and love each other. Camp always serves to strengthen the bonds of students in ways that I do not really expect. This was most evident on the last night of camp when I opened the floor for them to brag about the one person they saw going above and beyond living like Jesus during the week. They spent the next 45 minutes standing up to tell stories about what they called their “Fuego Fire Person.” This night served to cap off an incredible week of deepening relationships that have made their way back home. 

It is astounding to see what the Lord can do when we put away our phones, remove ourselves from the distractions of life, and spend intentional time with him. This week was no different, as we saw the Lord do incredible things in the lives of these students. Several students made decisions throughout the week, including 13 choosing to follow Jesus for the first time, 10 recommitting their lives to Him, and several others deciding to take their next steps in discipleship. Many students shared their testimonies in DG and have already sought to continue to share their testimonies with people back home. I could not be more proud of these students for the openness with which they approached this week. Multiple Fuego staffers pulled me aside to tell me stories about how our students were leading in their DG’s and about the awesome things they were doing. Over the next few weeks, we will be following up with students from the week and getting them started on their next steps. I would ask that you join us in this by praying for them and the decisions they made at camp. And if you know someone who went, ask them about it! We will take any chance we can get to talk about Fuego – it was just that good!