Cowen...

Cowen is always a wow for me. This time the campers were challenged to be "HEROES" for God. Some of them stepped right up to the challenge, but I'll tell you about them in a minute. For now, though, let me say that spending 7 days with 248 junior high school children is an experience that can only be politely described as "interesting". :-) Here's a picture of the entire camp (the largest one yet at Cowen)...

Anyway, one of the heroes of the week to me was Kevin Freeland. He is a 15-year old with an inoperable brain tumor and all I can say about Kevin is, "WOW"! Kevin has had 30 surgeries in 5 years, he currently has a broken hip and is wheelchair-bound, which makes it hard for him to get around like other kids his age. He has had a tracheotomy, which makes it hard for him to communicate like other kids his age. But let me assure of something about Kevin: he is NOTHING at all like other kids his age. He is amazing and inspiring to youth and adults alike. In spite of all of his physical problems, he was probably the most positive and uplifting teenager at camp! Every time he saw one of his friends (and he was able to count most of the 300+ people at camp as his friends by the end of the week), he would give us a fist bump and say, "YOU ROCK!" He brought smiles to people's faces who I could tell hadn't smiled in a while. And Friday night at campfire, Kevin spoke to the whole group. He told them about his tumors and his surgeries, but he also told about all of the people he'd been able to share Jesus with throughout the course of his ordeal. And he said that he feels like his situation has been more of a blessing than a curse because he has met so many people and been able to try to really make a difference in this world.

When I got home, I wanted to blog about Kevin and his radiant smile and winning attitude, but I couldn't remember his last name right off. So instead of walking into the next room to get the camp list, I did some Googling. I thought I'd give it a shot, after all I'd just walked nonstop for a week--I needed some rest. Anyway, I found out that Kevin really is making more of a difference than I knew. This year, Kevin earned $15,574 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Over the last three years, he's earned almost $50,000! That is so awesome. So if anyone ever (EVER) says they can't do anything to change the world because they're too young, tell them to talk to Kevin. He'll set them straight and then he'll let them know that...THEY ROCK! :-)

Then there were some heroes that didn't surprise me at all. Three girls I had in Sunday School (Brooke, Sarah, and Maria, last names unnecessary but if you know them, you'll know you know them) were heroes last week. All around camp they kept awesome attitudes and were friends to the friendless. More specifically, though, they had the courage to let me know about a camper who was wanting to harm herself. They have no idea how much that impressed me (along with their willingness to play hard, work hard, and get along with everyone) this week.

And how can I leave out some of my favorite guys? :-) In addition to the aforementioned girls (who were in my cabin), I got to see some old friends from PRBC (I MISS YOU GUYS!!!): Luke, Matt, Zach, Bill, and Austin (I also met a new friend from PRBC--Ryan). Anyway, they were great all week as usual and I have to brag and let you know that Bill is the 2008 Junior High 2 Four Square CHAMPION! :-) Go, Bill!

And I will leave you with the Kevin Freeland philosophy: YOU ROCK!