For as long as I can remember, my family had been looking for something to do together. No, not even just that. We wanted to serve together. We wanted to spend a day or two completely free to do whatever people needed us to do. We wanted to help out, to do something worthwhile.
It was about two and a half years ago that my family found Tejas. It’s quite a long story, but after several visits, we made the decision to move into our RV and live there. Can I say that it was an experience. A good one. I would never have thought that we would serve as volunteers full-time, let alone live at a camp.
But it was amazing. Sure, there were tough times. But that’s life. What’s more important is what we each got from that time – what I got from it.
First of all, it’s that serving isn’t always what you think it will be. God has a plan for each of us, and that plan for you is very different than someone else’s. He may call you to be a full-time missionary. He may call you to clear a path in the woods while laughing with people you only met hours before. He may call you to do something completely the opposite of what you thought He wanted you to do, something you never imagined was possible to do.
Second, it’s that after any time spent at Tejas, you will always come away with a stronger relationship with Christ. I’ve spent two summers here and I’m about to jump into my third. Each year, I’ve changed. I’ve grown in ways I never knew I needed to grow. My relationship with Jesus is so different than what it used to be. It is so much better. So much more real. I feel like Jesus is a friend for me, someone who understands and cares in ways no one else can. Someone who is always there. Even after a day here, it’s impossible not to see the love of our Savior shining through the staff and volunteers here.
Third: Tejas gives you community. Romans 12:4-5 says, “For as in one body we have many members and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Community is a vital part of who we are as people, who we are as followers of Christ. I’ve never felt a bond form so quickly or a friendship grow so fast as I have here at Tejas. It’s amazing the amount of wisdom you can attain through a good friend.
Serving at camp isn’t always the same. It isn’t always easy. I can say it’s always hot, but that’s a given fact. But every time I find myself here at Tejas, I’m reminded that serving is worth the blood, sweat and tears. It’s worth it because when you serve Jesus through the simplest things, it shows the world that Jesus is here, and He’s making Himself known.
Time flies – we all know it does – so why not do it? Why not take a Saturday and come see for yourself why serving is so important? Why not meet people, laugh with them, work with them, eat with them, pray with them? Why not see what God is doing here at Tejas?
I hope to see you on the 30th of May. Bring your family. Bring your friends. This is an opportunity no one would want to miss.