The Miracle of Scout Camp

I taught the lesson in priesthood last Sunday. The topic was "Living by Faith." As I was preparing for the lesson, I was impressed to read through one of my old journals, where I found a story of faith that I had since forgotten. I shared it in that meeting, and I also wanted to share it here, just to illustrate how faith can have an impact in our lives, and the lives of those around us.

As a little background, this experience took place when I lived in Washington, DC, and was over the young men (ages 12-18) in our congregation. This is taken directly out of my journal:

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

I am here at Scout Camp in the woods of Maryland - Broad Creek Camp, about an hour north of Baltimore. When we (the Capitol Hill Branch) were integrated into the Suitland MD Stake, we found out that Scout Camp was coming up on only a few short weeks. So we did quite a bit of planning and were planning on having three Young Men come out here to camp. Well, as time for Scout Camp neared, all three boys developed excuses and/or conflicts that they used to say they couldn't go to Scout Camp. President Degn [our Branch President] and I talked to the their respective parents and re-committed them all to come again. The day before Scout Camp (Sun. June 27), two of the young men called to say they could not attend camp. At this point, I was ready to throw my hands up and wash them clean of the mess, having done all in my power to encourage them to come. But, in talking to my roommate, I felt a strong impression that Scout Camp would be a valuable learning experience and a good memory for them. I came to realize that Satan didn't want them to go. I called President Degn, and he tried to get in touch with the boys and their parents. When that ended in lukewarm reception, I decided that I would stop by each boy's place anyway to see if they were ready - at 4am on Monday morning! I prayed a lot about it Sunday night, called my parents and asked for their prayers, and received a blessing from my roommates. The Lord certainly worked a miracle, as all three boys were up and ready to go to camp Monday morning at 4am.

(P.S. If I ever find the picture of our scout camp "troop," I will be sure to scan it in and add it to this post)