From August 12 – August 14 we held our 12th annual soccer camp for boys from different children’s homes in Korea. 29 3rd to 6th grade boys from 5 different homes joined us for this camp. We held it on the Yongsan Army Base in Seoul. Below are photos and stories from the camp and then at the bottom is our camp video. Special thanks to my wife, Sky, for taking all the photos and to Somyung who put together the video.
Monday morning we had to gather in the religious retreat center on base (special thanks to Chaplain Won and Chaplain Cobban for allowing us to gather there) due to a typhoon that was hitting Korea that day with heavy rain. More than half of the 29 boys attending were new to the camp so there was some nervousness among them during orientation. The coaches of the two teams called up each boy by name and all the team volunteers gave them high fives and welcomed them. The boys were given brand new uniforms to change into and were already feeling like a million bucks…And then they received brand new Nike soccer shoes! We are so blessed by the sponsors who helped provide everything for the camp. The boys proudly wear their uniforms and shoes at the children’s homes and when they go out with friends. One of the boys (new to the camp) smiling after he was fully changed. The two teams this year were Team Korea (home jersey, red) and Team Korea (away jersey, white). It was raining so hard the first morning that we weren’t able to set up anything on the field and we were concerned we wouldn’t be able to play outside that day. Weather conditions have been interesting almost every camp, and whenever the weather has been threatening we (as a staff) have learned to have the boys pray. So that morning fellow staff member Jee led the boys in prayer for the rain to stop. And the heavy rain stopped almost immediately! I took some volunteers to the field to set up and after 10 minutes the rain started again. The boys were doing their stretches in the room and we had them pray one more time. And sure enough, the rain stopped! We took them out and we had a wonderful first day! The next morning when I picked up the boys from the children’s home I serve at a number of them exclaimed that they had prayed the night before for the camp. It was sweet seeing faith arise in the kids. The boys willingly prayed each of the camp days. This picture was from day 3. Day 1 weather (after the rain stopped) was the best! In the morning the boys participated in different team building activities and soccer drills. It didn’t take long for the boys to open up to the volunteers. The volunteers were all so loving that the boys felt very safe from day one. This 12th camp was extra special because five of our Oak Tree Project students served as volunteers with us. Oak Tree Project is a scholarship and mentoring program for Korean orphans who get into college. Four of the students grew up in children’s homes that were at the camp and two of them even participated in the camp when they were in elementary school. Along with assigning the five students as team volunteers we also put them in charge of afternoon activities and they did a great job. Here is a picture of the boys playing dodgeball after lunch. There was a brief heavy rain for about two minutes that cooled us off and then the it stopped. Happy kids! Almost all the boys in the pictures so far were new to the camp. Usually it takes kids from children’s home a while to adjust to a new place and to shake off their insecurities. We purposely made the theme of the first day “Confidence” because we wanted the volunteers to show confident, unwavering love to the boys and for the boys to relax and grow in confidence themselves. It was sweet seeing confidence grow in them throughout the camp. Team Red!Team White!Day 2 weather was back to the usual hot and sunny summer day. Clouds gave us relief here and there and we also made sure to take time to rest under the tents. The kids had a great day with drills in the morning, lunch, relay activities, and then scrimmages. We closed each day with compliments time. Chicken day 1, burgers day 2, and pizza day 3 (don’t worry, we also served them fruit!). The boys loved the meals and ate like growing boys do. Compliments time at the end of the day has become a sweet tradition for our camps. We give time for the volunteers to call out kids by name and say something nice about them. Our hope is that by day three the kids will learn the language of affirmation and say something nice about each other. These kids rarely receive personal compliments so it is sweet seeing them light up when their name is called. Some of the boys try and act cool and hide their joy inside but others can’t help but smile broadly as they’re affirmed. The theme for day 2 was “Joy.” We took a group picture before taking the kids home. Day 3 was our final day and we started with stretches in the morning.For the first time at our soccer camp we lined up the boys on each side before the championship game and introduced them one after the other. I was worried the kids would be shy, but because we introduced their coach first and the coach showed how to run out and high five the volunteers the boys felt safe to follow and smile. We have so many cute pictures of these boys reacting to their name being called and high fiving all the volunteers as they ran onto the field. I think they really felt like soccer players!Another one of the many pictures of the boys running onto the field. More on this boy later…Team Red finishing their cheer before the championship game.Team Red went on to win the championship. And then we had a special penalty kick challenge where each boy got to try and score a goal against me and another volunteer.Team White would win the penalty kick challenge in a playoff. I loved being with the boys. I’ve been serving at Geon Children’s Home for almost 14 years now. All of the boys at the camp were born between 2007-2010, well after I began living in the children’s home. We took individual shots of each player. They all looked great!This boy was the only one who wasn’t happy about having his picture taken. He had missed his penalty kick attempt and was really upset at himself, refusing to be comforted. He began complaining about anything and everything. Thankfully his coach took him aside and they talked together for a bit. The boy calmed down, apologized for his behavior, and expressed he wanted his picture taken. I was blessed by the love of his coach and how quick the change happened in him. These boys have so many insecurities and struggles inside them. But calm, confident love can bring peace to such storms. He was the last boy to have his picture taken and then we headed for lunch. He was smiling and wanted pictures taken of him with other boys. After lunch White Team received beach balls for winning the penalty kick challenge. They had fun playing with them in the pool during our afternoon swimming time. Next, the coaches presented the team MVP awards and the team junior MVP awards. Next were the sportsmanship awards. This moment was my favorite moment in the camp. Coach Shalom called up this boy and began affirming him in front of everyone and the boy began crying. The boy was so overwhelmed by the love and affirmation. It was really precious and a number of volunteers teared up (including me). The sportsmanship award winners. The boy on the left wrote letters for each volunteer on his team asking that they remember him. Very sweet. Our photographer (who happens to be my wonderful wife) Sky and one of our older boys who had been at the camp for four straight years. He matured so much over the past four years and was one of the favorites among the volunteers. It was beautiful watching him cheer for the other kids and encourage them when they struggled. He received so much love at the camps that he cried a lot while saying goodbye when the camp ended.After lunch was pool time, another tradition for our soccer camps. Happy boys and happy volunteers. After pool time we all changed and headed to Vatos Urban Tacos for a final dinner that was fully sponsored by the restaurant. Thank you, Vatos!We’re also thankful to KKOOM (Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission) for their support of our camps. We were blessed to have their chief administrator, Grace, serve with us at the camp. The boys definitely ate well!After dinner the coaches called up each kid one by one and shared some affirming words about the boy and then gave the boy a team picture. The boys loved this time and couldn’t wait for their name to be called. Not only is it rare for them to receive detailed affirmation, it is especially rare for them to receive affirming words from men (most of the workers in the homes are female). I’m so grateful to our coaches and volunteers for all the love they poured out on these kids!Everyone listened well and cheered for each kid.The boys loved receiving the team picture. It was sweet watching them hold the frame afterwards and look at the picture.Autographs from all of his teammates and volunteers.Coach Yolguk with one of my boys who cried as they said goodbye. It’s such a blessing to see the impact these volunteers have on the kids. This boy can be really tough but he definitely has a soft spot for Coach Yolguk and would ask me about him at different times over the past two years since they first met two camps ago.
I will end this post with the video from the camp. Thank you to Second Hand Rose Thrift Shop, American Women’s Club, Havas Korea, Sole to Seoul, Vatos Urban Tacos, KKOOM, and Jubilee Church Seoul for sponsoring this camp. Without your donations this camp could not have happened. And thank you to all the volunteers, coaches, and people who prayed for this camp. It was a special one!
WOW!!! Pastor Sky captured some remarkable moments throughout the camp, I teared up! I pray that God continues to bless you both, the volunteers and their families and all the boys. Thank You Pastor JM for spreading God’s love…
1 comment:
WOW!!! Pastor Sky captured some remarkable moments throughout the camp, I teared up! I pray that God continues to bless you both, the volunteers and their families and all the boys. Thank You Pastor JM for spreading God’s love…