Resist the devil, "standing firm in the faith, because you know your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” -1 Peter 5:9
Many of us are familiar with this passage and many of us believe it to be true. However, it was something completely different to see this passage come to life as we got the opportunity to fellowship and share our struggles with brothers and sisters in Africa as part of a Swamp Corp team.
On December 28, 2011, fifteen members and teens of members from the Columbia Church of Christ (SC) got the opportunity to embark on a trip to South Africa that has forever changed our lives. We traveled to South Africa as a part of a Swamp Corps team. 45 individuals from 6 states in the USA went to help run a Youth Camp for 205 children from 8 different countries: South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Australia, and the United States of America.
1 Peter 5 encourages us to resist the devil by standing firm in the faith. Sounds simple enough, but what am I supposed to have faith in? Aft
er this trip, I can confidently say that we can resist the devil when we have faith in our brothers around the world and faith in the power of God.
As we landed in South Africa and met the members of the Johannesburg Church, most of us were nervous about how we would overcome the cultural and societal differences between us and them. Yet the more we got to know them, the more we realized that when we have the same God…there are differences between us, but living life for God was a transcendant unifier. The families, adults, and the teens from around the world all face the exact same struggles we face here in the United States. They are tempted by the world around them; struggling to live a godly life and raise a godly family in an ungodly world; tempted by the sins of pride, greed, and impurity; fighting to be bold in sharing their faith with their co-workers, neighbors, fellow students, and families; and struggling to apply the scriptures to their everyday lives. You see, there is NO difference between us and them. There is no reason for us or them to think we are all alone in our fight against the devil.
This common ground allowed each one of us to build deep relationships and life-long friendships in a period of just 5 days. These friendships will continue to grow over the years and will help us to stay faithful to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The 5 days of camp also helped us to have faith in the power of God. It is only by the power of God that you can pull together 33 counselors and 205 campers from 8 different countries and in 5 days have everyone there see the love and power of God. Here are some of the camper’s testimonies:
“Before I came to camp I wasn’t sure about God, but hearing the lessons made me believe that God was there and God loves us…I was so happy for the devotional by the fire. I didn’t pray a lot at home, but that made me believe that it is exciting to pray to God. Now every time I think about praying and singing to God it makes me feel happy and excited.”
“I was really scared to come to this camp because people at my school are not my friends and hate me. When I came here everyone in my cabin was so nice to me and I made a lot of new friends. All of the Americans here, I see your hearts and I clearly see God working…God is really amazing.”
“We had our thankful devotional this morning when everyone stands in front of the entire camp to express their gratitude verbally and publicly. Three of my campers got into line and wept about how they never wanted to come but they've had the best week of their life. Around me the rest of my girls cried out of the gratitude that was flowing from their hearts even though they didn't verbally express it.”
“Amazing. I think that's the only word close enough to describing how amazing this past week has been. Trying to sum up all the friendships made and the emotions created, the tears shed and the laughter heard. Simply...Amazing. As one of the teens here in South Africa, I think it's safe to say that not only do I believe that those five days at camp were some of the best of my teenagehood, but also that after such a camp I know, and I think the rest of the teens here do too, that it's not impossible to make life-long friends in a span of five days.”
Our brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same sufferings as us. Let us keep them in our prayers as they keep us in theirs. Together we can resist the devil and his schemes.
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