This past summer, I worked as a horse counselor at Camp Turner.  Working as a counselor brought me new experiences from feeding the horses, to helping teach the kids how to take care of the horses. I saw God's presence in different ways: the beautiful nature, stars, being able to work with the horses and spending time with the other counselors. However, the times I saw God the most were not when I was with the other counselors, or in the nature, nor working with the horses. The times I saw God the most was when I was getting to know the campers.

Two experiences I had with the campers really stood out to me. The first experience was one of the last weeks at camp. It was the night of the weekly dance and there was a little girl standing by herself. I went over and started talking to her. As I was getting to know her, I noticed how she was filled with the joy of life. As the week went on, I would see her and we would say "Hi" to each other and I would see how she was enjoying camp. I saw God in the smiles she gave me and the amount of energy she put into the simplest activity of climbing up and down a staircase. The second experience was during the last couple of days when I saw another girl who also radiated joy. She was filled with life and excited about all the new experiences. I started talking to her and getting to know her. She helped show me how my being there made a difference to her.

As I was getting to know these girls, I hoped and prayed that I made a difference in their lives somehow. Because they made a difference in mine, they helped me feel God's love when they smiled at me. I was very touched, when one of the girls said goodbye to me and said, "I'm going to miss you Miss Mary." I really experienced what Jesus said in Matthew 18:5, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes Me."