Joseph and the Dinosaur

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By Brad Mowry


My friend Scott is a Regional Director for Young Life and a relatively new Capernaum leader. He is developing Young Life in the entire state of West Virginia. This past week, however, he was serving in a different role. He was at camp with a friend named Joseph. Joseph had never been away from his parents overnight, and on day one was really struggling. When I saw Scott on night one after campers went to their cabins to go to bed, he said Joseph had cried for four hours and wanted to go home. Scott had called Joseph’s mom and in order to comfort Joseph, they were considering having his brother travel to be with him at camp. We sent out a prayer request for Joseph - and also for Scott for endurance, creativity, and patience. I was seeing Mark 2 in action - a group of friends uniting together to bring another friend to the feet of Jesus.

One thing Scott knew about Joseph is that Joseph loves to create with clay. So a camp staff person went into town and bought clay so that Joseph would have something to look forward to doing the next day - something that he would love!
On night 2 campers are invited to perform on stage with the areas they are at camp with for “Rockbridge’s Got Talent.” Some do preplanned talent performances and some dance to a song they picked that afternoon. They so enjoy being on stage and in the spotlight. What a joy to give our campers - most of whom are overlooked and ignored back home - a chance to be on stage and to shine in front of hundreds of people.
Joseph’s clay creation was so awesome that we showcased it at “Rockbridge’s Got Talent.” Attached is a video of Joseph using clay to make a dinosaur. Brad Mowry filmed a time-lapse video of him working on it, and he was able to show the dinosaur on stage with the video. Joseph was very proud!
That day our friend Scott and his friend Joseph turned a corner. We caught Joseph smiling during the Disney games and singing “Let it Go” with the rest of camp. His brother had arrived and Joseph had decided to stay at camp! (He did grab Brad's hand later and say, “Next year I don’t need to come to camp. My family is at home and I will stay there.” We have a year to convince him otherwise!)
How grateful I am for the examples I see in Young Life of our staff and leaders living out Mark 2, breaking down barriers that might keep kids from experiencing all that God has for them, making sure that every camper knows that they are loved and valued by their YL leader and by the God who created them just as they are!

Here is a link to the movie of Joseph molding the dinosaur


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