Bible arrives in one bag and leaves in another

You are helping young people turn the pages of God’s big story for the very first time

Whenever long-time Zone 40 leader, Laura, packs for the outdoorsy, adventurous camp, her usual Bible of choice is an older one.

“In case of water damage and getting beaten around, I usually pack one that has been well-used,” says Laura.

But, this year, she decided to make a change. She placed a brand-new copy of the Bible in her bag, wrapped carefully in layers of clothing to protect it.

“I’d heard somewhere that you should always keep Bibles on you, in case someone ever needed one, so I kept a stack in my boot,” says Laura. “I took one of these out and put it in my bag.”

She couldn’t have known, at the time, what a life-changing difference this simple decision would make.

While Laura was readying for camp, two young campers, Aaron and Ben*, were also preparing to leave. Aaron was already a Christian, while Ben (a non-believer) had accepted the invitation to come along to camp with his friend for the first time.

Each morning at Zone 40, the day begins with a ‘God Spot’, where campers gather to learn about God, followed by small group discussion. Aaron and Ben found themselves in Laura’s group and afterwards Ben approached her with an important question:

“Laura, I’d really like to read the Bible. Can you give me one?”

While they usually kept Bibles in the trailer at Zone 40 for just this purpose, for some reason this year they’d been left behind.

After barely a moment of thought, Laura was able to go to her bag, extract the Bible she’d brought with her and pass it over to Ben, good as new, and full of good news.

The next morning after the ‘God Spot’, Ben once more approached his leader.

“Reading the Bible makes me so happy,” he said.

When Laura went to deliver medicine to one of the other campers later that night, she found Ben in his tent, bent over his Bible with a torch in fervent concentration. Not even the noise of the other boys laughing and mucking around could distract him. He wanted to read it all, from cover to cover.

While Laura was thrilled at Ben’s enthusiasm, she took the chance the following day to chat through the different books of the Bible with Ben, suggesting that after reading Genesis he try something in the New Testament.

Laura was now used to Ben’s questions and comments, but the words that came next were the best of all. “Laura, I want to become a Christian. How do I do that?”

Laura talked to Ben about what it meant to become a Christian, and then, sitting around the campfire after the morning ‘God Spot’, she was able to pray with him.

“I waited until after he left,” she remembers, “and then I burst into tears.”

With less than 24 hours to go on camp, Laura asked Ben’s permission to share his news with the other campers in their small group. Wanting to be able to send him off with encouragement and some next steps for living the Christian life, she asked the other young campers to share their favourite book of the Bible.

“One girl said Psalms, because it had really helped her. Another two said the gospels, and one said Genesis, and he was already reading that so that was good,” says Laura.

The Bible that had arrived in one bag went home in another, and Laura couldn’t have been happier to be carrying home her lighter load.

*names have been changed for anonymity

Thank you for praying for campers as they engage with the Bible, some for the first time, and experiencing the life-changing Good News of Jesus. To continue supporting SU ministries such as these, head to su.org.au/donate.