By Stacey Lovett in Japan — I am just returning from my fourth camp of the summer. There’s a part of me that finds camps a burden. I often have to sleep in less-than-comfortable circumstances. I spend long days listening and speaking in Japanese. The limitless energy of the students leaves me exhausted. Yet, at the end of every camp, I’m stunned by the change that occurred in my life and in the students’ lives.

At last week’s camp, we choose “God Is Love” as the theme. About 20 of the 90 student there were not Christians.

The messages each day presented the gospel, but one of the most inspiring parts of the camp was a night hike. As all 90 students and staff sat in complete silence and darkness, we spotted at least 10 shooting stars. Nobody wanted the experience to end. There are few greater apologetics for the God of the Bible than an experience like that. What seemed like just a fun activity turned into one of the most powerful statements of the gospel we had all week.

On the final night of camp, each small group of eight students nominated one of their members to give a testimony. I expected that most of the testimonies would be from the Christian students explaining why they became a Christian. I was completely amazed when at least half of the testimonies were by non-Christian students who expressed a desire to become a Christian. Of the 20 non-Christians who attended, around half decided that they wanted to become Christians!

We are praising God for such incredible fruit! Okutama Bible Chalet, the camp SEND partners with in Japan, invites students year after year to relax, play and learn about Jesus. You can help the camp extend its reach so that more Japanese students can hear that God is love. Click here to find out how.