It's A Small World After All (China Part 7)

One of the neatest parts of this camp is the blending of cultures that came together over one common Love.

This is bigger than the American Melting Pot, the Olympics, and even the great Disney ride It's A Small World.

These precious brothers and sister came from all corners of the world to demonstrate the same love that died for us.

The Irish were represented and all four of them became dear friends quickly.

Jordan and her family sat with us during crafts everyday. What a blessing they were!

Marrying Rob off to one of the American girls quickly became a task of upmost importance. And we begged him to say words like "stunning" in his Irish accent, which I guess is really just his normal voice.

John was one of two Aussies in the group. He took a special liking to Juju, and she loved hearing him call her "love." 

The Americas were represented as well. Katie B was one of my most favorites. She was such a blessing and I needed her encouragement during the week to make it through!

While that was just a few of the amazing volunteers and staff from camp, there were so many more there who I can't wait to be with again once we step into eternity. I imagine our times of worship are just a glimpse of what our forevers will look like. I am so thankful for the relationships I built with each of them and treasure them dearly.

Another highlight of the different cultures coming together was the production of the talent show.

Hello, legitimate Irish step performance. I can't imagine the patience and hard work Steph and Ciera put into this with their kids.

Oh John. Even though he's Australian, he speaks Chinese, so his family performed a skit during the talent show. All seven words I know in Chinese were not enough for me to understand what was going on. However, the kids and translators were absolutely howling, so I'm assuming it was hysterical.

Rachel, another Aussie, and Mel, a fellow Southerner, performed a song with their kids about their favorite parts of camp. It was precious.

Rob's group pulled practical jokes for their talent. Sweet little Bei Bei could have gotten up there and blown spit bubbles and I would have thought it was adorable, so this was even better.

Our little group. Bless us. Winnie sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in English (I promise it's a bigger deal than it sounds) and then we all blew a few kisses to the crowd (Juju was pretty good at doing that to the boys anyway). I was proud of them both getting up there, especially considering we planned this as we were sitting there.

To wrap up the night, each group got up and sang their country's national anthem. First the Irish, then the Australians, the Americans, then all of the Chinese.

I got chills singing our nation's anthem, and realized that was as close as I'd ever get to feeling like a gold medal Olympic athlete standing on the podium representing their country. But really, it was such a cool experience to realize the blessings and opportunities that come from being American while also realizing that our Father cannot be bound by borders, law, customs, or any other worldly force.

The Chinese were so proud to sing their national anthem for the group of foreigners.

He's got the whole world in His hands, you know?