In this guest post written by Erin Iafrate, Area Director of Grand Traverse Young Life, she reflects on her summer role as Camp Speaker at Timber Wolf Lake in August.


“I could have called anyone, Erin, but I called you simply because I want to be with you,”​ the Lord said to me, right when I started to get prideful of my public speaking skills or anxious about trying something new.

“Okay, Lord, I hear you.”

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Erin Iafrate speaking to a club room full of WyldLife campers at Timber Wolf Lake.

In the hustle and bustle of a week at Young Life camp, there are many roles and activities that help make it the best week of a kid’s life. There’s Work Crew, go-carts, leaders, kids and skits—just to name a few. But there is one role at camp that is completely different and stands alone: Camp Speaker.

It’s slow, reflective, lonely, planned out, heavy. It’s a role where you spend more time with the Lord than with people. (And boy, do I love people!)

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(Photo credit: Meaghan O’Connor)

It’s one where kids see you for a short time each day up front and on stage, but then you become the most backstage person throughout the week. Just being able to watch…

…Work Crew kids hit their limit and experience friendship grounded in Christ.

…the whole club room celebrate a kid as he shows off his yo-yo skills on stage.

…a girl, who AFTER MONTHS, is just starting to trust her leader enough to go on the ropes course with her.

…a leader come up to me with tears in his eyes, in fear and amazement, after his 8th grade guy told him he wanted to have a relationship with Jesus.

Camp speakers get to set the stage, sit back and watch.

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WyldLife campers from Greater Holland Area.

Every day at Young Life camp, camp speakers take on the impossible task of explaining the glorious mystery of the Gospel. And then sit back and watch.

Explaining how God created the world and created them uniquely. And then sit back and watch.

Telling how God wants to be with them so badly that he came to this messy earth as a Man named Jesus. And then sit back and watch.

Showing how Jesus can take any form of brokenness and death and bring about new life. And then sit back and watch.

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WyldLife campers from Southwest Michigan hear how much Jesus loves them.

Sharing how a life with Jesus is our way to full, adventurous, satisfying and eternal life. And then sit back and watch.

To set the stage, to sit back and to watch.

To watch others jump in instead of jumping in myself. To watch others feel honored leading cabin times. To watch others experience joy while serving meals in the dining hall to Capernaum campers. To watch other leaders go home on busses with kids.

This summer, kids saw Jesus at Young Life camp. And so did I.

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Erin speaking to a group of campers the morning of the new believers walk. (Photo credit: Valerie Litwiller)