Oh What A Wonderful, Wonderful Day!

 A day I will never forget!


The summer of 2002 was the first year that I can remember my heart being open to hear the gospel. Both of my parents were Christians. We were a Christian family when we were in Africa. And also, we attended church every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when we moved to the States. I played drums and went to Sunday School. I knew all the trivia's and could open my Bible to any book in the New and Old Testament within seconds. Understand I enjoyed going to church  and I would say it was very thrilling, but at that point in life, I did not realize I was sinner. In June of 2002, I went to Camp of the Hills in Temple, TX, and everything changed that week.

That week my life began to change. Let me tell you about it.

I had been given the opportunity to attend the camp through a community Bible study group for kids, and I took advantage of it excited to be leaving my parents and sister for a whole week. I hopped on the charter bus after Dad dropped me off at the church with a small bag filled with a few shirts and shorts. I wasn't at that time well adjusted to American culture so I sat quietly to myself and watched the Christian movies being shown on the television. When it came time for lunch, I realized all the other kids were excited at the ham and cheese sandwiches that the leaders were passing out. But the only food that was familiar to me was the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that had become dear  to me at school because of my reluctance to eat what I perceived as nasty American food. I was excited about going to camp but really nervous about not knowing anybody. This was only three years after arriving from Ghana so you can imagine that I was dealing with bullies at school and in the neighborhood who were making fun of the way I dressed and the way I talked and so forth (funny story, one of them is actually one of my best friends now). And to top it all off, I arrived at camp with mid-thigh jean shorts, (please, don't laugh at me too), and a yellow shirt with horses in front of it. (Okay, you can laugh at me.) Also, my stomach was poking out because by this time, I was introduced to various delicious American foods such as donuts, ice cream, and pop-tarts. Everyone at camp came with their friends and I came with ... well, me, an easy target for bullies. (If your imagination takes you to a national geographic scene of a pride of lions preying on a lone gazelle, that is a very precise depiction of the situation).


It is such a joy to me right now as I write this to realize that through all those times, God was working in my life. He knew exactly who I was, he knew my situation. He knew how I was scared, how I was embarrassed, he also knew the person I would become today. Now I realize that I was Gods' all along, I just had to confess my rebellion against him and realize that he was merciful. I belong to him. My life is not my own.

During the Thursday night of the week at the camp, the camp portrayed the crucifixion of Jesus, his passion. At this camp, they actually whipped the gentleman playing Jesus who happened to be one of my counselors. I remember this day and this event very vividly. At that moment, it seemed God was tugging at my heart, and he was pulling heavily. I could not help myself so I began to sob. With each whip on the back of the man who was playing Jesus, I felt it. As if God was telling me something. I wasn't crying because they were whipping a man. Nor was I crying that the man was my counselor. Rather, at that moment, I realized that I was a sinner and needed the forgiveness of Christ Jesus. This kid from Africa who had come to camp as an escape from home really came because God was going to begin something in his life that he would continue to complete. I stood there weeping, and with each whip, I felt a devastating stab to my heart. I walked away from the scene into the woods to avoid embarrassment from my peers and continued to weep, trying to understand what was happening to me. Another counselor of mine who was playing Judas Iscariot (his part was now finished) came and got me from the woods. He put his arms around me, and told me that God was doing something in my life, and that he was going to bring me back to the scene because I needed to see all that Jesus did for me. He put his arms around me and we walked back to the scene. And with each whip, I heard the pain and felt the pain of Jesus on my behalf. I wanted it to stop. I saw him crushed. I saw him humiliated. I saw him oppressed and afflicted. I saw the blood dripping from the wounds on his back. The play progressed onto the cross scene and I sat down on a rock at the bottom of this hill looking up at this guy who was playing Jesus, and I realized that what the guy who was playing Jesus was going through was in no capacity compared to what Jesus suffered through for the transgressions, sins, of the world.


Back at the cabin that night, it was very quiet as all the guys also realized that what we witnessed that day was something we would all never forget. That night, the counselors led the cabin in a prayer to receive Jesus. When I got home from the camp that Saturday, I had difficulty understanding what exactly happened that Thursday sunset. What was the Lord trying to tell me? Was I not going to sin anymore because I repeated a prayer to receive Jesus? Was I only going to be able to do good from then on? No more bad Kingsley? Well, it did not end up all smooth and groovy after that summer. As I look back now, I see that day to be more of a starting point of God making me realize how he had set me apart and had redeemed me. Years and years after that summer, God continuously showered his grace upon my life. A truth from the Bible is that God is merciful, slow to anger, abounding in love. His compassion never fails. In Jeremiah 3:12-13, he says to a faithless people, "I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful, ... I will not be angry forever, only acknowledge your guilt - you have rebelled against the LORD your God... you have not obeyed me."

Psalms 103: 8-18 also says:

8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ The life of mortals is like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children—
¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.

Oh what a wonderful, wonderful day indeed! The day when heaven came down and filled my soul! When God's love was revealed to me, and I realized that I was a sinner. I did not have my life all together because he is the one who cleanses sins. Even in my imperfections, God does not treat me as my sins deserve! Praise God! God is still working in my life as he is in the world. God works in marvelous and glorious ways. Let your heart be open to him for him to transform you into the image of his Son, Christ Jesus. Our sins are washed away!