Kids Across America welcomes youth ages 10-19 from across the nation—no matter what their religious background—for a life-changing week at camp. Meet Virat, who attended KAA for the first time this summer.
Although he was raised Hindu, Virat did not mind the fact that it was a Christian camp. In fact, back home, he attends a Christian School. “My friends at school are Christian, and they shared the Bible with me, but I didn’t care much,” Virat explains. “And my friends at home are Hindu.”
He loved camp! While Virat was not quite ready to try out tubing, he enjoyed riding in the boat. He dove into as many of the activities as he could and made tons of friends, but the most interesting part of camp to Virat was learning about Jesus. He shared that even though he attends a Christian school, they do not talk about Jesus much. “But at KAA, it is all the time, everywhere,” he said. “Jesus really felt real to me for the first time.”
Over the course of two days, Virat asked his counselors as many questions as he could to learn more about this man named Jesus, who willingly died for our sins so that we could be free from sin and have eternal life with Him. Maverick, one of his counselors, recognized Virat’s eagerness to learn and understand and asked Colton and Ryan (formerly an atheist), who were serving on summer staff leadership for help answering his questions.
They chatted for two hours, sharing scripture, and answering every question Virat had. And, he had a ton! What is sin? Who is Jesus? Why did He die for our sins?—highly intelligent questions for someone age 12, as Colton recalls.
After the deep and extensive conversation, Virat made the most important decision he will ever make. He asked Jesus to come into his heart. “My whole life Christ has been giving me hints,” Virat shares. “I just now let Him in!”
His counselors made sure that he not only left with any questions, but that he knew how to read the bible, apply God’s word to his life and pray.
“I want to tell my parents; I want to tell my friends; I want to tell everyone,” Virat says. “They might change, too, if they know what I learned at camp.”
