By Brooke Nagel, a member of SEND Spain | Europe

It had been a very long week at camp—everything that could go wrong went wrong.

Every time we went to cook the food for the seven kids in our group with allergies, the power went out. Not everyone fit into the residency, so around twenty of us were going back and forth and sleeping on the floor in a local church. It seemed like problem after problem as we worked hard to make sure everything was going well for the youth. 

It was the last night of camp. We had just finished our night of worship, so I went to the dining area to prepare breakfast for the following morning. As I was standing by the fridge, one of the 14-year-old boys from my small group approached me and asked if he could talk to me. I immediately started to think about what could have possibly gone wrong and said, “Yes, of course.” We sat down at one of the tables, and I noticed he was shaking nervously as he started crying.

He told me how he had never experienced what he experienced that night during worship and how he felt something moving in him. He talked about how his parents share the gospel with people in hospitals and pray with them so they can follow Jesus. I asked him if he was following Jesus or just observing, and he said that he had been observing. He wanted to follow Jesus himself, but he feared what his friends would think. 

After we talked some more, I offered to pray and said he could repeat after me if he wanted. As I paused, he started to pray and decided to follow Jesus with his life!

Hugo* is going to spend eternity in heaven with God!  

I start to tear up when I think about this experience. After a tough week at camp, being so frustrated and annoyed, the fact that God would use me and allow me to talk and pray with Hugo was the most humbling experience. Who am I? It was such a beautiful moment and a reminder of why I do what I do. I provide opportunities for youth like Hugo to experience God's love and decide to make the best decision of their life - to follow him.

*Name changed for privacy

Millions of people in Europe remain unreached, whether they are lost in a post-Christian world or are recent immigrants from countries closed to the gospel witness. Learn more about SEND’s teams in Europe.