Miracle on the court

By Rick K. in Russia

It happened on the final day of Lighthouse of Hope camp around 6 p.m. The camp theme was Noah: What Hollywood Didn’t Show You, and each day creatively featured one element of Noah’s experience surrounding the flood.

The last day’s focus was Day of the Rainbow; the next morning, the campers would be going home. Brightly colored decorations and miniature rainbows were scattered about the camp as reminders of the sign that God showed Noah.

No rain was forecast during camp; in fact, the entire month had been hot and dry. This made the water games, lake activities and drinking fountain particularly refreshing.

On this final day, a former camper pulled up on his motorbike as a few raindrops fell. He commented that he didn’t feel any rain in the nearby village or anywhere else on his way to camp.

I looked up, squinting at a tiny dark cloud that blocked the sun with nothing but a clear blue sky surrounding it. Rain started to fall, gently and steadily, for about a half hour. Campers found it refreshing to walk around outside with outstretched arms and faces looking up. Staff children playfully stomped in small puddles, and their parents didn’t seem to mind. That night’s bonfire, cancelled due to the dry weather, was back on.

Suddenly, an announcement spread for people to hurry to the basketball court to see what God had done. There floated a rainbow — not in the sky above the trees, but right over the basketball court, in a perfect arch with both ends touching the ground. On this Day of the Rainbow, God gave us the real deal!

People later confirmed there was no rain anywhere else in the area. The campers and the staff saw the rainbow as a sign from God that He was with us. In the evening service, 28 of the 75 campers went forward to indicate they had put their faith in Christ during camp! As I looked upon those teens, I understood that God was not only with us, but that He had done a marvelous work.