Little Sunday Story: Growing at Camp

Growing at Camp

by Ashley Karges

Oct 5, 2025

Luke 17: 5-10 

Themes:

-Water the faith you have been given, and it will explode in growth like a mustard seed.

-Grow in faith by doing what God asks of you. He provides all that you need at the time.

-Be faithful for the glory of God, not for our own good.

“See you next week, Coconut! I’ll be away at camp for a few days.” Malulabelle hugged her fluffy pup, Coconut.

“Ruff! Ruff!” Coconut sent her off with a juicy I-love-you-lick. He always knew how to make her giggle.

Malulabelle looked forward to roasting marshmallows, campfire prayers, and trekking the trails with flashlights!

Settling into her bunk, Malulabelle reunited with all her camping friends.

“There are new activities this year!” Margot was Malulabelle’s bunkmate. “We can earn a sticker to put in our journals for every activity we complete.”

“Wow! I am going to be the best camper and earn every sticker!” said Malulabelle.

Malulabelle got started on her stickers right away.

Archery! Check.

Fishing! Check.

Bird watching! Check.

A group of friends in swimming suits ran past Malulabelle. “Come to the pond with us, Malulabelle!”

“I’ll be there later, after completing my activities.”

Rock painting… Check.

Insect Discovery…. … Check.

Leaf Identification… … … Check.

Malulabelle sighed and slumped against a tree. She heard friends’ laughter across the pond.

“I like these activities. But why does this feel so hard?” Malulabelle knew what to do. Sitting on the nearest rock, she folded her hands to pray.

“Jesus, I want to show everyone how much I love camp. I want to be the best camper and earn the most stickers. But something is missing…” Malulabelle flipped through her camp journal. Looking at all the stickers she accumulated, she realized, the journal was only for her eyes to see. Not anyone else at camp.

This gave Malulabelle a new thought. “Oh! Being the best camper comes from growing on the inside! Not earning the most stickers. I have learned lots of new skills, and have grown in lots of ways already. I am a good camper. Thank you, Jesus.” 

Malulabelle finished her prayer, then raced to the pond. Her heart felt warm inside.

“Hi, friends! Wait for me!”

Splash!

Have you ever done a good deed and wanted someone to tell you “good job!” This makes the good deed about us, instead of the kindness of the deed. We can apply this to our faith. Jesus tells us if we have faith even the size of a mustard seed (which is very small!) we can move mountains! Just think what we could do if we had faith bigger than a mustard seed. But, even with a small amount of faith, we can practice being faithful. If we follow what Jesus asks of us, and come to know him closely, our faith will grow and grow! As our faith grows we learn to do God’s will not for our own recognition, but simply for the glory of God.