Aroostasha // Benji&Blaise // Bible Camp
Benji sat on the beach with his Bible in his lap, a conservative light blue polo and khaki shorts likely giving him strange tan lines. He looked down on the book. The heat of the sun seeped into his hair like water as he willed himself to open it, but couldn't bring his fingers to leave the rotting log that served as a bench, as if the pages were made of lead.
Since he'd come to the Camp Kabekona he felt out of place. His mother had insisted that he make a missionary of himself, to spread the word of God, the True Word, and he thought how better to than to mold the minds of Minnesota's youth?
Still, before he arrived, he didn't know that it would be so hard. While he thought the non-denominational nature of the camp would wage war between the denominations, most campers never mentioned their denominations or asked others of theirs. He himself decided quickly not to mention his unless asked, and was thankful no one asked. The camp was so joyous, and free, messages of God's love and mercy, messages he'd seldom heard before, ringing throughout the camp with every meal and activity and devotional. He still felt the fear of God in his heart, and was disciplined in all things he did, but he was never outwardly chastised.
Who would he be, then, to scold the girls wearing two-piece swimsuits, calling them harlots as his mother would have? Who would he be to tell the little boy who proudly showed every single person he saw a picture of his father in his military uniform that he thanked God for dead soldiers? He knew he should have, he was there to spread the Truth, but among the sun and the scent of pine he found his fear of people trumped his fear of God.
He'd prayed long and hard on it, begging God to give him strength, knowing that His love was conditional, unlike what the others said, and that he was supposed to warn the campers and counselors alike that their ways were wrong, but the strength had not yet come to him.
Benji finally began to flip through the pages, hoping he might find something to help him. He closed his eyes and quickly thumbed the pages, cover to cover, randomly stopping somewhere in the middle. He opened the book and glanced down, his eyes landing on none other than John 3:16. The verses before and after it, which immediately disproved the common interpretation, were highlighted in bright yellow, but he read and re-read five words.
God so loved the world.
He tossed the book away from him, into the sand, and brought his hands to comb through his hair, wanting to scream, but only managing a few small tears. It wasn't true, he knew it wasn't true, so many verses in the Bible and so many terrible things in the world proved it wasn't true.
But he wanted it to be.