A Drop in de Ocean: Cross Culture

A few weeks before ISCF camp started, a frustrated mother walked into an institution and indicated that she needed an intervention for her teenage daughter whom she said was out of control. The person whom she spoke with was well aware of the reputation of ISCF camp, and suggested that her daughter would benefit from attending. Sponsorship was provided, and the young lady came to camp. By the end of the week, the young lady wrote "For a long time I never liked any camp, but this one was the best!" Although she did not make a decision to follow Christ as yet, after hearing the Word of God at camp she is reconsidering where she had initially planned to place her confidence and faith in.

Counselors spending time in prayer before the start of camp

ISCF Camp brings together students from different schools across the nation. While it is targeted primarily at those who attend ISCF or RI, it is open to anyone who is interested in attending. As a result, we sometimes get students from diverse backgrounds, who have not all been exposed to the culture of the kingdom of God. This provided the perfect environment for this year's theme, which is also the theme for IS/IVCF in this academic year - Cross Culture. The campers learnt about what a culture is, the value of crossing over from the culture of darkness into the culture of light, the need to cross out the culture of the world and adopt the culture of the cross, and the importance of being willing to cross over into the culture of others.

Senior camp speaker "Burnt Offering" sharing at sunrise service

The Camps Committee had been working hard for months preparing for camp, recruiting workers, hosting training sessions and executing all the logistics that come with hosting two weeks of camp. But when camp actually started, it felt as though things were falling apart, as some of the persons who we thought were confirmed for certain roles for one reason or the other were no longer available. Looking back at it afterwards, I felt like God allowed that to happen to show who was really in charge of camp. As always, He provided the persons we needed to fill the gaps, showing us once again that He is the all-knowing, ever present, faithful Provider! After the first day of camp, I felt compelled to send out praise and prayer updates to those who had committed to covering camp in prayer. It was such an encouragement to see items which were listed under prayer points one day, move to praise points on subsequent days because of how God answered prayer!

Praying for campers who wanted to be free from sins which
kept them in bondage

One of the privileges of being on camp is seeing campers transform literally before your eyes. There was a male camper who, at 13 years old, was spending the night away from his family for the first time in his life. At first he was very shy as he did not have any friends. As the week progressed and he participated in all aspects of camp life, he really came out of his shell and started forming friendships with many of the campers. One young lady came to camp very burdened, and this was evident in her body language and even her style of dress. After much prayer, she started opening up to various counselors and by the end of the week there was a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes that were not there when she first came.

Our newspaper-inspired fashion show helped some campers to
break out of their comfort zones

Apart from the devotions and chapel times, the camp program also included other sessions which helped make the camp theme relevant to the day to day life of the campers. There was a discussion based on case studies which showed them how to deal with their emotions, a session looking at God's view on sexuality, and one that examined what the Bible taught about various aspects of our culture. The content delivered in these sessions was excellent, and equipped the campers to engage with the culture of the world around them with a biblical mindset. There was also a session where the campers were taught how to share the gospel with someone else, and for many of them this was the first time they had an opportunity to do that.

Campers engaged in "Is ah Trini ting" session

ISCF Camp is a wonderful opportunity for campers to explore their creative side. From designing their outfits for Banquet night to composing a song for Talent night to coming up with a presentation for March Past, campers are encouraged to think outside of the box as they express the theme of camp in various ways. I am always amazed at the diversity of talents that emerge at camp, as we endeavor to help campers discover their various gifting and abilities. It is also a good opportunity for them to demonstrate what they have learnt from the various sessions at camp, as evidenced by this verse from one of the original compositions at Talent night:

I was lost but now I'm found

Jesus saved me, Jesus loved me

Trapped in darkness, full of sadness

Now I've crossed to the culture of love

A new culture to follow after

Renewed my mind, renewed my heart

My life crossed over, different purpose

Now I'm transformed by His love

Flag from the Cross Fire team

Our camps require a lot from our campworkers, who are all volunteers, many of whom take their vacation to come and serve at ISCF camp. Apart from attending the training sessions leading up to camp, and having the responsibilities of running the camp program on camp, they also have to lead morning devotions, be available when campers are in need of counsel, guide their teams in team activities, ensure that their dorms are managed well and that their campers are all accounted for. This year our team of campworkers was small compared to previous years, but they were so dedicated to the task and all were willing to go that extra mile to facilitate the smooth running of camp. We could not have done it all without them! There was one campworker who came all the way from ISCF Grenada to serve with us, and it was much a blessing for us to have him as it was for him to learn from us.

Counselors helping campers learn their memory verses

Apart from the campworkers who were resident at camp, there were others who came up to help as their schedules allowed. God truly showed us how He was able to provide what we needed before we even knew we needed it, as time and time again the right people showed up just at the right time. There was an incident among the male campers that needed intervention, and God ordained that one of the visiting campworkers had come up that same time so he was able to lend support to the counseling staff in dealing with that situation. Others made themselves available to help out during Sports Day and Banquet Night, where additional hands are always welcomed and very much appreciated.

Senior campers' dramatic march past display

Junior campers in their cultural wear for banquet night

Primary campers getting assistance
with their craft

The success of camp was not measured by the numbers who attended, but by the decisions the campers made to change their mindsets, to live according to the culture of the kingdom of God while existing in the culture of the world. On her evaluation form, one camper wrote "I learnt that when you are changing culture from darkness to light, you have to leave all the bad behaviours and focus more on God". There are so many persons who contributed to the success of camp this year - from those who prayed faithfully in the lead up to, and throughout the duration of camp, to those who spent months planning and preparing for camp, to those who sacrificed their time and resources to be at camp, to those who contributed financially to help defray the cost of camp, or to sponsor a camper who could not afford the fee - to these we pray that God will bless you abundantly for your labour of love. We pray that the seeds of God's Word which were planted during the two weeks at camp would find good soil to flourish in, and that the cares of this world would not stifle the great work that God has begun in the lives of these campers.