You know that lives have been impacted by camp when the same teenagers who told you that they could only come on Monday because they were going into San Fernando to watch mass on Tuesday tell you, at the end of Monday, that they will be coming again on Tuesday.
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| Singing about our "Amazing God" instead of "jamming still" |
One Carnival weekend in 1982, a group of believers from Point Fortin gathered together in the home of Terrence and Carol Pierre to study the Bible while having fun with their children. Thirty-five years later, Ekklesia Camp is still going strong. It is held on Carnival Monday and Tuesday as a community camp that is open to all from Point Fortin and environs free of charge. There are classes for all ages, from infants to adults, and lunch is provided. The majority of those who attend are not from Christian homes, so it is an excellent evangelistic opportunity.
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| The dedicated duo behind Ekklesia camp |
We are never sure how many campers would attend, so we try to recruit as many helpers as possible. This year, my church did not have a camp, so I recruited some of the young adults to come down and help. By the time these new persons joined with those who usually serve at this camp, we had quite a contingent.
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| Most of the crew from St. Augustine Evangelical Bible Church |
Some persons elected to stay down at the school where the camp was being held. The rest were hosted at our home in Dow Village, along with some other friends who usually help us at camp every year. We spent Friday night preparing materials for our various lessons, and on Saturday they got a tour of the Southland - San Fernando Hill, Wild Fowl Trust and the Pitch Lake. On Sunday morning, we woke up early to get a taste of the beach in Guapo before going to camp for devotions and to start preparing our classrooms etc.
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| Breakfast on the beach |
Before going on the sand, I removed my wallet from my handbag and put it in my beach bag, in case anyone needed to pay to use the facilities. After a short but enjoyable beach bath, we went to the school where the camp was being held. I showered and then went into my beach bag to retrieve my wallet, but it was not there. We searched the van and everyone's bag, but it was no where to be found. I was not worried about the money as much as not having my driver's licence for the next two days, especially on the Tuesday evening when my friends needed to be dropped back up north. Deep down inside, I had a feeling that my wallet would turn up - I just didn't know when and how. We prayed and placed it in God's hands and then got to work.
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| Wiping down 300 chairs |
Teachers set up their classrooms, Expo Center (where we use the physical to explain the spiritual) was organised and songs were learnt. The theme this year was God's Chronometers: a chronometer is an instrument used to measure time accurately, and it is not affected by external elements. We are God's Chronometers as we demonstrate to the world God's time: how He existed before the beginning of time, how He stepped into time in the form of Jesus to pay for our sins, and how He will be coming back one day for those who are His own. I had the joy of teaching these lessons to the 3 and 4 year olds.
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| Showing off their watches |
Contrary to what some people who have never taught this age group may think, these children can learn. We taught them the aspects of God's character that they could see by looking at the things He had made, and by the end of that lesson they all understood that God created everything but no one created God. By the end of the two days they were able to repeat their memory verse taken from Psalm 90:2 - "From everlasting to everlasting you are God." A couple days after camp a parent reported that her 2 year old son paused while playing with his toys and recited the verse to her! We thank God for the opportunity we had to plant seeds of God's Word in these children's hearts from a young age.
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Learning about how clocks work in the
Expo Center |
In the next lesson they learnt how sin came into the world through Adam and Eve and along with sin, the consequence of death. We then looked at Jesus's coming into the world as a baby, His life, death, resurrection and return for those who believe in Him. At the end of the lesson when I asked why did Jesus have to die, one 3 year old shouted out, "Because Adam ate the apple!" I was amazed that he understood the link between Adam's sin and Jesus' death. The final lesson taught them about the Holy Spirit who lives in us, and helps us to live in a way that makes God happy. There were songs, worksheets, craft and games to help make the lessons enjoyable to all.
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Making their craft illustrating Jesus bridging the gap
that sin created between God and man |
At the end of the first day of camp, we were pretty exhausted. Everyone at home was relaxing on a bed or a couch as we tried to regain our energy for the next day. I decided to check our snack bag to see what remained and needed to be used before everyone left on Tuesday. I pulled out a container of potato chips and then saw my wallet! This was truly amazing because I had been in that bag multiple times on Sunday getting snacks while we spent the day down on camp and there was no sign of it, even though I had searched that bag while we were looking. I was especially grateful to God that I had found it in time to allow me to transport my friends back up north after camp was finished on Tuesday afternoon. God's time is never late!
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Rejoicing that my wallet which was
lost had now been found |
Apart from an 11 year old girl who twisted her ankle when she slipped in the mud [God sent two registered nurses to visit camp at that exact time so they were able to tend to her] there were no other injuries on camp. God's Word was eagerly received by campers of all ages. We were especially thrilled for the male teenagers who came to camp and participated actively in their class discussions. One Christian girl shared afterwards that she learnt how to be more comfortable interacting with non-believers, as most of her previous camping experiences had been with other Christians. We thank God for all who served, and all who prayed and all who gave to make this camp the success that it was.
