Changing lives, one camper at a time

Persons who have never been a part of the camping ministry are many times confused about why we do what we do. Why would anyone in their right mind take a week of their life to sleep in a room with 12-15 children on bunk beds with sometimes only one fan that cannot possibly give everyone breeze, in a place where sometimes creatures from the great outdoors do not remain outdoors; be limited to having showers only once a day with freezing cold water that is pumped up to the campsite from the river; convince a team of 30+ children to do chores such as washing the wares for 100+ persons, picking up garbage and cleaning toilets; all the while functioning on a maximum of 5 hours sleep per night because by the time you get your dorm settled for the night it is after midnight and counsellors rise is at 5am? We do this year after year, without any monetary compensation, because of the change that the ministry and environment at camp brings to the lives of the hundreds of young people that pass through our hands!

Each morning brings an opportunity to speak life into a camper

I had the privilege of serving with Christian Assemblies Camp at Easter camp 2019 for one week during the Easter holidays. The theme chosen was "When?" and the main message was that NOW is the day of salvation. Each day through the devotions, chapel sessions and afternoon presentations, campers were encouraged to surrender their lives to the Lordship of Christ, and to demonstrate the fruit of their salvation by meditating on the Word of God and displaying the signs of a renewed life as they interact with their friends and family members.

Dorm devotions form a critical component in the camping program

At the end of the first day of chapel, an altar call was given and I had the honor of leading one of the young ladies who responded to Christ. She was 17 years old and this was the first time she was taking the step to submit her life to Christ. Later on in the week, I felt led by the Holy Spirit to sit between two young boys on the back bench in another chapel session. At the end when the speaker asked if anyone wanted to surrender their life to Christ I heard a little voice next to me saying "Yes". He was a shy 7 year old so he did not want to go up to the front, so I explained to him what the Bible taught about how to be saved and right their on the back bench he prayed the prayer of faith. When his mother came up on camp to visit him later that week she was overjoyed because he had been asking about salvation before camp and now had made that step of commitment.

Camper responding to call for those needing pray during Sunrise service

Apart from chapel sessions, there were also many opportunities to speak truth into the lives of the campers. There was a 9 year old girl on my team who had a very disrespectful attitude which was evident from the first day of camp. On the last day of camp, I was able to speak with her about it, and she admitted it was an issue that she struggled with. We prayed together that she would continue to allow the Holy Spirit to work in her until she overcame that challenge. While helping the girls get ready for banquet night, a discussion arose about whether wining and provocative dancing is a sin, and that resulted in an informal lesson about our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit. I also had the responsibility for facilitating two sessions with the younger ones at camp - one teaching them how to study the Bible, and the second one on how to share their testimony. Both sessions were very practical and the campers were very engaged in the activities that were developed to accomplish these teaching goals.

Applying the Bible study technique they

learnt to one of their memory verses

Even though I have been involved as a counsellor in the camping ministry for over 20 years, I continue to be amazed at the change that is seen in the campers lives and attitudes over the course of the week. At the beginning of the hike, there were some boys who were pushing past the slower ones in an effort to be at the front. By the end of the hike, these same boys were seen helping the younger ones over the more challenging parts of the trail. There were some young men who refused to open their mouths during worship for the entire week, but were seen singing lustily at camp fire on the last night of camp. My team had been not really been performing all week, but on the last full day of camp they really pulled together when it mattered the most, and they ended up taking first place overall for the week of camp. One of my campers had a learning disability, but yet he preserved and was able to say all of his memory verses before the end of the week. Campers who, in past years, were shy and would refuse to be engaged in activities in were verymuch involved in sports and even performed at Talent Night, enabling them to win an award for the Most Improved camper. We give God all the glory for effecting these changes in the lives of these precious ones.

Giving a helping hand

Victorious in the tug of war against teams with bigger

campers than themselves

Despite our preparation and planning for camp, there are always unforeseen circumstances that we encounter. But for every challenge that presented itself, God provided a solution. On the first day of camp we found ourselves without a nurse for every day of camp. One of the parents who has helped fill this post in the past came up to register her daughter and when we enquired, she shared that she was actually on holiday this week and did not mind filling in for the days we needed a nurse! Camp occurred in the middle of a very harsh dry season which was wrought with many bush fires in the hills of the Northern range, where the campsite is located. On the last full day of camp, one of these fires came dangerously close to the edge of the campsite, but the fire services responded in quick time and were able to prevent it from causing any damage to the property or endangering any lives.

The groundsmen kept a close eye on the fire overnight

to ensure that it did not reignite

There were so many moments which brought great joy during this week of camp, like the impromptu praise session in the girls dorm while they were getting ready for the afternoon session; seeing the excitement of the children while they had the opportunity to learn about different forms of ministry in a very practical way (puppetry, playing instruments, dance, sign language); and beating teenage boys in a swimming race :) I look forward to many more opportunities to serve as an agent of change in the lives of many more campers in the future.

Enjoying learning how to use puppets in ministry