Camp Go July 4-9

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. Where do I even begin with what has happened the past two weeks? This will probably end up taking me multiple posts to get through, but I will start at the beginning.

Two weeks ago, we had camp. It started on July 4 and went through July 9. It was a great chance for me to get to know some of the kids I’ll be working with for the next year (although 1/3 of the kids that were at camp won’t be here in the fall), to get to see some friends from the US (4 DBUers came out to help lead camp), and to have fun. The week started stressfully, but it improved as it went on.

I knew that I would have to lead 2 breakout group discussions for the week, and I was pretty much all set with preparations for them, but I found out the week before camp that I was also going to be speaking for two of the evening worship sessions, something I had to scramble to prepare. Our theme verse for the week was Col. 1:16: “for by Him all things were created in the heavens and on earth, both visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities, all things have been created by Him and for Him.” The goal for the week was for all of our teaching times of any type to tie in to this verse. With that in mind, I spoke on Col. 1:19-20: “For the Father was pleased for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross, through Him I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” The first night I spoke, I talked about why all things in heaven and on earth have a need to be reconciled to God (our sin) and how gaining a better picture of who God is will better enable us to understand His response to our sin and why our sin merits such punishment not only of us, but of all creation. The second night, I talked about what God did to reconcile all things to Himself (sent Jesus to die on the cross), and why it was essential for Jesus to be the one to die for us (He was all God, so He was free from sin, and He was all man, so He was qualified to pay man’s punishment for sin).

In addition to lessons, we had lots of fun at camp. Games, water fights, cool playgrounds, and great game coordinators ensured that camp was as much fun as possible. It was a great week, and I think it was a great way for me to start off my year by having a chance to develop some quick relationships with the students that otherwise would have taken months to develop. Next time, I’ll post on our trip last week to the Philippines.