On Tuesday April 16th, hundreds of eager campers arrived at Deer Park, keenly awaiting the start of CampOne 2013: Illuminate, excited for the
days ahead of them. At camp, the leaders were filled with enthusiasm and a passion for
God’s word. They interacted with us, cared for us, and genuinely loved us. This
had a deep impact on us and encouraged us to grow and learn in our faith.
Our daily schedule included exciting activities such as water-bomb
fights, archery, soccer, tribal games, numerous turns on the water slide and a
lot of free time.
Every night we would forward into the main auditorium on-site to
worship God and hear the brilliant and moving messages both Joel and Damo had
poured much of their time and effort into preparing for us. We were all challenged
to examine our relationships with God, reflect, and evaluate what needed to be
improved upon.
During this time, we were greatly encouraged to see a large amount
of young people come to Christ, and it was also inspiring to see them being
welcomed into our ‘family’ with open arms.
We are extremely thankful to God for this, and as a youth
group/church, recognize that this is not only the start of a life full of
trials, but also a rewarding life reflective of God’s light, love, and
Christian fellowship.
Another great part of camp we were blessed to experience was the
small groups. Every afternoon in groups of 5-10 people, we were presented with
reflection questions - usually regarding the main talks. This provided an
opportunity to really think about and apply what we had learned in the main
talks.
As a result of CampOne 2013, we were united as a group and as we
grew in our faith and love for one another, we bonded as a family. We grew
closer, encouraging one another in brotherly and sisterly love, and supporting
one another in our walks with Christ.
We are very thankful to all the leaders and YouthWorks staff for
taking their time to plan and prepare all of the above, plus much more. Camp
was something we will never forget, bringing us closer to God, our peers and
our leaders.
It served as a brilliant reminder that even though our life on Earth
may be short, there are much greater things to come for those who are in
Christ.
- Daniel Wallace
Well said Daniel. I visited Campone on the Friday and was struck by the fun and joy everyone was having. I could feel God was at work through the leaders and the youth who'd come to spend time with God.
ReplyDeleteWell done to everyone involved. The heavens rejoiced at the sight of new hearts being declared for Christ.
Peter D
Sunday@Six