Rural Youth Camp

(taken from our August Ministry Update by Dan. There were so many pictures that I wanted to share. It is always exciting for me to see Dan in action like this, working with the youth, doing what he does best.)

Back in July, while we were still in the city after Silas's birth, I received a call from one of our youth leaders, Jorge. He wanted to organize a small two day youth camp at his parents' house in the country side. He asked if I would help with games. Jorge has had a lot of experience with camps and I was encouraged to see him putting this into practice by organizing this event. Jorge set up the dates (August 15-16) and delegated out all the responsibilities or he would have if I had let him. I encouraged Jorge that he was very capable to continue in his role as camp director.

The night before camp I stayed up late preparing all the games and gathering equipment. I slumped into bed prepared for an early start the next day but was awoken by the sound of rain. Here in Paraguay rain on the dirt roads equals mud - lots of it. It's a bit like an upstate New York blizzard in the sense that roads become impassable and public transportation shuts down.

The next weekend with the sun now shining camp got off to a great start. The eighteen youth looked inquisitively at me as I announced teams with a pink teddy bear under my arm. The bear was to be our camp mascot. It was hilarious to watch the big guys carrying the teddy bear around as if it were their own. Games were also tons of fun. We took advantage of gale force winds and had sail races in which teams had to catch the wind in bed sheets. The atmosphere remained competitive but friendly and more than once points were awarded for ‘acts of service’ among the campers.

The youth weren’t the only excited ones as I also brought Eli and Toby along for a camping adventure. During the day they played pirates with their friend Cristobal and at night they had a blast playing with flashlights. Cristobal enjoyed his first time sleeping in a tent with the boys and me.

Teammate and missionary Dan Reich also came to talk about being ‘programmed for spiritual success’. The Gospel message from Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus seemed strikingly appropriate as it was shared at night while a strong wind blew through the mango trees overhead. I trust that the Spirit was indeed blowing through that camp, working in the hearts of the campers.

Abraham & Pedro with mascot

Thanks to teammate Dan Reich for the great photos!