PYV West Camp 2016 - Day Four

The final day of a camp is always a day of mixed feelings. Leaving a camp and saying goodbye to everyone again is a sad thing. It's sad to leave, but it's good to be heading home after being away from my family for a few days.

We packed up before breakfast today, so it was a very early start for some. But there didn't seem to be much of a delay. That must mean we have a great group of campers and leaders who want to do what they can to help the workers at Norval get ready for the next group.

Emerald City - Winner are Grinners

At the start of our session today prizes were awarded to the winners of our own Olympics. Congratulations to Emerald City for working so well together in all kinds of competitions. Enjoy your prizes. And I want to acknowledge the terrific effort of my team - Isengard - even though we came last. But, as one member of the team commented, Isengard is supposed to lose in the end.


In our worship session we answered some questions that have been asked, we sang songs of praise, and we read from John 4. As Cam spoke about Jesus meeting this woman at the well in Samaria, we were encouraged and challenged as we considered how she reacted to meeting Jesus. If you don't know the story, can I encourage you to find a Bible, open it to John Chapter 4 and read this story for yourself.

Here's a paraphrase of something Cam said that stood out for me:

This woman has built an idol of relationships, but they have all walked away. It will be just the same with anything you allow to be an idol in your life - it will fade away and leave you empty.

Some of our study group

Our final study session looked at John 15 where Jesus uses the analogy of grape vines to describe our relationship with him, and the expected results of that relationship. I always love it when someone in a study group says something that makes sense and that I've never considered before. This happened today as we discussed the topic of 'fruit' and what this signifies.

Thank you.

After lunch we said "Thank You" to all those who have worked hard to make this camp as great as it has been. The Executive team under Chris have been amazing. But the greatest cheer was kept for those who have worked incredibly hard over four days - our cooks.

As one who can't cook (I'm serious there) it is amazing to me that there are people who can cook enough food for this many people and make it taste good as well. That they can also do this with a smile amazes me even more. Thank you ladies for your incredible work and service to PYV.

So, West Camp 2016 has come to an end. But reflecting on what has happened at the camp over the last few days reminds me that a camp is not normal life. It is great to meet together in this way for a little while, but we can't stay here. So everybody has gone now and returned to their homes and study and work.

But as Jesus is our Shepherd in the safety of these gatherings, he is also our shepherd when we go out. In Him we find our safety.