If we thought it was cold on Saturday morning, that was nothing
compared to the chilliness that welcomed us when we woke up today! I was
surprised not to find a very thick frost on the grass, but there was at least
one frozen puddle.
The leaders were up early for a leader’s meeting at 7.00am
and I want to thank those who got there early to put on the heaters. I am
always encouraged to see the leaders meeting together at the start of a day at
a PYV camp. It is here that we are reminded of what is coming up in the day
ahead, but we also have a chance to talk about any concerns that we have, any
campers we think might need some special attention, and generally it is a place
to encourage one another.
This was followed by a prayer meetings. It was good to be praying
for the camp we are attending, but a special blessing to be able to pray
together for the OS1 team currently in Malawi. How wonderful it is to know that
as we pray to our great God in country Victoria, that same God is just as
present in Africa as he is here. How good is this God we adore!
Some people had a slow start to get to breakfast, but none
of those in my cabin. We were ALL awake at 6.00!!! On a positive note, at least
I know that our campers will have at least one shower over the weekend. Those
who were late to breakfast didn’t miss out though. There was plenty of food
cooked and ready for us to enjoy. Rawson Village does food very well.
Especially for vegetarians.
Our morning session gave us a chance to do what we would normally
doing on a Sunday morning – meeting together with others to worship. Here we
worship with a different group. Today we were reminded what the word ‘reformation’
refers to, and we heard one of the blogs from the Malawi trip as it was read to
us. To hear these words while looking at some of the amazing photos was
wonderful. It was good to pray for our friends in Malawi even though they are
so far away. The scriptures were read and today we opened our Bibles to Romans
3. This is a chapter of scripture that is both confronting and freeing. It
confronts us with what we truly are, and then offers us the greatest freedom we
could hope for.
Andrew preached and pointed out these things to us. He
pointed us to Romans 3:9-20 and made it very clear to us just how true these
statements are. How did he do that? He simply asked us this question, “Do you
always want to do what God wants you to do?” The honest answer from everyone
was . . . silence. We know the sad truth of it.
Andrew has urged us to encourage one another in our faith,
pointing out to us that this is what Paul was doing with the church in Rome
when he wrote this letter. Then he left us with this statement:
The main reason we struggle to talk about Jesus with non-believers might just be that we struggle to talk about Jesus with other believers.
Morning tea followed our worship session – just like it
would at most churches. Then we went into our study groups to think deeper
about what we have heard in the preaching. I know most people won’t do this at
home on a Sunday, and it is a key element of a PYV camp. It was encouraging to
see these groups in their spaces around the camp buildings reading and talking
together, then praying together at the end of this time. We pray that what they
are learning will continue to stick deep in their minds.
Each camp includes a time for personal devotions – a quiet
time. It is our hope that this won’t just be something that happens at camp,
but rather a habit that the campers will take home with them and continue. To
help this, we are using the method of Bible reading called C.O.M.A. I don’t
think it’s a great name, but it is a very clear one. It stands for Context,
Observation, Meaning, & Application. Once you get your head around this
method, you can apply it to any section of the scriptures you are reading. This
is our hope for this group of young people. Today I sat with another leader and
a young camper and realised that what she was reading was all new for her. A
good reminder for me that some of the words we use – like ‘the world’ – might
not mean anything to these campers.
The afternoon activities were both outdoor and indoor, and
the weather was magnificent, though a little cold in the shadows. With puzzles
to solve, teamwork games to work through, and various other games, the teams
gained points with every competition. I was amazed to see groups of people work
together to complete the tasks laid out for them. Good job team.
Our dress up theme for this camp was “The Letter R”, so we
had some excellent work put in by campers and leaders. We had riddlers, and red
riding hoods, a referee, and even a Rebecca Fagan. It’s always good to see what
these campers will come up with in their costumes.
Over the weekend, there has been an extra competition
between the dorms. We knew that there would be an inspection happening at some
point today and points were awarded for cleanliness, for something related to
Lord of the Rings, and for an appropriate bribe to the judges, whoever they
were. The winning cabin did an excellent job. I don’t want to boast, but I
think the boys in my cabin are pretty pleased.
Tonight is very cold, so we moved our games indoors and
played with glow sticks. One of the games was about building skeletons. Some
may have had too many fingers, but they looked good.
It has been a great day at camp today. I’ve been encouraged
to see people talking together, playing together, and building friendships. We
are ending with another glow stick game, or the chance to sit by a camp-fire.
Hopefully everyone will sleep well tonight.
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| What a great team! |
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