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| Celebrating the new year with a few friends |
And like that, the camp is finished.
But before we get to that, I need to tell you some of the
things that happened today, January 1 2019.
The leader’s meeting was a little bit later today, so we had
a chance to stay in bed for an extra 15 minutes! I could have used a lot more
than that, and I expect a few other leaders felt the same. But I’ve learned
that some had much less sleep than I did, so I shan’t complain. These are a
great team of leaders and it has been a privilege and a delight to serve with
them at this camp.
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| Our final Leader's Meeting. They're all there. |
As far as I know, everyone made it to breakfast on time, or
close to it, which is pretty remarkable after such a late night. This was
followed by a quick packing of the rooms so we can get our gear out of the
dorms. This meant that the session started 30 minutes later than originally
planned, but it worked out well.
In our session today Zack Grace shared his testimony while
also answering the question “When does God respond to the prayer of sinners?”
Through his testimony, we heard about his conversion as an eight year old and
the important role his mother played in that. (Well done mum). This is what
really answered the question – God hears a sinner pray when that sinner prays
for forgiveness in repentance. Zack also talked about a couple of significant moments
in his spiritual life, and these happened at a PYV Junior Camp and a Summer
Camp.
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| Study groups for the final day. |
We do these camps because we believe that God uses them to
change the lives of teenagers coming to faith, and to impact the lives of other
teenagers who are growing in grace. Zack’s testimony, and the testimony of many
others, affirms this. I know that there are at least two families who had a
conversation with their child who is going home as a converted teenager. Praise
God.
Toby’s final talk was excellent. Here he took us to Luke
9:18-27 with the big idea of his message being that Jesus is central to God’s
redemptive plan. We learned that Jesus had a mission, and this was a mission of
self-denial, even to the point of his own death. His mission was not the one
that people would have expected of the messiah, so he didn’t make his identity
widely known, and instructed his disciples to keep it quiet even though they
had worked it out.
Then Toby talked about our own mission – the mission that
matches that of Jesus. Our mission is a mission of self-denial, to take up our
cross daily and to follow him. This should be seen in how we use our money by
giving and sharing, how we use our time, and how we treat others. We’ve learned
that God uses teenagers to fulfil his mission. He can surely use some of these
teenagers.
“If you live for yourself, you’ll have an empty and selfish
life.
If you live for Jesus you will have a full, rich and
everlasting life.”
Not a bad message for teenagers to take home with them.
After a magnificent lunch, we allowed the teenagers to make
up the quiet time that we missed out on this morning. One of the campers took
it a little too quietly and fell asleep on the floor. I couldn’t blame him. It
seemed like a good idea really.
Following this we had our final session together. This was
where we were able to say “Thank You” to all those who have worked hard to make
the cap happen. Our leaders are quality people, and I want to give a special
shout out to Dave, Abi, and Ryan who made up the tech team. With excellent
sound, graphics, and videos shot and edited on camp, this crew didn’t have much
down time. Thank you Tech Team.
We also had something very unique happen. Throughout the
camp, the staff person who has been looking after us has been sitting in some
of our sessions and has been talking with some of our leaders about Jesus.
Today she thanked us all for what we’ve done during the camp, she thanked those
who have talked with her, and said she is interested in learning more about our
religion. I’ve been to more camps than I can count, but I’ve never heard a
staff worker say something like this.
Would you join us in praying for her?
And then, just like that, camp was over. There was hugging,
and many goodbyes being said, with a few looking forward to meeting up at the
next camp. People were busy packing up, loading cars and trailers with all
manner of things that needed to make their way back to the PYV office. Thank
you to those who took some stuff with them to bring back. I truly appreciate
it.
Thank you to all those who have commented on this blog, or
spoken with me about how you have appreciated reading something of what has
been happening at camp. Your encouragement is a great help.
Eventually, we will have the photos and recordings and
videos online for everyone to enjoy. I hope you will do so.
Thank you, and goodnight.
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| Studying with Bibles and Chocolates |
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| Studying with Bibles and Smiles |
Finally, Rev
Toby McIntosh’s sermons on the gospel of Luke were outstanding. Toby was able
to make the big themes of the gospel clear and relevant to teenagers. God has
used him well in pointing young people to Jesus. 
