Through the
completion of my Camp and Youth Ministry I have gained a much better
understanding of what goes into planning a retreat. There are so many things
that I appreciate about retreats and camp ministry. One of our class group
projects was to plan a functional weekend retreat. On top of that, the following
weekend we are all participating in a weekend retreat at Camp Qwanoes. What I
have come to appreciate about retreats and camp ministry are all of the little
details that need to get worked out. There are so many different areas such as
games, food, chapels, devotions, music, activities, registration, schedule, etc.
and all need mass amounts of attention. Many of these areas go unrecognized for
the amount of time and energy which takes to get it all together. I have really
come to appreciate those who pour themselves into their designated areas and do
their specific role to make the whole event run smoothly, even if they are not recognized
for their efforts.
The thing that
stood out to me during the junior’s retreat which we were participating in was
how full the schedule was. Summer camps are usually jammed pack with various
activities throughout the day but this weekend was something else. Pretty much
every second of the day was accounted for. These kids really got there monies
worth because there is no way they were able to do so much in one weekend anywhere
else. One major bonus that I saw come from this was that once it was time for
bed, the kids were ready for bed…even if bedtime didn’t come until 11p.m. I’m
still scratching my head trying to figure out how those kids were still running
by the end because I was exhausted! Another bonus was that when their parents
arrived they couldn’t keep their mouths shut since there was so much to tell
them.
God was defiantly at work during this retreat. We had approximately
120 kids for the weekend coming from a wide range of backgrounds. It always surprises
me how receptive kids are to hearing about God. During the Saturday morning
session I was sitting beside one of my campers named Jayden. Jayden was one of
the most talkative, energetic and wild boys there were. The speaker was sharing
about what it means to be a part of Gods family. All throughout the session
Jayden kept asking me questions such as; when is this over, when is free time,
when is tuck open etc. Then all of a sudden the next two questions out of his
mouth were, “how do I become a part of God’s family” and “am I already a part
of Gods family”. This definitely came as a surprise to me but it was a pleasant
surprise nonetheless. I wasn’t able to answer his questions right away, we were
still in the session, but afterwards there was a time for a cabin debrief and
those questions came up again so myself and my co-counsellor were able to share
the answers with our entire room. Throughout the weekend I was able to learn
something very significant about Jayden; he has a strong sense for family. His
cousin was also in our cabin and several times I witnessed Jayden make a small
sacrifice or act of servant hood towards his cousin and every time he would say
“because he is my cousin.” I was also able to get a little glimpse of what Jayden’s
life at home was like. I didn’t get much but one thing I know is that he lives
in three places and constantly changing between them. His parents are divorced
and he spends most of his time with his grandparents. Jayden is a nine year old
boy with such a longing for family and the message of God inviting him to
become part of His family really hit home for him. This is just my experience,
you should hear some of the others, God was undoubtedly at work.
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