Nicola Talanda, Newcastle
We all travelled from the north and the south, from near and far, and on the first day of the annual children’s camp, the dust of Lüneburg’s streets rose into the air. It was a joyful reunion with participants from Durban, Kirchdorf, Newcastle, Vryheid, Lüneburg, Wittenberg, Piet Retief, Panbult, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Gerdau.
The hard-working committee, the secretary, the “camp parents”, the pastors with their wives and all the helpers (27 adults in total) had put a lot of effort into planning and preparing months and weeks in advance. Now the time had finally come and with a packed programme everything went smoothly from start to finish.
A large group of 94 children from 3rd to 6th grade, and 13 younger siblings, came together on the beautiful Lüneburg grounds for games, devotions and meals, singing folk and Christmas carols, and making music in the church service. Everyone was divided into smaller groups for music (recorders and violins), crafts, singing, sports, Bible lessons, treasure hunts and in the rooms, so the children and helpers were able to get to know each other better and strengthen friendships.
After more than a decade of hard work as the children’s music director, Victor Böhmer conducted the choir at the children’s camp for the last time. In the early mornings, the brass music was played by young players (from trumpets to clarinets and a flute). The 4 songs for the church service and another for the youth day were rehearsed. They were joined by talented musicians with flutes, violins, guitar and piano as accompaniment. The craft activity was lovingly prepared by Renate Hiestermann. Each child painted an “inspiration board” and decorated it with well-known verses from songs.
The focus of the children’s camp is always the theme, which was discussed in detail in the Bible lessons, devotions and Sunday sermon led by pastors Heinz Hiestermann and Thomas Beneke. In the 9 Bible groups, the core texts were taught at an age-appropriate level.
On the first day, we looked at the great gift that we received in holy baptism and that OUR dear FATHER IN HEAVEN adopted us as his children. In CHRIST he came into the world for us sinful people as true God and true man in order to receive us as God’s children (John 1:9-14). As a visual representation, each group was given the task of drawing a spiritual family tree, with God as the tree trunk and source of all life. It depicted how we are grafted into God’s family through baptism and faith, and also how the branches represent different families, cultures and backgrounds in the great family of God and how we can love and care for one another with fruits of the Holy Spirit. With regard to our personal lives, we thought about who brought us to baptism (parents, godparents, etc.) and who we can also meet and influence in life so that God’s family and his house become “full”. We were all instructed to write Child of God next to our name on our name tag.
On the second day, we expanded the theme to Living as Children of God with the key word from Luke 15:11-32, the Bible story of the generous, loving, gracious, forgiving father. We looked at what we can learn from the behaviour of the younger and the older son, especially to stop the cycle of envy in our families and in God’s family. Here the children reflected on how we can live together as children of God, treat each other with love and carry each other in prayer.
Friday was an excruciatingly hot day and everyone ran around with sunscreen, hats and water bottles and we sweated from morning till night. In the morning and during free time, the big and little ones enjoyed sports time in the swimming pool. In the afternoon, water, balloon and ball games were played under the shade trees. We would like to thank Silke Böhmer for her help with the last 10 children’s camps and the great fun the children always had playing. On Saturday, when it was pleasantly cool, football and volleyball were also played with more energy.
We greeted the cool Saturday morning with open arms and a prayer that we would be able to make the surprise trip to the dam despite the light drizzle. The lorry trip definitely brought a lot of excitement. It was the day that the grade 6 boys and girls got to show off their homemade or decorated rafts on Hillermann’s Dam and the Tropical Tribe and Caribbean Survivors did not disappoint. The remaining swimmers swam from one end to the other with the many inflatable tubes and then warmed themselves at the small fire.
During the treasure hunt, the children were challenged to work as a team in 8 different groups to study the maps and find the treasures skilfully laid out by Reinette Meyer and Carike (H) Paul. From the cemetery, monument and forest, to the rock garden, climbing frame and climbing tree, the children once again had a lot of fun with mental and physical challenges.
Exciting Survivor was planned for the grade 6 children on Saturday afternoon. A large, determined group of boys competed against an organised, smart group of girls. The groups were encouraged and energised by the younger ones, and the referees had to keep a clear head in the close competition of several challenges. In the end, the boys’ group was crowned the winner. A big thank you to Anja Küsel and Berno Hambrock for their oversight and guidance of the older children. After the excitement of the day, hungry stomachs were filled with a delicious hamburger braai.
Many thanks for the kind hospitality of the Lüneburg congregation, especially the women’s league for the delicious meals. It is an ideal place for such a camp of almost 140 people (children, helpers and small children included).
How wonderful to end such beautiful days with the highlight of the service on Sunday morning and to honour God with the congregation and God’s family through music, prayer, word and sacrament, and singing – Man of Sorrows, Jesus Christus ist der Sieger, Ein Stern geht auf and Der Segen Gottes möge dich umarmen.
As we said goodbye, we thanked the faithful committee members, Vic and Silke, for the many years they have served with enthusiasm and wished the new members, Werner Johannes (Music) and Carmen Johannes (Sports) God’s blessing for their service in the Kingdom of God. It is truly a great treasure that the younger generation has and can hold dear, and we encourage everyone to continue to support the children’s ministry in our churches and to live as God’s children. Praise be to God!
