Our change in location this year (Luiperdkloof Trout Lodge, Utrecht) was quite a huge hit with the youth, the prospect of being far from home ignites an excitement we would not be able to achieve otherwise.
We had 14 campers (including Vicar Andreas Albers and his wife Maria) in attendance this year. The camp was conducted from the afternoon of July 13th until the morning of Sunday, July 15th and throughout we were blessed by God with reasonably good weather and an amazing time of fun, reflection and of course learning to live a life of faith.
The theme of the camp was “10 Things For Life”. Pastor Marlon Hiestermann introduced the topic in a presentation dealing with us as individuals, our families and the world around us. The core message, as indicated by Pastor Tobias Ahlers, was around “The 10 Commandments”. These laws of “thou shalt not” are meant for our protection and guidance. The group spent some time with the pastors that graced us with their presence to consider this topic in its biblical context before being organized into a smaller group to prepare dinner that evening.
Icebreakers consumed much of the evening and one could say that camp customs were thrown out completely in that regard as these would have been more effective before jumping into the topic but it worked surprisingly well and a number of new friendships and great connections with those outside churches were made. The following day started with an early breakfast and devotion thereafter followed by a couple of sessions and then the much anticipated “free time” during which campers congregated over snacks, good music and board games. The afternoon was set aside for a scenic walk through the beautiful lodge. This energy carried right through the evening during dinner up until the early hours of the morning.
I think that after such a weekend we can all agree that there is simply no other environment quite like camp. It provides a setting where students disengage with the distractions of everyday life, which in our case was quite literal seeing that there was no reception out there, and engage with God in his creation. A special ‘Thanks’ goes out to all those who helped organize the camp and the parents of the campers who allowed them the permission to share their weekend with us.
Nicholas Mathapo, Fairland, JHB