YSC Camp Reflection

I thought to myself, "Hey, you have been joining your church youth camp for so long now. What's more to expect?"

Amazingly, more was to be expected. The youth camp week that passed was an overwhelming experience.

Pre-camp preparations were hectic to say the least. The idea of holding a sports camp was new to the church and definitely new to the youth leaders. Knowing that, I was very skeptical of how things will happen during the camp.

Using previous camps as a comparison, I thought this will be the worst camp yet. First, the camp preparations started around two months before the actual camp. The usual camp preparations before start at around August. Because of that, everyone had to adjust. We were not accustomed to doing things at a fast pace. Deadlines were immediately set, but they were not met.

Second, the idea of a sports camp for the youth group that caters to both athletic and non-athletic people is quite an odd one. I thought the target audience was very broad because we still have to include everyone. Since I am in charge of the program, my problem was how to incorporate the "not sporty" to this sports camp.

Third, most officers were inexperienced. Usual camps have a roster of one "veteran" officer and one "rookie" officer per committee. This camp, the officers were mostly inexperienced and left with no co-officer. To add to that, the officers were given a limited amount of time to consider and answer the officer invitation.

Given these situations, the camp was due to fail. Praise God it did not. God had other plans for this camp. We must realize that God chooses WEAK people so that his power can be magnified all the more. He chooses WEAK people so that we will not rely on our own skills and talents in doing His ministry.

Going into the camp, however, I was not yet in the right mindset. I was still thinking about the technical things for the camp. I failed once again in trusting that God will work in the camp and in the lives of people if He so chooses just because He is sovereign. I failed. This failure of a person, however, will continually be changed, molded, and humbled during the camp.

What happened during the camp was a pure testimony of God's power working. First, the natural cliquish tendencies of the youth fellowship lessened. I was shocked, amazed, and happy that people were actually breaking their barriers and communicating with each other. Relationships were created, and friendships were formed from the most unusual of circumstances. Come to think of it, it might be because this is a sports camp. Then praise God this is a sports camp! Though not perfect, seeing leaders breaking their shell and stepping out of it to form relationships with others is both a blessing and an answered prayer.

Second, the camp had a lot of problems. I assure you that this camp had more organizational and planning problems than any previous camp held in our church. Firstly, the schedule was changed and restructured a lot. If this was a previous camp, a major problem would have occurred from rearranging the schedule, and major activities would not have been done. Praise God for a lighter schedule!

Another big problem occurred during this camp. The original speaker backed out a week before camp, and the replacement speaker suddenly backed out of his second night speaking engagement. The second speaking night was supposed to be the altar call night. Without a speaker, we were not sure what will happen. Thankfully, an adviser had the presence of mind to pray during this time. It is in these crucial moments that we remember God. So I praise God for this challenge. Without this, we might have been complacent in handling things. The night ended well, praise God.

There are a few things that I've learned. God, in His infinite wisdom, indeed has the best for His children. God will always give His children challenging situations. In this way, we will continue to seek His will and guidance. In ministry, we always thought that bad situations are because Satan wants to stop God's work in us. What I realized, however, is that probably God just wants us to trust in Him. Now we must change our mindset. Whatever the challenging situation, don't look at it as a scheme from Satan or something. Don't think at all! Just pray and ask God to give you the wisdom and strength to continue giving your best to Him, and we should also pray that we will not forget God in these situations.

We must always remain humble in everything we do. In whatever accomplishment we achieve. Remember that this is God's work. Whatever we accomplish is nothing without God.

In the end, God allowed this camp to be a success not because we pushed the right buttons in almost every decision we had to make, not because this is a sports camp, not because we are good, but because God is Sovereign and what He wants is what happens. God's power is evident in this camp. I am grateful that He uses His children to carry out His will. To God be the glory!