Well my faithful readers, I can finally post a blog about the full Nigeria youth camping experience. I've now finished 2.5 weeks of camp at our home base here in Jos and no longer feel like a rookie. It's about time because I've almost been here a year now (Sept. 4). Anyways, I'd like to share ECWA Camp Youth Alive (ECYA) with you. Oh, if only each one of you could come experience a day at camp.
If you could come to camp, you'd sleep on a thin, but manageable mattress on the floor (we don't have bunk-beds yet) of a "hut" (cement building) named after one of the fruits of the spirit. As staff you'd be woken up @ 5:50am to the sound of whistle, beckoning you to stumble your way to the main dining hall for staff prayers. If you came to camp, you'd initially grumble about the early morning, but would soon discover the breath-taking beauty of the mountains as the morning sun rises up from behind them. If you came to camp, you'd look forward to waking up before dawn.
If you could come to camp, you’d grab your bucket and head over to the kitchen to collect warm water for your bath. You’d attempt to carry it by your side but soon learn that it’s actually easy to carry a bucket full of water on your head. (For beginners it’s a good idea to wear rain gear, though). There in the wash house you’d take a surprisingly delightful bucket bath, if you could come to camp.
If you could come to camp, you would marvel that 40 minutes have been set aside for you to hang out with God. You would have been given a devotional written by the ECYA staff called the “Morning Watch” and you’d probably appreciate the guidance it provided since you aren’t used to being alone with God. If you could come to camp, you’d sense the Holy Spirit’s special presence during those 40 minutes.
If you could come to camp, you might chuckle at the routine of flag raising, singing of the national anthem, and presentation of the color guard, but you’d also appreciate the respect it instills for one’s country.
If you could come to camp, you’d likely enjoy the breakfast meal best. Depending on the day, you’d either be served acha pudding (similar to cream of wheat) with kosai (fried bean cake that resembles hush puppies in texture) (see picture) or a huge cup of hot tea (with sugar and milk already added) with a small loaf of soft, fresh bread (recently delivered from the bakery), big spoonful of margarine, and a boiled egg. Both options would satisfy your morning hunger, if you could come to camp.
If you could come to camp, the Bible Study time would be very special. You would sit with your hut outside somewhere and this year, would be learning about the crowns of reward the Bible speaks about. Very rarely would you have been in such a small group where you could ask questions and voice your own thoughts.
If you could come to camp, you would pick which activity to do each day. Perhaps you’d join the step-dance group, learn how to bake a cake without an oven, or maybe you’d join the hiking group and learn fun facts about the mountains surrounding the campsite. Even though you would look forward to lunch, you’d be disappointed that the activity had to end to go to the dining hall.
If you could come to camp you’d be happy for rest hour after lunch. Perhaps you wouldn’t actually sleep much the first day, but later on in the week, you certainly would. If you came to camp, you might actually use that time to handwash some of your clothes and hang them on the line outside your hut.
If you could come to camp, you would really look forward craft time. This is when you would learn a craft with materials that could be bought locally so after camp you could begin to earn some income marketing those skills. If you came to camp this year, you might learn how to dye cloth, make great looking sandals, or a tin sand wall clock in the shape of Africa. At the end of camp, you would be so proud to take your craft home and show your parents and church. Maybe your youth fellowship would even decided to help start a little shop making the craft you learned, if you could come to camp.
If you could come to camp, you would relish in the afternoon game time, join in the frequent singing in the dining hall, and be challenged by the fun but spiritually centered evening programs. Though you’d hate to see the day end, you would be grateful for evening devotions with your hut so you could talk about what you had learned that day. Some of those late night conversations would lay the foundation for lifelong friendships, if you could come to camp.
And perhaps, if you could come to camp, you would learn some things about Jesus you had never known. Maybe you would quit pretending to be a Christian and actually make a personal decision, not because it’s what your parents believe, or because the preacher says so, but because the truth has finally struck your heart. If you came to ECYA, you just might come to a more profound knowledge of atonement achieved, debt paid, person redeemed, satisfaction made, hell vanquished, heaven opened, eternity made yours, and the glorious promise of Christ’s return.
If you could come to camp, you’d likely leave a slightly different person than you were when you came. Maybe you would know you’re valued because your hut leader actually listened to you. Maybe you’d have some real Christian friends for the first time. Maybe someone helped you to begin learning to read. Maybe you’d have eaten 3 full meals a day for the first time in your life. Maybe the t-shirt you received on incoming day was the only brand new shirt you will get all year.
And if you could come to camp, you might be surprised that the baturiya, Auntie René, who drove the shuttle van multiple times on incoming day, doesn’t seem to be up front very often. You’d see her handling many administrative tasks, getting a vehicle stuck in the mud, dashing around the campsite, typing during rest hour, serving the food during meal times, and smiling as she watched you do your craft. And if you happened to ask her if she enjoyed her job at camp, she’d sigh and tell you she does miss getting to know the campers. She would also tell you that she feels richly blessed by the relationships she has built with the staff. Then, she just might tell you that she’s slowly learning to serve even when she gets none of the glory. And though it’s not always as much fun, she knows that her menial tasks are part of the amazing, kingdom-expanding, youth-empowering, God-honoring ministry of ECWA Camp Youth Alive. Then, Auntie René just might ask you to keep her and the ECYA in your prayers...if you could come to camp.
Click here for more camp pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/naekix/JosCamp
Ps—I’m supposed to holding camp in Gombe this week, but the national teacher’s strike as been called off, throwing all kinds of nuttiness into scheduling including that camp’s cancellation. Another opportunity has come up however involving camel caravan outreach...stay tuned :)
