I remember as a child I would often wait by the window when my family was expecting guests. As soon as their expected arrival time came near, I would place myself in a strategic location where I could view all traffic moving by my street to see if I could catch a glimpse of the long-awaited visitors. As soon as the car was spotted approaching my home, I would spring into action, running down the stairs (sometimes racing my siblings) to see if I could meet the vehicle before it was parked. Today had much the same feeling.
This morning the camp leadership team met for breakfast, worship (led by David, Carolyn, Andrew, and Petr), and a short devotion (great job Aidan!) After which we readied ourselves for the arrival of the students. There was lots of last-minute work to be done, but everyone was excited to meet our campers and we were fighting against the clock to be ready by the time they began to show.
As English students arrived, they were greeted outside the hotel doors by our camp team. After signing in, each camper was helped to find their room by the camp staff. Afterward, many of them were then invited to have their English language skills evaluated. Overseeing this was my responsibility, and between student evaluations, I found myself subconsciously repositioning my location so that I had a clear view of the campers arriving. Every new arrival brought back the familiar thrill of new visitors when I was young. Each camper was either someone that we met and had grown to love through our ministry last year or was someone new to share the love of Christ with.
Following dinner, we had an evening program that consisted of music, lots of dancing, a skit, and a gospel presentation. Tonight’s presentation was given by our camp director, Viet. The theme of the talk was “what is the cornerstone of your life?”. There are lots of things that we can build our lives upon, but only Jesus provides the solid foundation we need. Future talks will develop the gospel message further.
Following the evening program, there were discussion groups, a second dinner, and lots of free time for talking and hanging out. The rest of the days of camp will follow this same evening format. Unfortunately for bloggers like me, it makes for a really late night, however, I wouldn’t want to miss time with the students that we are here to serve.