It’s been an unprecedented start to 2020 with all the tragedy, loss, heartache and grief surrounding the massive bushfires that hit Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
The fires impacted our Summer Camp programme too. When the state government declared Victoria a “State of Disaster” we decided to cancel the first of our camps – GAP camp (16-18 year-olds).
Praise God we were given the OK to run Junior and Teen camps with conditions being favourable and improving daily, including some much needed rains.
With both our Junior and Teen speakers originally from Victoria, it was a real homecoming for them both. Natasha Sua, the Junior speaker, and Josh Stothers, the speaker for Teens, brought the Word each night to our campers, unpacking different aspects of our 2020 Summer Camp theme and what it meant to go Against the Grain. They explored going Against the Grain in the context of identity, love, hope, peace, forgiveness and relationships.
Friday evening is the high point of Summer Camp when campers are invited to various levels of commitment, from a commitment/recommitment to Jesus, request for Bible studies or prayer to preparation for baptism.
The decisions made by both campers and staff at summer camps make all we invest in them worth every bit!
For this edition’s devotional, we are sharing with you some of what was shared at the camps, and as you read, we encourage you to prayerfully relook at the Gospel accounts, Against the Grain.
Phil Hyland
VicYouth Director