Hello Blog Friends!
We have been dithering back and forth as to whether to publish separate posts about each of this year’s Day Camps or to just publish a compilation at the end of the summer.
Regular readers will know that the Promised Church Day Camp was exceptional and so, having finally been advised of parental permissions regarding publishing photos of children, we have decided to upload this as a “stand-alone” post.
This camp was the result of a collaboration between First Filipino Baptist Church (FFBCM) and Promised Church, with program resources and support from Crosstalk Ministries.
For many years, Promised Church served as one of three locations for the. Training Day Camps, the first week of training for the Travelling Teams. The Pastor, Jennifer (a former Team Member in the early years of CTM Day Camps!) always volunteered to host that week as it meant they would receive a “double-sized” Team under the leadership of a special, expert Training Leader. The church is in a rural area and Jennifer invites families from surrounding villages to bring their children to the Day Camp. Some of these children come from difficult home situations and require extra love and attention. Jennifer has a very small local team and so, what a training team might lack in expertise they made up for in numbers.! What was really required, more than knowing everything about each program component was the ability of team members to offer a safe and loving environment and for campers more to “see Jesus” in the love and care of the team than in the details of the daily stories.
We, at Day Camps central, knew how much Jennifer missed being able to provide this valuable experience to children and we also knew that FFBCM had young adults who would understand the need and be willing to volunteer, thus this Service Project began to take shape. Both Church Pastors were on board, and DC committee member, Mae Anne, agreed to be the liaison between CTM and the other parties
After several months of work, the team slowly began to come together and we were truly blessed that first Kelvin, and then at the last moment, Donna, both experienced Travelling Team Leaders, stepped forward to coordinate the other four young people, all of whom had been campers and/or helped with Day Camps at FFBCM but had never served on Team.
After the week ended, I asked Donna if she could collect some short reflections of their experiences from the group. Four of the six have sent in their thoughts, along with some lovely photos, some of which were taken by Jennifer, other by the FFBCM gang! I’ll end here with a short note from Jen, herself-
So, without further ado, here is:-
The Promised Church Camp
“I was very blessed to be one of the leaders for this year’s Day Camp at Promise Church where I built strong bonds with my team and the children and felt God’s overflowing love. Prior to the start of camp, doubts and nerves were clouding my conscience, but what reassured me was how the Lord never failed to provide for me spiritually and physically throughout past years of doing traveling team. Therefore, I knew He would be the one to lead me throughout the week ahead. This camp at Promise Church was truly a testament of God’s good work. He blessed us with over 15 different campers and a solid team of local helpers. What a joy it was to see the children’s involvement in the songs and actions, their passion for classic games like Bible Smugglers, and their curiosity about the Bible. I was especially touched during one Thursday devotion when our group of Explorers/Pathfinders were posing such insightful and genuine questions about God’s love, His truths, and us as His children. Through this, I saw how God is planting seeds in the hearts of His little ones and how His love pours out boundlessly onto us and through us.” -Donna
“This year’s Day Camp at Promise Church was presented with many challenges, but the Lord is good and made sure that our camp succeeded in introducing Jesus into the lives of the campers. Promise Church had relaunched their camp after a five-year hiatus, and it certainly brought its challenges with it. Day by day, it certainly felt like camp was getting harder to manage. However, the Lord is good and He picked the right team to send to Knowlton. I used to be the person who would try and lead the program all by myself. With the ability of relying on my team, I was able to work more in the background this year and do the things I have not yet experienced.
Despite this camp’s challenges, I am glad to have witnessed the growth of the campers who listened daily to new Bible stories and the growth of the leaders who used their time to honour God.” -Kelvin
“This year’s Day Camp at Promise Church taught me a lot about myself, our team dynamic, and especially God’s love and faithfulness. I had always wanted to join Crosstalk Ministries since I turned 14, but when COVID hit, it was sadly cancelled for five years. Thankfully, Promise Church recently relaunched their day camp, and being part of it taught me so much. Even though I finally had the opportunity to go, I was hesitant to leave home.
The environment felt very different from Montreal, which brought its own challenges. But I eventually said yes because I realized it was what God wanted and that serving Him was more important than staying comfortable. That decision changed everything.
Watching the campers express curiosity and love toward God made me feel so blessed to be part of a community like this. My team-just a random group of people at first, ended up complementing each other so well. Through it all, I learned that God works in ways we might never expect. Especially with kids, He reveals Himself and His endless love in the most unexpected moments. I’m beyond grateful for this experience and how it strengthened my faith.” -Krissel
“I am so glad to be able to teach children during the Day Camps at Promised Church. My team and I were able to help each other especially during difficult situations. At first, I was scared because it was my first time doing it as a team member. Thankfully, the leaders helped guide us members and encouraged us on how to support the children. Before we started the 1st day of camp, God helped us prepare the song lyrics and devotions for the children. At first, there were only a few children, but God helped to ease any fears and stress and we were able to enjoy learning about God with the campers. God also sent the helpers to support and guide the children. This brought joy to the children because the helpers showed them much love. Our team was also grateful for Valerie who was there to help us, to give us advice, and to pray for us with the children!” -Jerald (EJ)