Youth Retreat

The theme of the Camp is… “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Teens here struggle with the same things as teenagers back home with respect to trying to figure out who they are without succumbing to peer and media pressure to fit in. Drugs and alcohol are also a reality for these kids. Along with that they were encouraged with the fact that God has a plan for their lives no matter what struggles they have faced and they need to wait on Him and His guidance. The camp was a YMCA camp about an hour out of OV. We got all our stuff into 2 combies (passenger vans) and a small trailer. There was about 30 of us. As we made our way to the camp we could see a roadblock in the distance. The vans pulled over and the drivers started speaking Afrikaans to each other and some of the LSE (Life Skills Educators). From what I could piece together the small trailer had no insurance on it. So we put all the stuff in the trailer into the vans (which were already pretty squishy), someone came from OV to pick up the trailer, and off we went again. The Camp was really nice with a Church, a few rooms with bunk beds, a kitchen, and a pool. Taryn and Torrina from Mountain view came on the camp and helped me get to know the other girls. All the guys shared one room, and all the girls (about 20 of us or so) shared so we didn’t get ANY sleep at all. We broke up into small groups for the weekend. In my group was Melissa (LSE Melissa), Scomie, Torrina, Lindsay, Meagan (not the LSE Meagan), and Debbie. We came up with a Team name of Chirst-like Soldiers and did a bit of a war cry (every group did this). We had a kitchen staff come with us so all of out food was prepared (it was pretty amazing actually).
The next day all the youth were really excited to go in the pool, and we finally got a chance on Saturday afternoon. OH, by the way, my intro to the pool was when Ricardo decided it would be a good idea to throw me in…with my clothes and shoes on. It was pretty funny I have to admit, and I think I may have deserved it since I got thrown in while I was trying to help a few of the other girls throw him in! It took a little while for some of the youth to open up to me (I was the only white person there so its understandable that some of them were a little weary), but after being thrown in things were good (so I guess it’s a good thing). There were a lot more activates and games, ending with each group preparing a Bible Story to act out, a Gospel Song to sing (yes, even I had to sing), and a T.V. advert to perform.
We also were asked to make our own dinner that night. Each group was given some ingredients (you will see in my pics), which were put into a ginormous pot and cooked on a grill over a fire. Chris and I made the fire as you will see from some of the pics as well. Unfortunately in our haste to make a big one we used all the wood, including what was supposed to be used for the next day (:S). Chris is as much of a pyro as I am so we made a pretty good team. What we made is called broetjie (I think…or maybe its potjie…). I am starting to learn more Afrikaans but I still get confused. Anyways it’s basically a stew served over rice. In the stew are veggies (including avocado which I didn’t really like until it was in this!), fruit like mangos, meat, and various spices (look at the pics) that are cooked over the fire for a few hours. Apparently after eating that with them I am no longer white but coloured (and I am getting pretty tanned so that is actually true!).
The last day was pretty amazing! The highlight was Church for sure. In Church I was asked to stand up and give a testimony. The Devotion for the morning was from the Book of Romans and Melissa spoke about having patience and waiting on God. I tried to tie that in with the theme of the Camp. I spoke about the last year or so of my life, going from having no idea what I was going to do after I graduated at the beginning of Summer ’07 through getting shingles because I stressed so much about it up to now. I told them about how I was taught to have patience and faith that when the time was right I would know what I was supposed to do instead of stressing about everything. Then I told them about being accepted into the Honours program when the deadline had long past, how doors were opened to me that should not have been with respect to all the volunteer positions I got which will probably get me into Medical School. I also talked about how if I had pushed to apply the year I finished my regular degree that I would not have had the time to come to South Africa and be with them. At the end of the service the Pastor asked if there was anyone who was not Christian and if they would like to take the first step. There was about 10 people who hadn’t accepted Christ and they ALL stood up and made the first step. They each received prayer from the LSE and it was quite an emotional and intense time. I have been to Church services like this before but this one was different. I do have some pictures, but they will not convey the intensity of emotion that everyone felt.
The ride home was hilarious. I was in the Combie with most of the guys, as well as Annie, Tracey, and Debbie. Imagine flying down a windy highway back home with the music playing full blast (we could barely hear each other when we spoke) and pretty much a circus performance going on inside. People were standing up in the aisles dancing. Then they decided that ganging up on the girls would be a good plan so we proceeded to have a wrestling/tickle match as we were flying down the road. And of course we had to make an entrance as we pulled into Ocean view with people sticking their heads out the windows and dancing and doing whatever else to get as much attention as possible. I do have some video of the ride home that I will put up when I can.