Children's camp in Netherlands attracts 170 participants

Someren, The Netherlands

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

At Whitsun (Pentecost) this year, there was a great event in Holland. Seventy-five leaders were ready to entertain 170 kids for four days. These kids ranged in age from seven to 12 and came from all over the Dutch District. Some were brought by their parents and some came on the special "childcampbus." After the necessary tears of goodbye, camp started off with an amazing service in which a lot of songs were sung and the theme of the weekend was announced.

This year the theme was "Grrrr," referring to the sound lions make. The scriptural focus was the story of Daniel and the den he was cast into in Daniel 6.

Children like it when a character from the Bible is chosen to tell the message of a loving and trustworthy God. When they get home, they remember the things the character experienced, and want to read the story in the Bible for themselves.

So this year, the story of Daniel was used to tell the kids God loves them, that He is always with them wherever they go, and that they can trust in Him. Of course, there was much more to do than just going to the services. A team organized all sorts of games, separate for the younger and older kids. There was a sports afternoon; they went to the woods to build a hut; they attended workshops; the older kids went to the forest for an exciting night game.
 
One evening there was a camp fire and the kids roasted marshmallows. One of the highlights of the camp was the waterslide. The weather was absolutely fantastic, so the organizers made a slide with lots of soap and water in which the kids could slide.

It is always fun to see that even though there are a lot of things organized, the most important part for the kids is the candy store. Once a day they were able choose five pieces of candy and none of them missed the opportunity.

The leadership finds it very important to organize these camps every year, as it is the first district activity that the kids can attend. If they like it, they come back every year, and when they are older, they can go to the youth camps. For some kids, it is the only time they can escape a bad situation at home. It is very rewarding to see that even after 20 years, most kids have good memories about the camp.

This is why the 75 volunteers gave their extra long weekend for this camp: so they could watch the kids running around, play with them, do their hair (and make-up), and let them feel they are loved and safe.

It has been one month since camp, and the organization is still resting from all the work, but in October they will start preparing for next year, looking forward to what God is going to do in the hearts of the kids (and the leaders).
--Eurasia Region Communications

 

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