Capricorn Youth Camp

This past weekend, the Youth Leadership took 28 of our Capricorn Community Church Youth on Camp (which was only one weekend, so I’d call it a weekend retreat). We transported them via taxi-van and individual cars over the mountain to a campsite. There were individual guy and girl dorms with a ‘worship room’ and kitchen connecting the two. Judy, our Pastor’s wife, came with us for the weekend to cook all our meals. She’s a fabulous, laid-back, easy-to-work-with, fun, detail-oriented, amazing cook! She’s the ideal Pastor’s wife for a church plant like Capricorn Community Church.

The weekend’s theme was ‘Reality Check.’ We focused on Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord – and each session (there were 4 total) looked at a different Reality TV shows/movies:

Session 1- Jeremiah 29:4, 11- Amazing Race

Session 2- Esther - Survivor – GIVE all to God. He will make sure you GET all you need. GO and do His will.

Session 3- Rich Young Ruler, Luke – Mission Impossible

Session 4- 1 Sam 16, 2 Sam 11, 22 - David- Fear Factor [You can’t fear failure]

One of the best parts about any retreat or camp is the quality time you (as a leader) get to spend with the teens. I found that especially true at this camp. These teens were SO excited to leave Capricorn for the weekend. They wanted to be away from their families – not having to worry about playing ‘adult’ at home – taking care of siblings, cooking for the family, avoiding abuse, dealing with weekend-drunk parents… and the list goes on and on. Getting them away, letting them be themselves, letting them see the laid-back, fun personalities of the leaders, and having intentional conversations with each teen will prove to be so worthwhile down the road.

One of the most difficult parts of camp was the discipline problem. Given that these teens come from such a rough background, they generally have little to no boundaries at home. Even the parents that try to discipline and raise their children under God’s Word have difficulty doing so because of the lack of respect and sense of independence that these kids have had to learn to survive in their natural environment. So, one of our unspoken goals of the weekend was to set clear boundaries and have a clear expectation of behavior and obedience. When a rule was broken, there was a quick consequence. There were lots of one-on-one talks/discussions (between leader and teen) about why they misbehaved and the explanation of what their consequence was. To an outsider, it may have looked like we were being harsh, but that was NOT the case. We constantly have trouble on Friday nights at Youth – getting them to respect the speaker, to sit up in their chair while in worship, obeying simple, common-sense rules proves difficult. And much research has shown, children and teens appreciate clear rules and boundaries, and that was shown and proven this weekend! The leaders that kept to the rules, gave consequences, and were ‘hard-nosed’ were the very leaders that the kids wanted to hangout with during free-time, to sit with during a meal, to chat at night in the bunks. The leaders that were involved and took interest (for good or discipline) were the ones that were most rewarded by relationship-building! Oh it was so hard to punish and discipline the very kids you love but it was truly necessary in this circumstance.

We had a lot of fun: Survivor Relay-Challenge, hanging out at the pool, playing soccer, swinging on the playground, playing UNO! We even had a few visitors- a family of 10 Baboons. Meagan, Shanice and myself were swinging on the playground, chatting about life, when the 10 baboons walked up to us (no more than 4 feet from us). I got up slowly and tried to move closer to my friends when Meagan said, “Mel, stay still. Don’t move.” And honestly, when a herd of baboons are that near you, your first instinct is NOT ‘stay still.’ They eventually left us alone, but whew, it was scary and exciting. Our teens chased them until the park ranger took over and chased them off the premises.

Overall, the camp was great. I continue to be frustrated at the lack of spiritual maturity these teens have, but as Meagan reminded me this weekend- Capricorn is not about giant leaps; it’s about baby steps and God moving in His time. Please continue to pray for these teens as we follow-up from lessons taught at camp. Oh how I love Capricorn!

Meal time

Worship

Adventurous boys

Smearing. On Sunday morning, the last day of camp, our teens had kindly, obediently refrained from pulling pranks on each other. So, Meagan, Shagmie and I gathered our troops (guys versus girls) and allowed them to 'smear' each other outside on the field. They used lotion, tooth-paste, water... Somehow, the leaders stayed fairly clean, but the teens were a MESS!

The result of our Sunday morning fun!

Baboon eating the left overs of our Survivor Relay (candy and flour mixture) on the ground.

Leaders: Lauren, Meagan, Mel by the pool!

Survivor Relay Game on the open field.

Jeanette, Shanice, Mel in our dorm room. These two girls have a special place in my heart. Although difficult to handle sometimes, they're precious!