Camps are indeed a breath of fresh air. Whenever I am asked to join a camp, what I would always think of is recreation and enjoyment. However, this year’s youth and teens retreat with the theme, “More of Him, Less of Me” took my perspective about camps into a deep-seated and more substantial level. It made me realize tons of things – things that would always remind me and the other campers how great God is.
After four hours of traveling, we finally reached Word of Life Philippines in Calauan, Laguna. We went directly to the session hall for us to be oriented about the dos and don’ts inside the campsite. Afterward, we headed to our room assignments and prepared for our presentation for the talent’s night. The hour for the talent’s night came quickly and all of us [groups] performed enthusiastically for the glory of the Lord. On the following day, we had an early group devotion and breakfast to start the day right.
Subsequently, everybody proceeded to the hall for the first session. The topic crushed each and every one’s heart as Pastor Jeff delivered a message about the encounter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The sermon revolved around how Jesus approached the woman and how she eventually surrendered her pride, thoughts and her leadership of her soul to the Lord. It revealed to us how sinful we are in the sight of our righteous God and how we should give up and lay down our treasured possessions at the feet of Jesus Christ – our Savior who is always willing to embrace us with His overflowing love and forgiveness.
The soul-crushing session ended and each team went straight to their cabins together with their leaders for a group discussion with the purpose of sharing each individual’s insights and reflections.
For the succeeding session, Pastor Jeff discussed double-mindedness. Almost everyone found themselves indecisive and half-hearted at the middle of the talk. Nonetheless, we felt secured as we learned three things at the end of the session: we belong to God, we are His children and lastly, we need to grow in our relationship with Him. We were enlightened that His grace is always sufficient to enable us to do things without hesitations and delays as long as God will be honored in it.
Thenceforth, everyone proceeded to the pool for the water baptism. Those who decided to follow Jesus’ example were prayed for and immersed, publicly declaring their obedience to God and His Word.
The next day, our morning started with a group devotion and breakfast. After that, everybody went to the vast field inside the campsite for the picture-taking. Subsequently, we moved to the session hall to listen to the final session led by Elder Eman. The message was all about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. The last talk was filled with tears and anguish as every camper looked back on how the Lord suffered for the redemption of His people. Elder Eman discussed how priceless we are in the sight of God for it took the blood of Jesus Christ for us to be saved from the wrath of God. The retreat officially ended as several youth and teens volunteered to give their testimonies on how the Lord mightily moved in the midst of their hearts.
Indeed, this year’s camp is beyond expectation. The Holy Spirit worked notably in everything that has happened. A lot of hearts were changed and minds were renewed. In the end, every camper made a decision to live a life with the mantra, “more of Him, less of me”.
Undeniably, we now know our worth – it is found in the cross of Jesus Christ. The best way to respond to it? Live our life for Him.
