Maayung buntag! Good Morning in the local Visiyas dialect. After several attempts of saying this followed by much laughter – I stuck with “Good Morning!”
Rain, rain, go away… Rain started the night before and was steady through the night and into the next day. It lessened to a slight drizzle by mid-morning but stubbornly held on until after lunch.
So what do you do when your volleyball and basketball camp only has outdoor courts? You go swimming! Word of Life Seaside is called Seaside for a reason. All the campers gathered in the ocean for games of tug-of-war and general fun-frolicking! And as usual, as the teams competed against each other, there was laughter and shouts of encouragement everywhere.
After the tug-of-war games, the water erupted in splash battle, chicken fights and just general water roughhousing until everyone was thoroughly soaked. With the water, air, and rain temperature, all about the same, probably hovering in the mid-80s, no one complained about it being cold.
The schedule was rearranged. A local pastor came early and Bible time was moved to earlier in the day. Again, the teens were for the most part attentive and the worship and testimonies were encouraging. At 2pm, with the rain almost finished the volleyball games commenced on the grass court. Basketball games started about an hour or so later, after the court’s puddles were swept off and the cement dried with towels. With much excitement, the games continued until dinnertime.
After dinner, Bible time was moved to an earlier timeslot and our team participated by singing “Every Move I make, I make for Jesus.” The campers joined in enthusiastically as the team taught them motions to the song. The song was followed by a testimony form Zack Kmiec. Being about the same age as most of the campers, they listened intently. Most campers know enough English to understand us so we believe he was understood. A Word of Life Bible seminary student and previous camp attender spoke and encouraged the teens to “verify” their faith by continuing to do good things for the Lord. He did a great job but the camp director was quick to announce, “He wasn’t available…” By the reaction of the girls, and his handsome appearance, I am pretty sure he wasn’t referring to his future vocational plans.
The rest of the night was dedicated to catching up on the scheduled games. Several games ended up close and the excited cheers echoed until late into the night. All went to bed pretty tired and sleep was welcomed quickly!
Pray for today – Thursday, the last full day of camp. As would be the case in any camp – there are many who still need to follow Christ. This may be the last time that they hear such clear intentional explanations of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray for those who have chosen to follow Christ, that they be plugged into a local fellowship and that they would continue to be discipled.
Tim Scott
Rain, rain, go away… Rain started the night before and was steady through the night and into the next day. It lessened to a slight drizzle by mid-morning but stubbornly held on until after lunch.
So what do you do when your volleyball and basketball camp only has outdoor courts? You go swimming! Word of Life Seaside is called Seaside for a reason. All the campers gathered in the ocean for games of tug-of-war and general fun-frolicking! And as usual, as the teams competed against each other, there was laughter and shouts of encouragement everywhere.
After the tug-of-war games, the water erupted in splash battle, chicken fights and just general water roughhousing until everyone was thoroughly soaked. With the water, air, and rain temperature, all about the same, probably hovering in the mid-80s, no one complained about it being cold.
The schedule was rearranged. A local pastor came early and Bible time was moved to earlier in the day. Again, the teens were for the most part attentive and the worship and testimonies were encouraging. At 2pm, with the rain almost finished the volleyball games commenced on the grass court. Basketball games started about an hour or so later, after the court’s puddles were swept off and the cement dried with towels. With much excitement, the games continued until dinnertime.
After dinner, Bible time was moved to an earlier timeslot and our team participated by singing “Every Move I make, I make for Jesus.” The campers joined in enthusiastically as the team taught them motions to the song. The song was followed by a testimony form Zack Kmiec. Being about the same age as most of the campers, they listened intently. Most campers know enough English to understand us so we believe he was understood. A Word of Life Bible seminary student and previous camp attender spoke and encouraged the teens to “verify” their faith by continuing to do good things for the Lord. He did a great job but the camp director was quick to announce, “He wasn’t available…” By the reaction of the girls, and his handsome appearance, I am pretty sure he wasn’t referring to his future vocational plans.
The rest of the night was dedicated to catching up on the scheduled games. Several games ended up close and the excited cheers echoed until late into the night. All went to bed pretty tired and sleep was welcomed quickly!
Pray for today – Thursday, the last full day of camp. As would be the case in any camp – there are many who still need to follow Christ. This may be the last time that they hear such clear intentional explanations of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray for those who have chosen to follow Christ, that they be plugged into a local fellowship and that they would continue to be discipled.
Tim Scott