Photos Family Camp 2010

Hi. Here are some more photos of the family camp for you to see.
This was proably the most competitive game of pictionary I've ever witnessed.
Who can build the tallest balloon tower?
The children who were a little small to compete in the football with their Dads, seemed to get as much fun out of being cheer leaders with plastic bottles filled with stones.

You'll never beat your uncle at 'Fluffy Bunnies'!
Obstacle course was of course demanded and thoroughly enjoyed.

Some men fooling about on the climbing net. In this case he almost broke his neck falling off seconds after I took this photo! Holding on with one wet hand.
The oldest camper was Don Jose at 80years of age, and he participated fully even on all the obstacles.
The only ones who didn't run were the very small children, so on the final day Mision Rescate and the children from their Summer Bible School formed a team and ran the course much to the childrens delight.Some little ones needed just a little help to get across the water tank.

And on they went, getting cheered on by proud parents.
While all this was going on Christine Morrow was taking care of our speaker Pastor Pedro's hydration needs... obviously due to the extreme heat of the afternoon!

Thats all for now folks!

God Bless,

Alistair.

Family Camp 2010

Hi, the third and last week of camps was the family camps. Again numbers were up on last year. One family of 8 relatives last year returned this year with 15. There were families from Moquegua, Tacna, Ilo, Puno and Arequipa. In fact one family from Tacna came chiefly because their children had enjoyed the two previous camps so much that on returning home had convinced their parents to come to this camp.

There were all the usual activities including again the obstacle course, photograph challenges etc. But as always the family camp had a different atmosphere distinct to the other camps. In some ways more relaxed but yet in other senses the adults where almost more competitive than any young person.

The speakers were Pastor Pedro Cornejo and his wife Chi Chi from Arequipa. They are primarily involved in two ministries. Firstly Pedro is the director of the language institute in Arequipa were the Andrew and Carolyn Roycroft, Simon, Lynn, Shirley and I all attended at different times over the past year. His wife Chi Chi also teaches there a little. They see the institute as more than just a school but as a ministry as they focus on teaching missionaries and often go beyond the classroom in their dedication to the students. For example I know missionaries from other missions who experienced burglaries while in Arequipa and appreciated how the teachers accompanied them both to the Police station and also to the second hand markets to see if they could recuperate any items.

Their other ministry is the Christians in Action church which Pedro pastors. He is a gifted speaker and I was glad they were able to attend the camp. Many campers verbalised how they had benefited from his teaching throughout the week, once again centred on the theme ‘Decisions’.

While Pedro and Chi Chi ministered to the families, at the same time Misión Rescate ran a Summer Bible School for the youngest children.

They seemed to thoroughly enjoy it and learned their memory verses very well.

As I reflect on the three camps I feel we were blessed to have the different speakers we did. Each pair was perfectly suited to the age group they addressed and were all clearly blessed by God in how they ministered. What was also notable about all three pairs of speakers is that they all went beyond the call of duty so to speak. They didn’t just turn up to fill and preaching slot, but got involved in the lives of the campers at individual levels taking time to build relationships with campers they might never see again. It was also encouraging to see campers look for pastoral counsel from all the speakers at various points which evidenced the impact their ministries were having on those in attendance.

This month in many ways is going to be full of preparations for leaving and goodbyes. Please pray that God would give me the right words to share as I visit people for the last time before I go. I also plan to travel up to Lima next Tuesday for a week. I hope to speak to missionaries up there about theological education and other ministries and see what I can learn from their approach to ministry. I also hope to visit friends like the speakers from the young adult’s camp, Rino and Santiago, and say goodbyes there also. Please pray for safety in travel and then as I go around the city which as all large cities can be dangerous.

Please also continue to pray for those at the Luz de Vida church, many of whom attended the various camps. This is something that is on my heart at the moment. They are continuing to struggle with the change of pastor in their church. Pray that God would quickly bring the man of His choosing to them and pray for both the new pastor and the congregation as they form a new relationship between them. Most of those at the church were saved under the ministry of Pastor Freddie, and others cannot remember the time before him. Pray that God would comfort them in this time of upheaval.

God Bless,
Alistair.

Photos of Teenage Camp 2010

These are some more photos of the teenage camp.

Again we had the treasure hunt, though this time a little different as they had to find slips of green paper. In the process the campsite was almost torn apart. This is one of the teams on the last day before leaving. The teams seemed to bond very well and new friendships made.
The obstacle course was again a hit, though they didn't get as unruly as the young adults.

Getting as wet, or wetting others, as much as possible again seemed to be the dominant theme in the course. But this was generally appreciated given the hot weather.
Felipe, the speaker, did not help out at the shop but did revel in helping soak anyone and everyone.The bonfire night was also a special time spent together.
Again some excuse was found to then warrant another rendering of the 'baile de la tasa' or the 'dance of the cup'.Also notable as the weeks went by was how the leaders and counsellors got ever more exhausted. Some took advantage of any chance they got to catch a few 'winks'.

The counsellors weren’t the only ones sleeping. So were the three guard dogs. The only thing they seemed interested in watching was the door to the kitchen!

God Bless,

Alistair.

Teenager Camp 2010

The teenager camp kicked off on the same day as the young adult’s camp ended. There was a similar attendance of around the 50 mark and the camp followed a similar itinerary to the previous camp, but with certain modifications to keep things interesting.
For the preservation of our noses the ‘smelliest thing’ was scrapped. We also had the inclusion of an Oscars night where each of the three teams had to video tape a film including certain phrases which we then presented on the Wednesday night, along with a ‘bloopers’ reel and the Oscars presentation with numerous categories. As with everything in both camps, a lot of effort was put into every activity by the campers and much positive feedback was received.

The speakers for this camp were the youth pastor from the Alliance church in Tacna and his wife. Felipe is an Argentinean and his wife Esther Peruvian.

They were also accompanied by their two young children who won everyone’s hearts. She is a professional psychologist and they have developed a ministry working with teenagers and young adults. Again the main theme was ‘Decisions’ but this time focusing on the life of David. Felipe preached very well from the life of David and related it to the lives of the teenagers. Esther ran a number of workshops with various activities and group work touching on the themes highlighted in the sermons. By the end of the camp they had managed to build relationships with numerous campers.
These are the best male and female campers of the year, Jonatan and Maria-Belen.One of the other great encouragements was that a few of the campers from the young adult’s camp accepted the invitation to stay on as part of the counsellor team for the teenage camp and flourished in the role. Two of them were young men I have been getting to know at the Luz de Vida church and one was only recently baptised. It was great to see them make personal sacrifices to be able to stay and then see them throw themselves wholeheartedly into the task.
One of them has his own business selling sports gear and had spoke about how he nearly didn’t attend the first camp for fear that the business would suffer yet how he had seen God undertake and provide even in his absence. Having briefly returned to Tacna to check on things he felt that having experienced God’s faithfulness to him in this way during the first week, he felt convicted to follow God’s leading and return to help at the second camp and again experienced God’s faithfulness to his business in his absence. You may think these are little things, and for someone else it would have been a less significant sacrifice, but knowing the circumstances of this young man this was a large step of faith and development in his personal walk with the Lord. I feel privileged to have been able to get to know many of the young people from the churches in Tacna over the last months and then see the impact that God was able to have on them through both camps.

Please continue to pray for the many young people that were touched by the camps ministry, especially as they return home. Many campers, leaders and speakers repeatedly spoke about how a camp forms a safe space in which one can blossom spiritually, so to speak, but it is when one leaves the camp that the battle really begins and where the true impact on your spiritual life will be seen. I remember reading a book years ago during nursing (on occasions literally during nursing studies I have to admit; I probably should have been listening to the lectures) which was titled ‘Where’s Jesus when the party’s over?’ I can’t remember much about the content but the title kept coming to my mind time and again during the past weeks reminding me that camps are a spiritual party of sorts but are not the spiritual reality we must encounter day by day. Please pray for those who attended all three camps as they return to very different circumstances, that God would continue to work in their lives.

God Bless,
Alistair.

Photos of Young Adults Camp 2010

Hi I just thought I would include a few more photos to give you a better insight into what went on at this camp. Comments relate to the photo directly above them.

One of the group activities was to make a superhero out of various materials and then give a commentary on them. Well you never heard such waffle, but very funny.

Including counsellors in the teams and having Mision Rescate organise the tasks meant that the groups got extremely competitive. This is Raul (chief counsellor) running back to the auditorium having found the hidden disc.

This is his team after having won the treasure hunt for the disc.

The high spirit of competition meant the scoreboard was constantly being monitored and critiqued by all, and meant Mision Rescate were constantly being almost harassed about the scoring. This is the winning team on the last evening sporting the t-shirts they had just won, all with Christian logos.The obstacle course was as always a highlight for all. This is a team trying to walk on two planks. Good for team co-ordination.
Traversing the net covered with water and flour.Crossing the 'typoid tank' which was particularly stagnant this year.
Each year there is a male and a female camper of the year. This is Richard who won male camper on the last day. He thoroughly enjoyed himself.This is one of the teams having finished the course. I only wish I had got the before picture aswell.Well not to be outdone, on the second day of obstacle courses, after the campers had all ran, the Mision Rescate (along with a few volunteers to make up numbers) ran against the team of counsellors. This is where things really went mad and the boot polish, shaving foam etc were all liberally coated on anyone and everyone.
This is the counsellor team after.

This is Maria del Carmen one of the Mision Rescate members who had been covering campers in flour. Some of the campers then took the opportunity to get their own back.
Some also got their own back on Raul, another Mision Rescate team member, who had been hosing everyone.
Well not to worry, he who laughs last laughs the longest, as Maria del Carmen and Raul caught up with at least one of the culprits.

Well those are some of the things that also went on during this camp. No doubt you'll agree much fun was had.

God Bless,

Alistair.

Young Adults Camp 2010

Hi, sorry for not updating the blog for so long. I have been at camps or ‘Campamentos de Verano 2010’ ‘Summer Camps 2010’, and because of one thing and another I never got round to posting anything. The most I was able to do was half write a post, that never got finished, which became the basis for this current post. I will write a separate post about each camp which will hopefully make it easier to tell you what all went on.

The first camp was the 18+ camp, essentially a young adult’s camp, which went well. There was a good attendance with about 50+ campers, 9 camp counsellors, 6 Misión Rescate team members, 4 worship leaders, 2 speakers and 1 photographer/camp nurse... (no partridges or pear trees, but there were 2 ‘guard geese’ on site but that’s another story; would have been more use in a pot but never mind).
Two main changes to previous camps was firstly having two separate camps for the 12-17 age groups and then the 18+ age group which in the past all attended the same camp. Although there was some questions and trepidation about this change most believe it turned out to be a positive and beneficial change as I will evidence below. What is more, baring that in mind previous camps were joined, that made a 50+ turn out very good. It was also very manageable which is great.

The other change was to have a team of counsellors separate to the Misión Recate team, who last year formed the crux of the counsellor team. This meant that the team of 9 counsellors was able to focus on dealing with the campers most directly, participating with their teams in the various activities etc.

Misión Recate was primarily in charge of organising and running the activities and discipline, which included all sorts of interesting and embarrassing tasks for those arriving late at meetings, chiefly the ‘Baile de la Tasa’ or the ‘dance of the cup’ (pictured above). This organisation has ensured a more efficient running of things in many ways.

We had two speakers at this camp which happen to be the two speakers who attended the two camps last year separately: Pastor Rino Bareta and Santiago Quispe. They have an interest in drama and presented a few sketches and other group activities with the campers. Rino is also an excellent speaker and preached on the life of Joseph. The theme for all three camps was ‘Decisions’ and the passages and messages he shared on this theme were very appropriate and relevant for these young adults.

In their spare time they seemed to enjoy helping out at the camp shop ‘selling’ the available merchandise in a very animated fashion (at least in Santiago's case, Rino not so much).

During the camp we had days to the beach, games, sport, quizzes, obstacles courses etc. Misión Rescate also set tasks for the teams. I don’t have time to write about them all, but one challenge included the presentation of various objects like the ugliest thing, the smelliest thing, etc.
The teams took these challenges really seriously and have put tremendous effort into them. The speakers and I were asked to judge this challenge and the items presented included a dead pelican, moths and a dead bird gutted with all entrails on display.

For example the finalists for the ‘smelliest thing’ were dead Sea Lion guts (pictured below to the left accompanied by a dead rotting crab) and sewage in a bottle; the team declined to say where they had obtained it and I didn’t push them on it.

Suffice to say Rino had to go and spray aftershave on his nose to cover the sickening aroma it left him with. All in all I think the inclusion of the counsellors has made the teams very competitive.

Feedback during, and since the camps, has been very positive. I overheard a girl talking to her friend on the phone, while I was driving her up to the health centre in Ite, trying to convince the friend to come to camp, all be it late, and as a result four of her friends arrived for the last two days. She commented that Misión Rescate had given them so many tasks to do, and where keeping them so busy, that they hadn’t time to take a break.

As a funny/slightly embarrassing aside the same girl when we were at the health centre was explaining to the doctor about the redness and problem she was having with her eyes, mild conjunctivitis. She proceeded to inform the doctor that she reckoned she had got the eye infected because they had got into a pool of stagnant water (the infamous typhoid tank from last year’s camps- see blog posts for last January) in order to fulfil a challenge. At this point the doctor and nurse looked at me with expressions as much to say what planet are you from putting young people up to this kind of nonsense! In truth the challenge wasn’t to get into the pool, but to take a photo of their team creatively fulfilling the term ‘wet’. They decided on this interpretation. What’s more I had nothing to do with it.

Well I could go on talking about the camp but think I should bring this post to a close with one story which probably was the highlight for me. There was a couple who attended from the Luz de Vida church, the church I have been assisting with the youth group, in Tacna. On the final evening we had the customary bonfire at which the campers and leaders were invited to share anything on their hearts. Firstly the young man got up and shared how the camp had impacted on him, how he very nearly didn’t come, and how glad he was that he did. The young lady then got up and although she hadn’t previously planned to share, ended up very frankly and openly sharing about the difficulties they had faced over the last years as a couple. She spoke about how she ended up pregnant at 16 to the young man, how the pastor and church shunned her, the difficulties they faced as the baby was born very prematurely at 5 months 1 week weighing 920 grams, how they were told the baby would never survive. Yet she gave testimony to how God undertook, and even though many other babies in the neonatal unit died, facing lesser odds, God brought their baby through and is now a healthy 5 year old boy. In fact their child celebrated its birthday on the Thursday of the camp and they had come to camp with every intention to return home on the Wednesday but having been benefited so much took the decision to stay on and make the sacrifice so as to fully benefit from the camp.
She then told of how she had, in order to be able to return to the church, stand up and publically apologise to the members about her pregnancy and how they had slowly been involving themselves more and more into the church. They are now both baptised and are soon to be married.

One of the sketches the speakers had presented on a previous evening was about a girl who was tempted to go out with an unsaved boy. Then how having chosen to go out ended up pregnant and faced the choice of whether or not to abort. This young lady spoke about how the themes raised in the sketch had identified with many of the choices she had personally had to take. The way in which she was able to give personal testimony spoke powerfully to those present.

Of all the many reasons why it was good to separate the two age groups this was probably in my opinion the most important. Many of the leaders mentioned afterwards that they didn’t think there would have been the freedom to speak as candidly about this and other issues if there had been 12 year olds present. Whilst undoubtedly the topics are still relevant to the younger age group, they need to be treated and shared in a distinctive way.

There are so many other things I could write about but this will have to do for now.
God Bless,
Alistair.

(I have not mentioned the names or included pictures of the couple I have spoken about for reasons of confidentiality, but I did get their permission to write about their testimony).

Christmas & New Years

Hi, just writing to let you know what I’ve been up to the last couple of weeks.

Firstly I went over to Ilo to spend Christmas with the Morrow family and the three Irish ‘Misión Rescate’ team members. We had a good time of fun and fellowship. On the Wednesday night we all attended a Christmas dinner at La Pampa church in Ilo and it was really tasty. We actually had turkey which surprised me as I reckoned we would have had some other less Christmassy dish. Anyway although it was tasty it proved a bit difficult to cut with plastic disposable knives and forks, but I made a valiant attempt.

Thursday was spent getting a few last minute things sorted. In the afternoon a few of us took a drive out to the old camp site where summer camps previously were held. It was a good time to reminisce. That evening a few of us went to a fun fair round the corner from the Morrows house. I probably couldn’t have imagined a less Christmassy place to be on Christmas Eve, but it was good fun. It’s so different to be in the kind of warmth that has you doing things that at home you associate with summer.

Christmas day was spent at the Morrow home and everyone opened their presents etc and much fun had by all. Then we had a great turkey dinner. During the afternoon I was able to phone home on Skype and get the update on all the ‘goings on’ there. Also over Christmas period I was able to phone other friends and family and catch up on their latest news and that was really good.

On Boxing Day we all headed over to Tacna to have a missionary family get together at the Brews. Again another lovely turkey dinner was shared and a great time of fellowship and I then stayed in Tacna.
On New Year’s Eve I opted to stay in and celebrate New Year in Ireland via Skype with my parents, then finish and print my sermon and youth talk for the weekend before climbing onto the roof to watch the fireworks at midnight. There were fireworks across the skyline of the city in all directions and was lovely to watch. Eventually though the smoke from them and the numerous bonfires got quite dense so I called it a night. On New Year’s Day a friend and I headed to the beach to meet up with friends there. Although we bumped into many people we knew, we didn’t manage to find those we were initially looking for.

Nevertheless we were able to meet up with some of the guys I play football with, and the young people from their churches, and spent the afternoon with them. Judging by the number of people at the beach, this was a very popular choice.

Some I think overdosed on the sunblock; I reckon when you look more like a mime you can be sure you have applied more than sufficient cream. I on the other hand probably should have used more than I did.

On Saturday I was a bit ill on it, not sure if it was the raw fish dish, Ceviche, I ate at the beach or too much sun, but thankfully by the evening I was well enough to go to the ‘Luz de Vida’ youth group. It never ceases to amaze me how many new faces I see attending there, if only their attendance would be more regular. There are 15 or so faithful and then anything up to 20 (or possibly more) who attend sporadically. It was a good time spent together and a lot of encouragement was made for the youth to sign up for camps because I truly believe they would all benefit from them.

Pray also for them at the moment as their Pastor has accepted a call to ‘Pan de Vida’, one of the other churches affiliated to the mission here in Tacna and has taken up pastoral responsibilities there since the first of January. Pray for him as he juggles pastoral responsibilities in both churches for the near future. Pray as the congregation in ‘Luz de Vida’ include many young people who are only beginning to take some tentative steps into any sort of leadership responsibility, and those adults who do attend are either saved a short time or still unconverted. Pray for God to guide them as they now begin to consider possible candidates for the pastorate and that God would provide the right man to lead the church.

Today, Sunday, I made another trip to Tarata to visit the church there. This time Reuben, the director of the radio station, accompanied me which was much appreciated. I had a lovely time with the believers there, though numbers were down as many had travelled elsewhere for the New Year. This however, worked also in our favour as some of the Pastors children, now all adults working in other cities in Peru, had travelled home for the New Year. This meant I was able to catch up with a childhood friend, his sister who I haven’t seen in 20 years, and his eldest brother also. We also managed to fit in a visit to the village of Ticaco to visit Gregoria once more, and as always she was delighted by the visit. Despite being almost blind and quite deaf she amazed us with her lucidity. She enjoys being kept up to date by Berta about the major happenings in the different villages in the Tarata valley, just like any Granny. We again shared from Gods Word and Reuben prayed with her. We then had a prolonged departure as she almost systematically interrogated each one as we left for any details we hadn’t already mentioned; details shared with anyone in the surrounding vicinity! Pray for her as she continues to trust in her saviour and witness to any of her relatives who care to visit.

I’m now back in Tacna getting caught up with things like this blog and making plans for camps which start later this week. I am planning to attend as first aider so I’m making a list of things I need to buy in the next few days and other things I need to do before going to camps. Please pray that God would undertake in all these final preparations. Pray also for the camps themselves:

• That many campers would attend, and that God would prepare their hearts to receive his Word.


• That God would guide the speakers in their preparations and then also as they share with the campers.


• That God would enable the leaders and helpers to be used by Him to witness and minister to the different groups of campers.


• And finally as first aider I ask you the please pray for safety and good health for everyone, as I would like nothing more than to be unemployed in this respect during camps.

The first week of camps, starting Saturday the 9th, is for young adults 18+years, the second week for teenagers 12-17 years, and the third week of camps is for families.

If I get a chance I will write something to keep you up to date as camps unfold.
Happy New Year,
Alistair.