Last week the Singing Oaks youth group attended camp victory at camp eagle. The best thing about camp is the amount of time spent with our church family in the presence of God. We all spent a lot of time “dwelling in the word” which is where we read a passage over and over again, and for the most part you hear different things each time you read it.

We read Ephesians chapter 2, this passage reminded a lot of us about the grace God has given us through his son Jesus Christ. We were reminded that we are truly a part of God’s household and that he cares for us as his children. We had the theme of “imagine” one day. My cell group was asked to imagine something they’d like to see in the future. I said that I imagined having a family that God could be happy knowing was a part of his family.

This year we spent a lot more time as a youth group than usual. It used to be that if no one in your youth group was in your cell or activity group you just wouldn’t see them unless you sat next to them at meals or during worship time; but this year time was taken for us to meet with our church families. Since Singing Oaks brings such a large group the students split up one night, each upperclassmen had their own little group to speak with. This gave the older students a chance to step up in leadership and the younger students a chance to get to know the upperclassmen a little better and begin to form a better bond with them.

The youth group depends a lot on trust. We want everyone to feel safe and secure in knowing that we can share our troubles without judgment. Camp is a great place for this type of bond to be formed because the activities can scare some students, and all of us who are there can support them instead of making fun of their fears. For a long time a huge fear of mine was losing a family member, and about a month before camp I lost my grandmother who I had lived with for most of my life. The Johnson Street church lost one of their members that many of their students were close to during that week of camp, and that hit a very open wound of my own. I not only felt a need to be there for their students but I also realized how much I needed the help of my youth group to get through my own devastation. The camp gave me my own opportunity to speak with our students and help find peace. I may not be healed completely of my pain, but I know I’d be worse off if I hadn’t had conversations with people at camp to work through this pain. God can work in weird ways that a lot of the time we can’t see, but I know that my going to camp this year was for his purpose, and I know that there are many other people other than just me that have been helped emotionally at this camp. That’s why I strongly believe that camp is one of the best things the Singing Oaks youth group does.

Thanks to all of you who helped make camp happen through your donations, time, and prayers.