Camp

So yesterday afternoon we returned from the camp. We had expected about 650 students ages 8 to early 20's. However, we ended up with 788 students total. Talk about sticking a monkey wrench into your planning. We ran short of food on the first night and lacked enough beds for all of the students. Panic settled in and we had to return to God Cares School to pick up more mattresses for those lacking them. Although I went to be around midnight, I know that other people such as Pastor Dongo and Aunt Harriett did not go to sleep until after 2 am. Such is life in Uganda. You might be wondering why our numbers didn't match with the amount that attended the camp. Well in fact, only about 400+ students actually registered for the camp. The remaining just showed up on the day of the camp at the school. Imagine your youth group being ready to take even 50 students and then 80 showed up. In the US we would send them home because they didn't register in time, but here in our ministry, the camp is like Christmas for the kids (a statement that Pastor Dongo made). So how could we possibly turn away students.

The rest of the camp ran pretty smoothly. I don't know exactly how we served 788 people three meals a day without a hitch. And the fact of the matter is, we weren't just serving posho and beans. These kids were eating in luxury with matooke (banana) and meat every night. Otherwise camp was much like any other summer camp you might have been to. There were morning prayers, followed by breakfast. Praise and worship followed breakfast and then lessons were taught until lunch. After lunch the youth had small group discussions and then everyone went for games. I was blessed to be able to play basketball for the first time since leaving the US. Well, it wasn't the prettiest basketball that you've seen, but I got to run around and have fun with the youth. Following dinner, we showed movies or had other entertainment.

I don't know how the teaching went for the children as I was working with the youth, but our speakers were fantastic. They challenged them to discipline themselves and to look to the reward (Hebrews 11:26) that they will receive from the Lord. I think maybe 10 youth dedicated their lives to Christ at one session, but many lives were changed. The most significant was a boy named Ezra. Last year, Ezra, who is like a class clown, was sent home for being a trouble maker. However, this year, you could find him serving etc. and he made a commitment to Christ. Our God is Awesome and you can see the difference that Buyamba makes in the lives of these children.