We were delighted to be able to run camps this year after not being able to run many summer activities last summer due the restrictions. Of course, we had to think creatively about how we could make this work with some restrictions on numbers and single occupancy in rooms. We were really pleased that most, if not all our young people got to go away to the lovely SU centre at Scoughall in East Lothian for a night. We were lucky with the weather and much of the activities were outdoors where our young people got to enjoy the beach, they went boating and paddled in the lake which runs down to the sea. The obstacle course was a hit, with kids shooting down the zip line and playing hide and seek in the underground tunnels. North Berwick is a very short drive away, so we took a few trips there for ice cream and to fill up on sweets from the famous North Berwick sweetie shop. We also discovered a garden centre which served very delicious ice cream sundaes and cakes which our young people, staff and volunteers happily filled up on.
Amongst all the fun, one of the important aspects of camp is having the opportunity to explore faith and God. We did some teaching on seasons with our primary groups and explored the bible passage in Ecclesiastes 3:1-14. We talked about our favourite seasons and how they can represent the good and bad times in life but whatever the season, as Christians we can be confident that God is by our side looking out for us. With our secondary groups we watched a ‘Youth Alpha’ video session which discusses the question ‘what is our purpose in life?’. We heard encouraging stories of people who decided to use their skills and talents for good and to help others. Young people were encouraged to think about what their purpose in life is and this provoked a great number of conversations and thoughts. We are very hopeful that we will be able to run more camps in the Autumn this year.
