The Mexican Youth Camp was once again held in the coastal city of Boca del Río, Veracruz. This place on the Gulf coast of Mexico was chosen since it was relatively central for most campers, it has a nice, tropical climate and an excellent beach.

We had 16 campers, eight adults and a baby (the resident minister’s two-month old daughter). Like last year, we used the same spacious house as the main facility of the camp. It has a large pool under a huge 100-year old gum tree that protected us from the hot sun during the meals and the activities held on the patio.

One of the highlights of the camp was a two-hour trip to a scenic park called “The Five Waterfalls.” We were astonished to see this marvel of nature arrayed in a semicircle. After lunch we swam in the shallow, refreshing natural pool created by these waterfalls, and explored a small cave behind one of them. Later in the week, we visited the port of Veracruz, which has an ample pier.

One blessing was the exclusive use of a nearby billiard center, including being able to use it for a youth dance. Of course, before the dance, Mr. Seiglie taught his famous cha-cha classes, which the campers greatly enjoyed putting this fun dance and others into action.

Other activities included soccer, beach volleyball, swimming in the pool and at the beach, games, riding a banana boat, and handicraft classes by Andrea Garcia.

Everybody also greatly enjoyed Mrs. Seiglie’s delicious home-style meals. She was ably helped by three Mexican ladies, Miriam Cruzaley, Susana Juarez and Maritza Alcantara.

In the mornings we held Christian living classes, which included how to memorize the Ten Commandments using memory prompters, and 12 Biblical Life Principles by Mario Seiglie.

Toward the end of camp, each camper gave a speech about what they had learned at camp—they were quite moving.

On the last evening, we greatly enjoyed the talent night, where practically all the campers participated in singing, dancing and doing sketches. On the Sabbath, after a delicious brunch, we had a class on song-leading. We held services in the afternoon.

The campers came from Matamoros, Monterrey, Mexico City, and Tabasco, and for a week they enjoyed being in an environment of joy, respect, peace and friendship. The results could be seen as their smiles grew bigger by the day as they got to know one another much better. Thankfully, God protected us from any accidents and we all returned safely to our homes. We want to especially thank LifeNets Australia, which helped with some of the camp expenses for these Mexican youths. They are so grateful!

Gabriel García