Another wonderful youth camp in Colombia took place on June 24-29. It was held at the same place we have the Feast site, the Chinauta Real Vacation Center, which has a magnificent view of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. The site is two hours by bus from Bogota, the capital. There were 21 youths who participated, including two from Mexico, three from Chile, one from Argentina and 15 from different cities in Colombia.

The camp was led by our pastor, Mario Seiglie, and his wife Caty. While we were still in Bogota, on Saturday night, the youths went bowling, and for many it was their first time. The Seiglies, along with the daily lectures they gave, were involved in virtually all the activities. The main topic of camp was “The Seven Laws of Success,” given by Mr. Seiglie. There were also separate talks for the boys and girls, and also I talked about my experience at Ambassador Bible Center (ABC) in Milford, Ohio.

The activities each day began with breakfast at 8:30 a.m., after which we had a Christian living class. Before lunch there was some spare time where young people had time to use the pool or enjoyed getting to know each other better, especially since there were youths of different nationalities. Activities included a bonfire, a dance, Bible games, a movie, a hike, a sophisticated ropes course and fishing. Emilio Gippert from Chile caught a big tilapia fish using a net, and others caught smaller fish at a fishing pond. There were also sports such as soccer, basketball and volleyball.

It was indeed encouraging to see the youths having so much fun in such a nice environment and with a great spirit of fellowship that many would have liked to extend past bedtime. The personnel at the hotel were very attentive at all times, always trying to serve us the best possible way.

One highlight was the session of informal speeches that all the youths gave the day before returning to Bogota. We heard phrases like: “From now on, my life will be divided into before and after camp.” Another girl mentioned, “I used to attend Church just because of my parents, but now I attend because this is my Church.” Another youth commented, “Before this camp I felt so alone against the world, but now I feel have a very strong support group.”

How encouraging it is to hear and see the dedication and determination of all these young people to commit to living a truly Christian life, being lights in their colleges and universities! There were only six short days of learning and Christian fellowship, yet the fond memories from this camp will last for a very long time. Lastly after returning to Bogota, some of the youth from other countries had the opportunity to tour the downtown area and visit some of the tourist attractions before returning home.

So we can say that our camp program in Colombia is, with God’s help, and using a familiar Mexican expression, going “full steam ahead!”